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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Christianity > Christian institutions & organizations > General
This empirical study explores how the sampled priests understand
their priesthood. Chris A. Fallon reviews Liverpool's history of
expansion and decline, which has left fewer and older priests
serving fewer active Catholics and an undiminished number who still
require baptisms, first communions, marriages and funerals. It
contrasts the models of priesthood found in Liverpool with American
studies of the cultic and servant leader models of priesthood,
taking into account the theological viewpoints and personality
profiles of the individuals who took part.
J. M. Carroll's excellent history of the Baptist church and
movement illustrates events over the centuries, with references to
a chart appended at the beginning of the book. First released in
1931, Carroll's superb church history attracted great praise for
successfully summarizing all major events and turning points in the
history of Baptism. The author sets out his work chronologically,
from the time Jesus Christ lived and died upon the cross in 25 - 35
A.D., to the initial manifestations of organised Christianity, its
growth during the Dark Ages, the Reformation, and finally the 19th
and 20th centuries. Named ""The trail of blood,"" for the amount of
hatred and persecution Baptists had endured over the ages, this
book sets out to demonstrate how Baptism grew from a small niche of
believers into an accepted movement firmly in the mainstream of
Christian faith. Carroll identifies and explains a number of
violent persecutions by the Roman Catholic Church, which disagreed
broadly with Baptist doctrine.
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