A Genetic History of Baptist Thought: With Special Reference to Baptists in Britain and North America

Baptists have been among the most diverse denominations in the world, but, regardless of what some may think, there is an identifiable theological tradition for the Baptists. This book is an interpretive study focusing on Baptist theology as it developed in Britain and North America. It is more than a collection of biographical essays or an apology for a particular theological perspective. The author reaches chronologically across four centuries and among British and North American Baptists of varying stripes. He argues that there is a multiplicity of sources of Baptist thought, including confessions of faith, hymnody, pastors, academic theologians, "schools of thought," African American contributors, uniquely Canadian emphases, and those theologians who are "Baptist" but work outside of any direct denominational linkage. Another important assumption is that Baptists have influenced each other through literary and scholarly dependencies, mentoring, academic affiliations, and informally through associations. Unfortunately, Baptists have made scant the use of "footnotes" until last century, and this has complicated the theological detective's task.