Edgar Young Mullins (1860-1928), the preeminent Southern Baptist theologian of the early twentieth century, developed the influential doctrine of “soul competency” that continues to shape Baptist identity. This paper argues that Mullins’s theological method prioritized individual religious freedom that was rooted in a modernist conception of individualism. While Mullins’s concept of “soul competency” remains foundational to Baptist thought, his eclectic methodological approach—drawing from Friedrich Schleiermacher, William James, and Lewis French Stearns—has created interpretive challenges that continue to impact contemporary Baptist theology.
The theological methodology employed by Mullins warrants critical examination for several reasons. First, despite his pivotal role in shaping 20th-century Baptist identity, scholarly consensus regarding his methodological framework remains elusive. Second, examining Mullins’s theological method provides valuable insight into the way that philosophical pragmatism and modern psychology influenced Baptist theological development during a crucial transitional era. Third, this analysis addresses a significant gap in scholarship, as most studies have focused on Mullins’s conclusions rather than his methodological processes. This study will analyze Mullins’s theological method by evaluating his selective appropriation of Schleiermacher’s emphasis on religious experience, James’s pragmatism, and Stearns’s personalism. The paper will then assess how these methodological choices created interpretive tensions that continue to affect Baptist theological discourse.
This research builds upon Fisher Humphreys’s work on Mullins’s theological heritage and Timothy George’s analysis of Baptist identity but diverges from their scholarship by specifically focusing on methodological inconsistencies in Mullins’s framework and interrogating the philosophical underpinnings that shaped his theological method. The findings will contribute to ongoing discussions about Baptist theological identity by providing a clearer understanding of how Mullins’s methodological approach to soul competency has influenced contemporary Baptist ecclesiology, particularly regarding questions of religious authority, congregational polity, and theological education.