Book Reviews

A Hill on Which to Die: One Southern Baptist's Journey

Dr. Paige Patterson

Originally Published in The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 4:4 (Winter 2000)

Whether it is Teddy Roosevelt’s famous assault on San Juan Hill or the infinitely more costly battle of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, the picture of a battle staged on a prominent outcropping for a compelling cause is inevitably a memorable event. Paul Pressler’s memoirs of his own experiences of the last twenty years is thus entitled A Hill on Which to Die. There are at least four applications of the title that arise naturally out of the reading of the book. read more

Primitive Baptists of the Wiregrass South

Dr. Jason K. Lee

Originally Published in Faith and Mission, 17:2 (Spring 2000)

John Crowley draws on his personal background of being raised in a Primitive Baptist extended family and his familiarity with the wiregrass region of south Georgia and north Florida to present a colorful picture of the Primitive Baptists in the South. Crowley’s particular focus is the Primitive Baptists in the wiregrass region and their development since 1815. His purpose is to interpret various actions and writings by Primitive Baptists to learn more about the movement and their theology. Crowley supplies details not only of the region’s prominent personalities, but also of its lesser known groups and individuals. read more

Baptist Faith and Message 2000: Critical Issues in America's Largest Protestant Denomination

Mr. Brent A. Thomason

The Baptist Way

Mr. Chris Johnson

In recent days a renaissance of interest in Baptist studies and distinctives has emerged. Conversations from the floor of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting to seminary classrooms all the way to blog posts have become inundated with answers to the question of what it means to be Baptist.  Although published in 2005, R. Stanton Norman’s monograph offers a helpful contribution to the current discussion. read more

The Theology of John Smyth

Mr. Jason G. Duesing

Originally published in The Journal of Baptist Studies, 1 (2007).

As Richard Land observed in his 1979 DPhil thesis, the “careful examination of one man, and his interaction with his society and with the views and opinions of his contemporaries, can be of value in understanding the historical and theological development of [the] period,” (“Doctrinal Controversies of English Particular Baptists (1644-1791) as Illustrated by the Career and Writings of Thomas Collier,” Oxford University, 3). This approach of examining “one man” serves Jason K. Lee and his readers well in the publication, The Theology of John Smyth. Currently Associate Professor of Historical Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Lee’s work on John Smyth originated as the focus of his PhD studies at the University of Aberdeen. read more

Anabaptist Beginnings (1523-1533)

Mr. Jason G. Duesing

Originally published in The Journal of Baptist Studies, 1 (2007).

One Sacred Effort: The Cooperative Program of Southern Baptists

Dr. James W. Richards

The contributors divide the book into their respective areas of expertise. Brand is a practicing academician who serves in the local church. Hankins is a former pastor and current denominational leader with academic credentials. Brand’s chapters are easily identified as academy specific. He uses more technical language and illustrates his points with in-depth historical details. Hankins’ part shows his experiential knowledge of the inner workings of the denominational structure. Refreshingly, his nomenclature is that of a pastor relaying information rather than of a bureaucratic policy work. read more

A Theology for the Church

Dr. J.D. Greear

The title of A Theology for the Church sets it apart from other systematic theology texts. This is a theology text which attempts to place its conversation about doctrine squarely in the place that its authors believe it belongs: the local church.  As a pastor, I am grateful for this approach. There often seems to be a significant disconnect between those who appreciate theological depth and those who seek to carry out the Gospel ministry in a local church. Almost all of the contributors of A Theology for the Church, however, have extensive local church staff experience, giving them special insight in the application of doctrine to the life of the church. read more

The Formation of Christian Doctrine

Dr. Paige Patterson

Reading Malcolm Yarnell’s The Formation of Christian Doctrine reminded me of recent journeys to the Alaskan wilderness. There I discovered the difficulty of attempting to carve new trails in the thickly forested areas where often only the paw of the bear had rested. Yarnell’s self-imposed assignment is no less difficult and is certainly hedged with more potential landmines, yet this brief volume of only 200 pages in the final analysis constitutes one of the most wide-ranging and thoughtful volumes that I have read in many years. The book will doubtless be helpful to many, but especially to those who are serious about doing theology in a free-church context. This book is essential for at least four reasons. read more

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

Dr. James Leo Garrett Jr.

