From Woolloomooloo To Eternity A History Of Australian Baptists

This pioneering study describes the quest of Baptists in the different colonies (later states) to develop their identity as Australians and Baptists. The first comprehensive history of Baptists in Australia with a national focus, the Baptist story is traced from their beginnings in 1831 with the first baptisms in Woolloomooloo Bay (Sydney) in 1832 down to modern times. Changes and continuities, achievements and failures are carefully analyzed and related to the wider social, political and cultural context. The first volume covers the period from 1831 until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and shows how a strong sense of becoming an Australian Church shaped much of their development from the various types of British Baptists who began the movement in the new nation. What it meant to be an Australian Baptist is described using denominational newspapers, church records and personal memoirs. The second volume traces the continuing growth of a national church with a deep awareness of global responsibilities expressed through cross-cultural mission. How Baptists reacted to the crises of the two world wars, the depression and the dramatic changes in Australia since the 1960s makes a fascinating study of a small denomination, within the larger Christian life of the nation. The reinvention of rich Baptist life across the last decades is depicted and the challenge and opportunities for the new millennium are explored. - Publisher.

This pioneering study describes the quest of Baptists in the different colonies (later states) to develop their identity as Australians and Baptists. The first comprehensive history of Baptists in Australia with a national focus, the Baptist story is traced from their beginnings in 1831 with the first baptisms in Woolloomooloo Bay (Sydney) in 1832 down to modern times. Changes and continuities, achievements and failures are carefully analyzed and related to the wider social, political and cultural context.The first volume covers the period from 1831 until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and shows how a strong sense of becoming an Australian Church shaped much of their development from the various types of British Baptists who began the movement in the new nation. What it meant to be an Australian Baptist is described using denominational newspapers, church records and personal memoirs.

This pioneering study describes the quest of Baptists in the different colonies (later states) to develop their identity as Australians and Baptists. The first comprehensive history of Baptists in Australia with a national focus, the Baptist story is traced from their beginnings in 1831 with the first baptisms in Woolloomooloo Bay (Sydney) in 1832 down to modern times. Changes and continuities, achievements and failures are carefully analyzed and related to the wider social, political and cultural context. The first volume covers the period from 1831 until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and shows how a strong sense of becoming an Australian Church shaped much of their development from the various types of British Baptists who began the movement in the new nation. What it meant to be an Australian Baptist is described using denominational newspapers, church records and personal memoirs.

This pioneering study describes the quest of Baptists in the different colonies (later states) to develop their identity as Australians and Baptists. The first comprehensive history of Baptists in Australia with a national focus, the Baptist story is traced from their beginnings in 1831 with the first baptisms in Woolloomooloo Bay (Sydney) in 1832 down to modern times. Changes and continuities, achievements and failures are carefully analyzed and related to the wider social, political and cultural context. The first volume covers the period from 1831 until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 and shows how a strong sense of becoming an Australian Church shaped much of their development from the various types of British Baptists who began the movement in the new nation. What it meant to be an Australian Baptist is described using denominational newspapers, church records and personal memoirs. The second volume traces the continuing growth of a national church with a deep awareness of global responsibilities expressed through cross-cultural mission. How Baptists reacted to the crises of the two world wars, the depression and the dramatic changes in Australia since the 1960s makes a fascinating study of a small denomination, within the larger Christian life of the nation. The reinvention of rich Baptist life across the last decades is depicted and the challenge and opportunities for the new millennium are explored. - Publisher.

“The 2011 Census showed that, at a time when many of the denominations were experiencing decline in numbers, the Baptists have continued to grow in numbers. Furthermore, the 2011 National Church Life Survey shows that Baptist churches are generally growing and showing signs of vitality. It will be interesting to see whether there will be continued growth in a culture which enjoys its informality, but at the same time has a strong sense of community developed through high levels of involvement.”

From their beginnings in Australia in 1831 with the first baptisms in Woolloomooloo Bay in 1832, this pioneering study describes the quest of Baptists in the different colonies (states) to discover their identity as Australians and Baptists. Although institutional developments are analyzed and the roles of significant individuals traced, the major focus is on the social and theological dimensions of the Baptist movement.

Coinciding with the four-hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Baptist movement, this book explores and assesses the cultural sources of Baptist beliefs and practices. Although the movement has been embraced, enriched, and revised by numerous cultural heritages, the Baptist movement has focused on a small group of Anglo exiles in Amsterdam in constructing its history and identity. Robert E. Johnson seeks to recapture the varied cultural and theological sources of Baptist tradition and to give voice to the diverse global elements of the movement that have previously been excluded or marginalized. With an international communion of over 110 million persons in more than 225,000 congregations, Baptists constitute the world's largest aggregate of evangelical Protestants. This work offers insight into the diversity, breadth, and complexity of the cultural influences that continue to shape Baptist identity today.

Most convicts arriving in New South Wales didn’t expect to make their fortunes. Some went on to great success, but countless convicts and free migrants struggled with limited prospects, discrimination and misfortune. Many desperate people turned to The Benevolent Society, Australia’s first charity founded in 1813, for assistance and sustenance. In this rich and revealing book, Tanya Evans collaborates with family historians to present the everyday lives of these people. We see many families who have fallen on hard times because of drink, unwanted pregnancy, violence, unemployment or plain bad luck, seeking help and often shunted from asylums or institutions. In the careful tracing of families, we see the way in which disadvantage can be passed down from one generation to the next. The extensive archives of The Benevolent Society allow us to reclaim these unknown lives and understand our history better, not to mention the often random nature of betterment and progress.