Andrew Fuller (1754-1815), perhaps the most prominent Particular Baptist of the eighteenth century, has been the subject of much scholarly interest in recent years. No comparative study, however, has been done on the two biographies that give us much of our knowledge of Fuller's life. John Ryland Jr. (1753-1826), Fuller's closest friend and ministry partner, not only supervised the publication of Fuller's works, but sought to give a careful accounting of his friend's piety. But Ryland's volume stood in contrast with the less-flattering portrait painted by publisher and pastor, J.W. Morris (1763-1836). This critical edition of Ryland's 1816 biography provides contextual background and comparative analysis of the two volumes, and shows how Ryland amended his text for its 1818 republication in light of Morris' work. It also demonstrates the profound influence of Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) on Ryland's biographical approach. While Edwards's influence on Ryland and Fuller is widely known, this volume shows how Edwards's biographical work, especially that of David Brainerd, influenced Ryland's aim to promote "pure and undefiled religion" through recounting the life of his friend.

'To endure the hardships of the frontier took more than a determined pioneer spirit. It required a faith that everything would work out for the best-that something more was to come other than the meager crops they scratched out of the earth."-from "The Minutes of Salem Baptist Church"Salem Baptist Church was one of the small pioneer churches that nurtured that faith. Located near Birchwood, Tennessee, Salem Baptist Church led the community in the midst of its physical hardships from 1835 to 1941. Through the Civil War, Reconstruction, the migration of its members to Texas for cheap land, the turn of the century, and later, the depression, the small church led its community in faith.The minutes and supporting research provide not only a unique history of the families in the community, but also a unique genealogical record of over 175 families told through church action and membership records. Join Daniel Lee Roark on his journey through the history of this small pioneer church in East Tennessee. Experience the coming together of these families, turning to the Lord in difficult circumstances.

The Stone-Campbell Movement, also known as the Restoration Movement, arose on the frontiers of early nineteenth-century America. Like-minded Methodists, Baptists and Presbyterians abandoned denominational labels in order to be "Christians only." They called followers to join in Christian unity and restore the ideals of the New Testament church, holding authoritative no book but the Bible and believing no creed but Christ. Modern-day inheritors of this movement, including the Churches of Christ (a cappella) and the Christian Churches (independent), find much in common with wider evangelical Christianity as a whole. Both groups are committed to the authority of Scripture and the importance of personal conversion. Yet Restorationists and evangelicals, separated by sociological history as well as points of doctrinal emphasis, have been wary of each other. Evangelicals have often misunderstood Restorationists as exclusivist separatists and baptismal regenerationists. On the other hand, Stone-Campbell adherents have been suspicious of mainstream denominational evangelicals as having compromised key aspects of the Christian faith. In recent years Restoration Movement leaders and churches have moved more freely within evangelical circles. As a result, Stone-Campbell scholars have reconsidered their relationship to evangelicalism, pondering to what extent Restorationists can identify themselves as evangelicals. Gathered here are essays by leading Stone-Campbell thinkers, drawing from their Restoration heritage and offering significant contributions to evangelical discussions of the theology of conversion and ecclesiology. Also included are responses from noted evangelicals, who assess how Stone-Campbell thought both corresponds with and diverges from evangelical perspectives. Along with William R. Baker (editor) and Mark Noll (who wrote the Foreword), contributors include Tom Alexander, Jim Baird, Craig L. Blomberg, Jack Cottrell, Everett Ferguson, Stanley J. Grenz, John Mark Hicks, Gary Holloway, H. Wayne House, Robert C. Kurka, Robert Lowery, Edward P. Myers and Jon A. Weatherly. For all concerned with Christian unity and the restoration of the church, Evangelicalism & the Stone-Campbell Movement offers a substantive starting point for dialogue and discussion.

"The historian", Henry James said, "essentially wants more documents than he can really use". Indeed, the documents provide context and content, without which meaningful recounting of history may be impossible. Where documents are lacking, history becomes the telling of educated guesses and informed theories based on the mute testimony of whatever artifacts, if any, are available. There is, however, no lack of documentation for the ongoing "Fundamentalist-Moderate Controversy" in the Southern Baptist Convention. In fact, disciplined selection is necessary to keep this collection within manageable limits. The present selection is excellent: all sides are represented and the events of the ongoing SBC "holy war" are replayed by the news releases, sermons and addresses, motions and resolutions through which those events originally were played out. The documents have been changed only to fit these pages. This is not all the story, but it is a good part of the story of a people called Southern Baptists. It is a story we all need to know and remember. We cannot undo or redo what has been done. We can learn from what has happened. What is history for? Not just for the historian, but for all of us, these primary and key "documents of the controversy" tell the story. Walter Shurden's overview and introductions along with his annotated chronology set the stage, reminding us where we were when. Then the reporters and preachers, the movers and shakers, the principals and sometimes even pawns go to "Action!" and tell the story in their own words, which, after all, is the way it happened.

This is a reprint of the original 1845 book about the scriptural legitimacy of slavery. ""Domestic Slavery"" originated in the nineteenth century as a literary debate between two Baptist leaders over the Bible's teachings on slavery. The chapters were originally letters published in a Baptist newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts. Southern pastor Richard Fuller and Northern educator Francis Wayland were each able defenders of their respective positions. These men were also good friends who believed that a difference of opinion about slavery should not necessitate a breaking of Christian fellowship. Unfortunately, these two Baptists leaders proved naive in this regard. Just weeks after the publication of the correspondence in book form, Fuller's Southern Baptist Convention broke away from the larger Baptist denomination and formed a new ecclesiastical body. A number of issues factored into the division, though the slavery debate was what ultimately led to the creation of a separate Baptist denomination in the South. Historians of Southern religion consider ""Domestic Slavery"" to be one of the major contributions to the nineteenth-century debate over the peculiar institution. This critical edition of ""Domestic Slavery"", which includes annotations and an appendix of related documents, represents the first reprint of this important work to be published since the mid-nineteenth century. Scholars of Southern culture and religious history will benefit from a close examination of what was undoubtedly the most significant Baptist contribution to the slavery debate in the years leading to the Civil War.

How do Filipino Baptists who sing in English, quote from James Dobson, and download sermon illustrations from Alabama understand themselves, and their faith, as "local?" Comparing four congregations of Southern Baptists in the Philippines, Howell argues that Christianity "becomes" a local context as aspects of daily life are brought together with the obviously borrowed elements of the faith. This book moves away from the split of "global" and "local" to find out how Southern Baptists are able to create a "transcendent locality." Told in rich ethnographic detail, "Christianity in the Local Context" argues that Filipino Baptists are actively constructing themselves in terms of a global faith that they have made their own.