Some changes are not in the revisions themselves, but in the introductory prologue, where the authority of scripture and doctrinal statements receive greater emphasis, and the believer's approach to Christ as the source of final authority is diminished.

One difference in the introductions to the 1963 and 2000 statements is the omission of a paragraph from the 1963 prologue that has often been cited to allow for individual freedom of interpretation.

The prologue to the 1963 statement states that "Baptists emphasize the soul's competency before God, freedom in religion, and the priesthood of the believer." The new proposal does not mention soul competency, freedom in religion or the priesthood of the believer.

Paige Patterson, president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, said he recommended to the committee members that they keep the 1963 prologue as part of their document. Although all the committee members believed in the soul competency and priesthood of the believer, he said he understands why they didn't take his advice: The competency of the soul has been over-emphasized and members felt they had covered the intent in the 2000 prologue.

"The priesthood of the believer never meant a person could believe whatever they want and still be a Christian or still be a Baptist," Patterson said. "It was always a doctrine of responsibility."

Jim Royston, executive director-treasurer of the Baptist State Convention, reacted with concern when told that the priesthood of the believer was removed.

"Priesthood of the believer and autonomy of the local church are two ... benchmarks in Baptist life and polity for me," he said.

The 1963 prologue states that "the sole authority for faith and practice among Baptists is Jesus Christ whose will is revealed in the Holy Scriptures."

The new prologue says that the committee was challenged "to express the truth as revealed in Scripture, and to bear witness to Jesus Christ, who is 'the Way, the Truth, and the Life.'"

The new prologue also suggests a change in the way in which the BF&M is to be understood. The new introduction describes the statement as an instrument of "doctrinal accountability," adding "We are not embarrassed to state before the world that these are doctrines we hold precious and as essential to the Baptist tradition of faith and practice."

The revised first article of the BF&M, "The Scriptures," deletes an often-quoted precept: "The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ." The new proposal states, instead, that "All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation."

Ron Crawford, pastor of First Baptist Church in Asheville, said he was most grieved over this change.

"The SBC has chosen to replace the Word of God with the word of God," he said. "The ultimate revelation of God is in a person, not a book."

The change was due to a common misunderstanding of the 1963 statement, said Adrian Rogers, chairman of the BF&M Study Committee. "Jesus Christ cannot be divided from the biblical revelation that is testimony to Him. We must not claim a knowledge of Christ that is independent of Scripture or in any way in opposition to Scripture."

The statement on scripture does not include the word "inerrancy" as some had expected, but states that "all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy."

The article also more closely identifies scripture as God's revelation. The 1963 statement speaks of the Bible as "the record of God's revelation of Himself to man." The new proposal deletes "the record of," stating that "The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man."

An article on "The Church" revises the 1963 wording somewhat and adds a statement that rules out the possibility of women serving as pastors. "While both men and women are gifted for service in the church," it says, "the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture."

Patterson, who appointed the committee which recommended the changes, told the News & Observer (N&O) of Raleigh that the addition concerning women pastors was biblically based.

"In a world where there is an encroachment on the family by an out-of-control feminism, you have to expect that if we have a view that is distinct, we have to state that," Patterson said.

Dan Vestal, coordinator of the moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, told the N&O that the revisions will likely cause more churches to evaluate their relationship to the SBC.

"It's more evidence that the Southern Baptist Convention is controlled by male, fundamentalist pastors that are seeking to conform Baptists to one vision and version of the gospel," he said.

Steve Scoggins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Hendersonville and a well-known conservative, said in a written statement that he agrees with the proposed changes to the BF&M. The addition of the statement in opposition to women pastors will probably be the most controversial, he said.

"The inevitable consequence of moving this position from a resolution adopted by a single convention in the 1980's to making this our official statement of faith will be the hastening of the division between those who are moderate and those who are conservative in state conventions such as ours," he said.

Royston said he believes the revisions will "raise a great deal of concern" among moderate churches. He said he hopes the state convention will not split.

"I have a desire to work with all N.C. Baptists," he said. Tar Heel Baptists are "far healthier to be one large convention than divided with duplicated services."

An earlier statement in the BF&M article on the church changes the 1963 language that "members are equally responsible" to "each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord." This avoids any implied hint that women might have equal responsibility in the church.

Although the new proposal follows a statement that the church's officers are pastors and deacons, it does not specifically limit women from service as a deacon or speak to the issue of women's ordination for other ministry roles.

The most recent amendment to the BF&M, a 1998 addition that encouraged wives to graciously submit to their husbands was changed slightly in the new proposal.

The article speaks of the purposes of marriage as including intimate companionship, sexual expression, and procreation. The new statement adds "to reveal the union between Christ and His church" at the top of the list.

The opening of a statement about the nature of man is slightly rewritten to emphasize God's creation of humankind as male and female, adding the sentence "The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation." This change helps set the stage for an added statement opposing homosexuality in an article on "The Christian and the Social Order."

In that article, the 1963 statement that "The Christian should oppose in the spirit of Christ every form of greed, selfishness, and vice" is expanded to include racism and "all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography."

The proposal also adds a statement of opposition to abortion and euthanasia: "We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death."

Of these additions, Rogers said "Our Baptist ancestors of a mere generation ago could not have imagined the need to address the issues of abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia and all manner of deviant and pagan sexuality."

An article on salvation is slightly modified to give more emphasis to "justification." The 1963 statement seems to speak of justification - God's forgiveness of sin - as an aspect of regeneration - the new birth as a new creature in Christ. The 2000 proposal presents regeneration and justification in separate sub-headings.

The article also includes an additional sentence in response to the view that there are multiple paths to God. "There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord," the proposal says.

Individual responsibility for personal, verbal evangelism gains greater stress in the article on "Evangelism and Missions." A statement is added, apparently in response to recent criticism of Baptist evangelism, that "The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations."

The individual Christian's responsibility in seeking to win the lost changes the phrase "by personal effort" to "by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle."

Although most changes respond to contemporary culture by moving in the direction of greater strictness, an article on "The Lord's Day" offers a looser interpretation of acceptable Sunday activities. The 1963 reference to "refraining from worldly amusements, and resting from secular employments, work of necessity and mercy only being excepted" is deleted. The new proposal substitutes "Activities on the Lord's Day should be commensurate with the Christian's conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ."

In response to the idea, expressed in recent years, that God is sometimes surprised by human actions, the committee proposes an addition to the second article, which deals with the nature of God. The addition stresses God's providence by emphasizing that God is all powerful and all knowing with regard to all things past, present, and future, "including the future decisions of His free creatures."

The sub-section "God the Son" establishes an official Baptist position on understanding the atonement. Theologians have sought to explain the means by which Christ's death effected the atonement of human sins, and Baptists in the past have subscribed to differing theories. The revision committee proposes that the substitutionary view of the atonement be considered the norm for Baptists. To the phrase "in His death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin," the committee inserts the word "substitutionary" between "His" and "death."

Members of the committee were Rogers, Max Barnett, Steve Gaines, Susie Hawkins, Rudy A. Hernandez, Charles S. Kelley, Jr., Heather King, Richard D. Land, Fred Luter, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., T. C. Pinckney, Nelson Price, Roger Spradlin, Simon Tsoi and Jerry Vines.

No N.C. Baptists served on the committee.