Originally published in Southwestern Journal of Theology 48.2 (Spring 2006)

Although earlier Baptists (Underhill, McGlothlin, Lumpkin, Parker) published volumes on the Baptist confessions of faith and others (Tull, George/Dockery) authored or co-edited volumes on selected Baptist theologians, William Brackney, at Baylor University at the time of publication and now at Acadia University, is the first author to have produced a comprehensive history of "Baptist thought." read more

Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity

Mr. Ched Spellman

Who cares about ecclesiology? Why should a church member concern himself with who runs the church? In Perspectives on Church Government, editors Chad Owen Brand and R. Stanton Norman seek to facilitate a discussion that will engage these questions by providing the reader with a defense of the “classic positions on the matter of governing the church” (23), which include the Congregational model, the Presbyterian model, and the Episcopal model. Brand and Norman include three broad variations of congregationalism with Daniel Akin defending the single elder position, James Leo Garrett, Jr. defending the congregation led position, and James White advocating a plurality of elders. Robert Reymond and Paul Zahl defend Presbyterian and Episcopal models, respectively. Each contributor presents an essay-length defense of his position, followed by a brief response from each of the other four scholars. read more

The Early English Baptists, 1603-1649

Mr. Jason G. Duesing

The publication of Stephen Wright’s PhD thesis by Boydell and Brewer signals a revived interest in the turbulent days that played host to the formation of Baptists in England. This field of study was mined deeply at the end of the nineteenth century by Whitsitt, Lofton, Whitley, and Burrage, and then mined again in the third quarter of the twentieth century by Nuttall, White, Tolmie, and Brachlow. And now Wright returns to reveal that there are still plenty of riches to be found and examined by those with an interest in the origins of English Baptist Christians. read more

Restoring Integrity in Baptist Churches

Dr. Richard D. Piles

As a local church minister for eight plus years, I have been deeply grieved on occasion by the spiritual condition of older, yet sometimes immature followers of Christ. Some problems have been easily diagnosed and remedied. Others have not. Needless to say for pastors like me, Restoring Integrity in Baptist Churches has hit the nail on the head. Challenging, convicting, applicable, and biblical are words to describe this work edited by White, Duesing, and Yarnell. It will remain close by my side for many years to come as I seek to restore integrity in the Baptist church I pastor. read more

Paradox and Perseverance: Hanserd Knollys, Particular Baptist Pioneer in Seventeenth-Century England

Mr. Jason G. Duesing

Originally Published in the Southwestern Journal of Theology, 49.1 (Fall 2006)

While English Baptists in the nineteenth century had Spurgeon, and in the eighteenth century had Fuller and Carey, few names are as well known among English Baptists in the seventeenth century. To date, much of the work that focused on the early days of English Baptists has examined the circumstances of Baptist origins or Baptist denominational developments. This has left open the opportunity to investigate the lives of the men behind the developments, and a work on one of the preeminent leaders, Hanserd Knollys, is long overdue. read more

Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ

Mr. Robert E. Sagers

Originally Published in the Southwestern Journal of Theology, 48.2 (Spring 2006)

New Testament scholar Thomas R. Schreiner and church historian Shawn D. Wright, both professors at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, have done a great service to the church in co-editing Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ, a compendium of essays from well-known Baptist scholars and pastors treating the often controversial subject of baptism. Complete with a foreword and introduction, there are ten chapters in all, including four essays pertaining to the biblical and theological material pertinent to the issue of baptism, five chapters devoted to the relevant historical challenges to credobaptism, and a final chapter espousing the practical application of believer’s baptism within the context of the local church. read more

The Mission of Today's Church: Baptist Leaders Look at Modern Faith Issues

Dr. C. Bart Barber

What major challenges do Baptist churches face at this moment in history? A thousand answers come to mind. At least twelve of them receive treatment in The Mission of Today’s Church, a compilation of proceedings from a 2005 conference with the same title. Although this book, like many conference proceedings, amounts to something of a Duke’s mixture, its various constituent parts each are highly relevant in 2008. read more

Baptist Battles: Social Change and Religious Conflict in the Southern Baptist Convention

Dr. Paige Patterson

Originally published in Christianity Today, 35 (Ja 14, 1991): 33-35.

The most unfortunate aspect of Baptist Battles is that it will not make its author a millionaire. If only this sociological evaluation of Southern Baptist life could sell 5 million copies—Rutgers would be astonished, Ammerman would be basking at Club Med in Phuket, and I would be ecstatic! A brilliant sociologist teaching in the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, Nancy Ammerman is a self-confessed Southern Baptist moderate and feminist. She was a prominent participant in the August meeting of moderates in Atlanta that sought ways of stifling the conservative resurgence in Southern Baptist life. read more

Historical Dictionary of the Baptists

Dr. Jason K. Lee

Originally published in Faith and Mission, 17:3 (Summer 2000): 118-119.

