Understanding Baptists A History Of How Baptists Interpret The Bible

Baptist history is a tapestry of struggling with the predominant theologies of their times, a struggle that often found them either dying at the end of a stake or railing against the prevailing interpretation of the Bible in their time period. The when, where and how of baptism, the place of children in the church, the order and life of the church, and how they integrated with other believers frame much of their rich and varied history.

This title offers a comprehensive analysis of Baptist theology. Embracing in one common trajectory the major Baptist confessions of faith, the major Baptist theologians, and the principal Baptist theological movements and controversies, this book spans four centuries of Baptist doctrinal history. Acknowledging first the pre-1609 roots (patristic, medieval, and Reformational) of Baptist theology, it examines the Arminian versus Calvinist issues that were first expressed by the General Baptists and the Particular Baptists; that dominated English and American Baptist theology during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from Helwys and Smyth and from Bunyan and Kiffin to Gill, Fuller, Backus, and Boyce; and, that were quickened by the 'awakenings' and the missionary movement. Concurrently there were the Baptist defense of the Baptist distinctives vis-a-vis the pedobaptist world and the unfolding of a strong Baptist confessional tradition. Then during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the liberal versus evangelical issues became dominant with Hovey, Strong, Rauschenbusch, and Henry in the North and Mullins, Conner, Hobbs, and Criswell in the South even as a distinctive Baptist Landmarkism developed, the discipline of biblical theology was practiced and a structured ecumenism was pursued. Missiology both impacted Baptist theology and took it to all the continents, where it became increasingly indigenous. Conscious that Baptists belong to the free churches and to the believers' churches, a new generation of Baptist theologians at the advent of the twenty-first century appears somewhat more Calvinist than Arminian and decidedly more evangelical than liberal.

In January 2009, an international group of Baptist theologians met in Cardiff, UK, for a colloquium to explore the theory and practice of Baptist hermeneutics. Drawing primarily from the British Baptist community, the groupâ¿¿s work was enhanced by insights from participants from the USA and Eastern Europe. Participants brought a diversity of scholarly and pastoral interests to the colloquium, and through presentation and discussion explored together the nature of Baptist hermeneutics. The resulting volume addresses five core thematic areas. The first section surveys the way in which Baptists have engaged with the Bible both in their early history and more recent past. Section two analyses? some specific examples of Baptist hermeneutics in practice, while the third section turns attention to an exploration of theoretical approaches to the hermeneutical task in Baptist contexts. The problem of how to negotiate interpretative difference within Baptist reading communities is addressed in the fourth section. Finally, concluding responses to the project from two non-Baptist theologians challenge both contributors and readers to consider the wider implications of the volume for contemporary Baptist life.

The first decades of the 20th century were days of robust optimism in the United States. These were the confident years of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, progressive reform and high purpose. This period also marked the high tide of what author Lee Canipe calls "Baptist democracy": the moral overlap between Baptist theology and American democracy that continues to shape the way Baptists in the United States understand and articulate their faith. In this book, Canipe traces the rise of Baptist democracy as reflected in the work of three prominent leaders who made their most significant contributions to Baptist life between 1900 and 1925: Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918), E. Y. Mullins (1860-1928), and George W. Truett (1867-1944). Celebrating the harmony between the principles of their church and the ideals of their state, these three Baptists eloquently articulated what, by the turn of the 20th century, had become an article of faith for many of their fellow Baptists.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "A Bible History of Baptism" by Samuel J. Baird. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

A revised edition for students at the divinity school level who study the origins of modern Baptists in 17th Century England, bibliology of the 18th and 19th century Baptists of England and America, and the sources for present-day uncertainties in the field of bibliology, especially as it relates to the Southern Baptist Convention as well as the Northern Baptist Convention. An excellent tool for researchers, scholars, as well as laymen.

Southern Baptist leaders write about the validity of denominational distinctives and issues stemming from the article on "The Church" in the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Faith and Message.