Baptists through the Centuries: A History of a Global People

by David W. Bebbington

Overview

Baptists through the Centuries provides a clear introduction to the history and theology of this influential and international people. David Bebbington, a leading Baptist historian, surveys the main developments in Baptist life and thought from the seventeenth century to the present.

The Baptist movement took root and grew well beyond its British and American origins. Bebbington persuasively demonstrates how Baptists continually adapted to the cultures and societies in which they lived, generating ever more diversity within an already multifaceted group. Bebbington’s survey also examines the challenging social, political, and intellectual issues in Baptist history―attitudes on race, women’s roles in the church, religious liberty, missions, and theological commitments.

The second edition of this proven textbook extends the scope with chapters on three parts of the world where Baptists have become particularly numerous: Latin America (where Brazilian Baptists number over 2 million), Nigeria (where Baptists are at their strongest outside North America, numbering roughly 5 million), and the Naga Hills in India (where Baptists form over 80 percent of the population). Each chapter also highlights regional issues that have presented new challenges and opportunities to Baptists: holistic mission in Latin America, the experience of charismatic renewal and the encounter with Islam in Nigeria, and the demands of peacemaking in the Naga Hills.

Through this new edition, Bebbington orients readers and expands their knowledge of the Baptist community as it continues to flourish around the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481309486
Publisher:	Baylor University Press
Publication date:	08/01/2018
Edition description:	second edition
Pages:	383
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.09(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David W. Bebbington is Distinguished Visiting Professor of History at Baylor University and Professor of History at the University of Stirling. He is also the author of Patterns in History: A Christian Perspective on Historical Thought.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Roots in the Reformation

3. Anabaptists and Baptists

4. Particular and General Baptists in the Seventeenth Century

5. Baptists and Revival in the Eighteenth Century

6. Divisions among Baptists in the Nineteenth Century

7. Theological Polarization among Baptists

8. Baptists and the Social Gospel

9. Gospel and Race among Baptists

10. Women in Baptist Life

11. Church, Ministry and Sacraments among Baptists

12. Baptists and Religious Liberty

13. Baptists and Foreign Mission

14. The Global Spread of the Baptists

15. Baptist Identity

16. Conclusion

What People are Saying About This

David Bebbington is one of our finest historians, and he has given us here a superb overview of the Baptist movement, from its Reformation roots to its global reach.

David S. Dockery

David Bebbington's well-earned reputation as a brilliant historian is certainly confirmed with this fine overview of Baptist history and practices. Bebbington's work will provide students with a timely, balanced, and insightful guide for generations to come.

Timothy George

David Bebbington is one of our finest historians, and he has given us here a superb overview of the Baptist movement, from its Reformation roots to its global reach.

Choice - Curtis W. Freeman

Conversations about Baptist identity too often generate more heat than light. This book is a happy exception, telling the Baptist story with great insight and clarity.

Editorial Reviews

Overall, Baptists Through the Centuries: A History of a Global People is an outstanding and organised presentation of the broad sweep of Baptist history. This second edition includes three new chapters on Baptist developments in Latin America, Nigeria and Nagaland, making this already excellent resource even more up-to-date and useful to a wide readership.

Journal of European Baptist Studies - Thomas Bergen

Bebbington’s careful work and attempt to categorize and define the diverse family called Baptists is laudable and worthy of commendation.

Journal of Ecclesiastical History - Jason G. Duesing

Conversations about Baptist identity too often generate more heat than light. This book is a happy exception, telling the Baptist story with great insight and clarity.

Choice

This book offers a world view and combines the fairly familiar with the surprisingly little known. It shows a remarkably vigorous community of faith throughout the world.

Congregational History Society Magazine - David Salter

David Bebbington's well-earned reputation as a brilliant historian is certainly confirmed with this fine overview of Baptist history and practices. Bebbington's work will provide students with a timely, balanced, and insightful guide for generations to come.

David S. Dockery

The scope of [Bebbington's] coverage in just 300 pages is breathtaking. If you read only one book on the Baptists, this is the one for you.

International Bulletin of Missionary Research - Richard V. Pierard

In Baptists through the Centuries, the distinguished University of Stirling (UK) professor further solidifies his already established reputation for careful scholarship, astute interpretation, and compelling storylines...Bebbington offers the necessary resources for understanding the tradition's complex historical roots, as well as the meandering pathways that have characterized denomination life for 400 years.

Renewing Minds

David Bebbington has placed us all in his debt by producing this volume.

Journal of European Baptist Studies - Keith G. Jones

A welcomed addition to the field of Baptist studies.

Baptist History & Heritage - Pamela R. Durso

Bebbington is a wise guide...This judicious and insightful account of Baptist history is to be commended.

Baptist Quarterly - John Briggs

... a welcomed addition to the field of Baptist studies.

Baptist History & Heritage Society

David Bebbington has placed us all in his debt by producing this volume.

Journal of European Baptist Studies

Bebbington’s careful work and attempt to categorize and define the diverse family called Baptists is laudable and worthy of commendation.

Journal of Ecclesiastical History - Jason. G. Duesing

Bebbington, one of the leading historians of worldwide evangelicalism, presents a sweeping overview of Baptist history in Europe and the US from its beginnings in the Reformation to the present. A synthesis of the original research of others, Bebbington's interpretive scheme is nuanced and quite readable.

Choice - J. F. Findlay

"David Bebbington has placed us all in his debt by producing this volume."

--Journal of European Baptist Studies (2012, 12:2)

"In Baptists through the Centuries, the distinguished University of Stirling (UK) professor further solidifies his already established reputation for careful scholarship, astute interpretation, and compelling storylines.... Bebbington offers the necessary resources for understanding the tradition's comlex historical roots, as well as the meandering pathways that have characterized denomination life for 400 years."

--Renewing Minds (2012, 1:1)

"... a welcomed addition to the field of Baptist studies."

--Baptist History & Heritage Society (Fall 2012)

"David Bebbington's well-earned reputation as a brilliant historian is certainly confirmed with this fine overview of Baptist history and practices. Bebbington's work will provide students with a timely, balanced, and insightful guide for generations to come."

--David S. Dockery, President, Union University

"Bebbington, one of the leading historians of worldwide evangelicalism, presents a sweeping overview of Baptist history in Europe and the US from its beginnings in the Reformation to the present. A synthesis of the original research of others, Bebbington's interpretive scheme is nuanced and quite readable."

--J. F. Findlay, University of Rhode Island, Choice (2011, 48:8)

"Conversations about Baptist identity too often generate more heat than light. This book is a happy exception, telling the Baptist story with great insight and clarity."

--Curtis W. Freeman, Research Professor of Theology and Baptist Studies, Duke University Divinity School

"... the scope of [Bebbington's] coverage in just 300 pages is breathtaking. If you read only one book on the Baptists, this is the one for you."

--Richard V. Pierard, International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Oct. 2011

From the Publisher