* Acknowledgements: The Abstract of Principles were set down by James Pettigru Boyce, the principle founder of Southern Seminary (1859), the first Chairman of its Faculty (1859-1887), its first President (1888), and its most distinguished professor of Systematic Theology. We would also identify with the London Baptist Confession of 1689, the Philadelphia Confession of 1742, the New Hampshire Baptist Confession of 1833, and the Baptist Faith and Message of 2000.