William Brackney is one of the leading Baptist historians of the late twentieth century. His credentials indicate that he is capable of presenting a comprehensive dictionary of Baptist history that includes people, places, movements, and controversies. Brackney provides breadth of the Baptist tradition without sacrificing specificity on particular individuals or groups. One is also struck with Brackney’s general fairness to controversial figures or events in the Baptist story. read more

Blue Like Jazz: Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality

Dr. J.D. Greear

Originally published in SBC Life, (June 2005).

Many Southern Baptist pastors have labored hard to bring their churches into the "contemporary" age. As some of these pastors rounded the final bend of outfitting their sanctuaries with theatre seats, plasma screens, and drums, they were greeted only by news that the relevant church had left the contemporary building. The relevant church is now "emerging," they have been told—it is post-modern, post-contemporary, post-traditional, post-denominational, post-liberal/conservative, and a host of other post-s. read more

First Freedom: The Baptist Perspective on Religious Liberty

Mr. Evan Lenow

Originally published in Southwestern Journal of Theology 48.2 (Spring 2006)

Thomas White, Jason Duesing, and Malcolm B. Yarnell III edit this volume that contains contributions from leading scholars in Southern Baptist life, including Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; Daniel Heimbach, professor of Christian ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; and Paul Pressler, retired member of the Texas legislature, district court judge, and justice for the 14th court of appeals. This work arose from the first annual conference in the Baptist Distinctives Series held at the Riley Center at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in September 2005. read more

The Great Restoration: The Religious Radicals of the 16th and 17th Centuries

Dr. Jason K. Lee

Originally published in Themelios, 25:1 (November 1999): 133-134.

This work is an apt introduction to the continental and English radicals of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Pearse’s approach is to view the material from a dynamic rather than an organic perspective. Instead of trying to discover historical connections between individuals or groups through their actions or confessional statements, Pearse simply indicates the similarity of thought. This is especially true in Pearse’s comments on the relationship between the continental Anabaptists and the later English radicals. He says that he does not claim an “organic connectedness” between these groups, but suggests that they had a similar purpose. Each individual or group that Pearse spotlights had the ultimate goal: “the restoration of primitive Christianity along (in the sociological sense) sectarian lines”. read more

An Old Landmark Reset

J.L. Dagg

Originally published in Manual of Church Order, The Southern Baptist Publication Society, 1858. Reprint, Gano Books: Harrisonburg, VA, 1990, 286-298.

In a tract, “An Old Landmark Reset. By Elder J. M. Pendleton, A. M., Union University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee,” the author maintains that Baptists ought not to recognize Pedobaptist preachers as gospel ministers.  This tract has been circulated extensively, and its doctrine is embraced by many.  The discussions on the subject may sometimes have produced temporary evil, but where the parties have a sincere desire to know the truth, and a willingness to follow wherever it may lead, the final result must be good.  Parties who agree with each other in their views of Christian doctrine and ordinances, and whose only difference respects the mode of treating those who are in error, ought not to fall out with each other on this question.  Each one must act in the matter on his own responsibility; and discussions to ascertain the right mode of acting ought to be conducted in the spirit of kindness, meekness, and gentleness. read more

Manual of Church Order

J.M. Pendleton

Originally published in The Southern Baptist Review 5 (January 1859): 36–55, by J. M. Pendleton. Republished in Selected Writings of James Madison Pendleton, Vol. 2. Edited by Thomas White. Baptist Standard Bearer, 2006, 351-375.

The introduction to the volume before us, calls attention to the important subject of “Obedience to Christ.” This is creditable to the head and heart of the author. Christ is the Lawgiver of the Gospel dispensation, and to make his will the rule of action is the essence of obedience. There can be no evangelical obedience unless his authority is recognized in a conscientious observance of his commands. What will it avail to call him “Lord, Lord, and do not the things which he says?” Alas, how useless and how frequent is this nominal profession of attachment to him! read more

God's Rascal: J. Frank Norris and the Beginnings of Southern Fundamentalism

Dr. Paige Patterson

Originally published in Faith and Mission, 15:2 (Spring 1998): 113-115.

Few pulpiteers of the modem era have created more furor during their lives or after their deaths than the vocal and acerbic J. Frank Norris. A number of popular biographical accounts and evaluative dissertations about Norris have appeared since his death in 1952. But until Barry Hankins, Associate Director of Church-State Studies and Assistant Professor of History at Baylor University, wrote this recent account of Norris under the appropriate title God’s Rascal, no real effort had been made to present to the public a “historically detached” biography of this remarkable man. Neither does Hankins succeed altogether in adequately distancing himself from his subject, but he obviously makes the effort, and for that should be commended. read more

Richard Furman: Life and Legacy

Dr. Malcolm B. Yarnell, III

Originally published in Midwestern Journal of Theology 1:1-2 (Spring 2003): 94-95.

