Readings in Baptist History | Baptist Theology

Readings in Baptist History. By Joseph Early Jr. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2008. Pp. 281 + vi. $19.99. Paperback.

Books like Joseph Early’s Readings in Baptist History lend themselves easily to review. The task of critiquing a work of “selected documents” is much like the virtual ease of the armchair quarterback who shouts and writhes with every play-call, scramble, and pass completion – all from the comforts of his own home media enclave. The spirited bark from these barcaloungers are legion as they do not have to endure any actual physical penalties or criticisms. It is pontifical fun without the work or responsibility.

Much, therefore, is the same for one who attempts to review the work of an edited volume like Readings in Baptist History. Joseph Early has, in reality, done the hard work of selecting, transcribing, editing a very helpful book that contains some of the essential readings for anyone interested in the rich field of Baptist history. For one to differ or deliberate over his selections or his omissions is easy. For one to do so with great melodrama or astonished gasps (such as, “Because he failed to include the original transcription of Stinton Number 4, Early’s work should not be read or recommended by anyone!”) is nothing more than a lazy lob from an armchair quarterback.

In the preface, Early notes that “[w]hile many new histories have been written, no major Baptist primary sourcebook has been complied since [H. Leon] McBeth’s A Sourcebook for Baptist Heritage (1990)” (v). Indeed, Early highlights a need for students and pastors alike to have access to the primary sources of their Baptist heritage, and the assembly of such in single volume works has been something regularly done throughout the years. In 1958, the new President of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Sydnor L. Stealey, edited A Baptist Treasury. Stealy’s work provides helpful introductions to each selection and still contains many works previously or since unpublished. Robert A. Baker’s A Baptist Source Book (1966) served many as the standard work from which to begin any inquiry into the Baptist past. Baker’s work was surpassed by McBeth’s exhaustive Sourcebook, and, while not noted by Early, Curtis W. Freeman’s Baptist Roots (1999) also serves as a work of unique contribution both through its introductory summaries and also its inclusion of Anabaptist related materials.

Readings in Baptist History contains only a short preface to provide any introduction to the selections that follow in the volume. Early states that he employed his decided brevity “to eliminate my personal bias and consider what documents give the broadest and most understandable basis for our rich heritage” (vi). While the reader can appreciate the intent, not having any sort of contextual introduction or further explanation as to why a document was chosen does leave one looking for and wanting more. The only other structural critique one could make resides in the absence of any compiled bibliography. Concluding the volume with a two page listing of all the entries would give the student a helpful checklist from which to begin the building of his own library or the searching for the complete document from other libraries.

Nevertheless, with the burgeoning existence of many Baptist history sources available electronically from many web sites (such as BaptistTheology.org), spending time debating the whys or wherefores of what documents Early should have included is moot. Readings in Baptist History could not possibly contain even all that Early desired to include. Indeed, the abundance of options speaks to the richness and worthiness of study of the field. However, this is not to say that the online presence of many sources negates the value of Early’s work. On the contrary, Readings in Baptist History functions as the physical door through which many students and pastors can enter and find the rich treasures of Baptist history collected and stored in many places. Early’s work operates, as intended, as a fine introduction.

In celebration of Early’s work, the following is a listing of additional works recommended by the Baptist Theology Editorial Board intended to complement those in Readings in Baptist History.

General Works

Ages Digital Library. The Baptist History Collection.

Bush, L. Russ, and Thomas Nettles. Baptists and the Bible. rev. ed. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1999.

Cathcart, William. The Baptist Encyclopædia. 2 Vol. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts, 1881; reprint Paris, AR: Baptist Standard Bearer, 2006.

Garrett, James Leo, Jr. Baptist Theology: A Four-Century Study. Macon: Mercer University Press, 2009.

George, Timothy and David Dockery, eds. Theologians of the Baptist Tradition. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2001 (cf. 1990 ed.)

The Anabaptist Movement

Primary Works

Estep, William R., ed. Anabaptist Beginnings (1523-1533): A Source Book. Wieuwkoop, Netherlands: B. de Graaf, 1976.

Klaassen, Walter, ed. Anabaptism in Outline. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1981.

Secondary Works

Estep, William R. The Anabaptist Story. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.