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Baptist
beliefs, it must be noted, are diverse, although a core set of beliefs
(including Christ-centric faith; freedom of conscience; full religious liberty and complete separation of church
and state; the priesthood of all believers; believer's baptism by
immersion; authority of the Bible rather than creeds; and local church
autonomy) traditionally defines Baptists, who emerged from the
Protestant Reformation and trace their
beginnings to 1609. Represented by over
250 distinct groupings worldwide today, Baptists are not easily
pigeon-holed. Baptist groups, churches and individuals range the theological and ideological
spectrums from fundamentalist to liberal and Calvinist to Arminian
(and many points in between). The Baptist family in America of
the 20th and early 21st centuries includes such notable individuals as
John D. Rockefeller, Harry
Emerson Fosdick, Walter Rauschenbush, George W. Truett, E. Y. Mullins,
Frank Norris, Nannie Helen Burroughs, Carlyle Marney, Will Campbell,
Marian Wright Edelman, Billy Graham, Jimmy Carter,
Jerry Falwell, Bill Clinton, Fred Phelps, Martin Luther King, Jr., Al
Gore, Adrian Rogers, and Tony Campolo. Although
the
Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the most prominent Baptist
group in
America, they represent a minority of Baptists in the United States,
and are rivaled in size by African American Baptist conventions (the
largest of which is the
National Baptist Convention, USA). American
Baptist Churches USA represent another large group of Baptists in
the United States. However, the majority of Baptists in the world are now located in the
southern hemisphere. The
Baptist World Alliance is the single largest Baptist organization,
representing a significant majority of Baptists in the world (their
web site provides links to many member Baptist groups). In addition,
the
BaptistLife.Com site maintains links to Baptist groups worldwide.
Recommended Baptist History Survey Books
Pamela and Keith Durso --
The Story of Baptists in the United States
Bruce T. Gourley --
A Capsule History of Baptists
Bill Leonard -- Baptist Ways
Leon McBeth --
The Baptist Heritage
Walter Shurden --
Four Fragile Freedoms (a short introduction)
Douglas Weaver --
In Search of the New Testament Church
Baptist Theology
Lectures by Fisher Humphreys
(Former Professor
of Theology, Beeson Divinity School)
Calvinism and Traditional Baptist Theology
Open Theism and Theology Today
Fundamentalism and Theology Today
Forgiveness and Theology Today
Recommended Baptist Theology Books
Systematic Theology: Biblical, Historical, and Evangelical.
(James Leo Garrett)
Baptist Theology: A Four-Century Study (James Leo Garrett)
A Capsule
History of Baptist Principles (William H. Brackney)
Baptists and Religious Liberty
The single most important contribution
Baptists have made to America and the world is religious liberty and
separation of church and state. Unfortunately, many modern
Baptists have forsaken this heritage.
Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty based in Washington,
D.C.
An Excellent, Extensive Collection of Church/State Primary Documents
Baptists on Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State
by Walter B.
Shurden, Executive
Director, The Center for Baptist Studies
The Christian American Citizen by Brent Walker, Baptist Joint
Committee
Baptists and Religious Liberty by George W. Truett
Baptists and Religious Liberty in Early Connecticut by
George W. Grisevich
Religion and the State Governments (Library of Congress)
Historical Baptist Quotes on Separation of Church and State
Outline of Baptist Persecution in Colonial America by Bruce
Gourley
History of Religious Liberty in America by the First Amendment
Center
Thomas Jefferson, Baptist Ally, An Atheist? by Bruce Gourley
1832 Presbyterian Sermon Condemning America as a Secular Nation Select
Primary Sources
The Baptist Catechism, Charleston Association (1813)
The Baptist Mission in India by William Staughton (1811)
"A History of Clear Creek Church, and Campbellism Exposed" by John
Taylor (1830)
London Confessions of Faith (1644, 1646, 1651, 1652)
The Millennial Harbinger, Volume 1 by Alexander Campbell
(1830)
Notes on the Principles and Practices of Baptist Churches by
Francis Wayland (1857)
A Short History of the Baptists by H. C. Vedder
William Carey's Works
An Online Collection of Hundreds of Primary Sources (Baptist
History Homepage)
Baptist Studies Online Primary Source Collection (Southeastern
Baptist Theo. Sem.)
Baptist History Websites
American Baptist Historical Society -- the official website
BaptistHeritage.Com -- from the Baylor University Baptist Studies
Department
Baptist Historical Society (UK) -- the official website
Baptist History and Heritage Society -- pamphlets, books and more
BWA Heritage and Identity Commission -- from the Baptist World
Alliance
Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies -- by the Baptist General
Convention of VA
Center for Baptist Studies -- publications, resources,
conferences and more
Documenting the American South -- primary documents (search for
"Baptist")
First London Confessions of Faith -- text of early Baptist
confessions with annotations
Founder's Journal -- devoted to the Calvinistic dimension of
Baptist history
Independent, Fundamentalist Baptist History -- a brief survey
Primitive Baptist Web Station -- contains text of doctrinal
abstracts and creeds of faith
A Selection of Primitive Baptist Materials -- an electronic
library
Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives -- an official
SBC site
Strict Baptist Historical Society -- British Baptist resources
Texas Baptist Historical Collection -- important Baptist resources
from Texas
The Triumph of the Southern Baptists -- a brief history of
Southern Baptists |