The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism

Dr. Thomas White

Originally published in Faith and Mission, 22:2 (Spring 2005): 141-142. 

As the title suggests, this work seeks to prove continuity between the Old and New covenants as strong support for infant baptism.  In addition to being well written and informative, Baptists should find this work particularly interesting because three of the contributors are former Baptists:  Gregg Strawbridge, Bryan Chapell, and Douglas Wilson. Adorned with an attractive cover and clean text, this book puts forth traditional arguments for infant baptism.  By focusing primarily on the continuity of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant the “case” is more about the inclusion of children in the New Covenant than the correctness of infant baptism. read more

Pilgrim Pathways: Essays in Honor of B.R. White

Dr. Jason K. Lee

Originally published in Faith and Mission, 18:1 (Fall 2000): 142-143.

The reverend professor Barrington Raymond White has set the standard for Baptist historical scholarship for over a quarter of a century.  His work with the Baptist Quarterly has caused it to be the leading journal for scholarly dialogue among Baptists.  Regent’s Park College, Oxford University, is forever in debt to Professor White for his leadership as principal of the college.  Pilgrim Pathways is a festschrift in honor of White with contributions from his grateful colleagues and former students. read more

The Story of Baptists in the United States

Mr. Jason G. Duesing  

Originally published in Southwestern  Journal of Theology, 48:1 (Fall 2005): 71-72.

Devoted to the Service of the Temple

Dr. Malcolm B. Yarnell, III

Originally published in Southwestern  Journal of Theology, 48:2 (Spring 2006): 260-261.

This is the third volume in the Profiles in Reformed Spirituality series edited by Joel Beeke and Michael A. G. Haykin published by Reformation Heritage Books. The book itself is ingeniously constructed so as to allow for use as a devotional, being of small size and composed of attractive, durable and high-quality material. The editors of this particular volume in the series are Haykin, a superb Baptist historian that the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky recently and wisely added to their faculty, and Steve Weaver, a Tennessee Baptist pastor and research student of Haykin. Haykin wrote the introduction and Weaver led in the compilation of selected readings from the writings of Hercules Collins. read more

The Axioms of Religion

Dr. Jason K. Lee

Originally published in Faith and Mission, 17:2 (Spring 2000): 112-114.

This volume serves as a brief collection of Mullins’ various works. The primary work in the volume is The Axioms of Religion, but there are several other writings which are also included. The secondary writings include articles and lectures on specific issues faced by the quintessential Southern Baptist of the twentieth century. Another helpful element of this volume is the compiler’s pertinent introduction to the thought and career of Professor Mullins. In the introduction, Dr. Mohler not only relays the events of Mullins’ life but also attempts to assess his legacy for Southern Baptists. read more

Baptist Ways

Mr. Jason G. Duesing

Originally published in Southwestern Journal of Theology 47:1 (Fall 2004): 86-89.

Texts that chronicle the history of the Christian people called Baptists abound in various forms. Books once heralded as the most comprehensive have over time revealed their oversights. Texts written in centuries past received revision and eventually passed the baton to the modern texts of future centuries. . . . Baptist Ways: A History, without exception, takes its place in line behind the forerunners of Baptist history volumes. The culture in which its author wrote, the author’s historiographical method, as well as other factors combine to speak of its value to historians, students, and church members. read more

The Radical Reformation

Dr. Malcolm B. Yarnell, III

Originally published in Faith & Mission, 14.1 (1996): 103-6

This is the third edition of Williams’ magnum opus. The first edition was published in 1962 and quickly became a standard reference work for what had hitherto been referred to in nonpolemical modern scholarship as “the left wing of the Reformation” (a phrase coined by Roland Bainton). From the outset, it should be affirmed that this is an indispensable secondary source for any serious student of the radical Reformation. That said, the reader should also be forewarned of Williams’ underlying Unitarian polemic, mildly rambling

On the Writing of Book Reviews

Dr. James Hamilton

October 2007

Book reviews are for others. Everything we do is for the glory of God. Those of us who have received the faith once for all entrusted to the saints and are called to Christian ministry have an obligation to shepherd the flock of God. This means that we read and write for the glory of God in the strength that he supplies, taking every thought captive to the knowledge of Christ, subjecting everything to the searchlight of Scripture, wherein God has revealed himself. When we honor God’s written revelation of himself, we honor God. Insofar as we despise the Word of the Lord, we despise the Lord. read more