Introduction; Part I. Foundations: 1. The primal shaping processes of the global Baptist movement; Part II. Age of Emerging Baptist Denominational Traditions, 1600–1792: 2. Seeds for diversity amid an early Anglo prevalence; Part III. The Frontier Age, 1792–1890: 3. Baptists' frontier age in the British Empire; 4. Baptists' frontier age in the United States; 5. Baptists' frontier age in the European continent, Africa, Asia, and Latin America; Part IV. The Age of Proliferating Traditioning Sources, 1890–Present: 6. Baptists' evolving traditioning sources in Africa, Asia, and Oceania; 7. Baptists' evolving traditioning sources in Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Eurasia; 8. Baptists' evolving traditioning sources in North America; Part V. Beliefs and Practices: 9. Baptists' beliefs and practices.
This work offers insight into the diversity, breadth, and complexity of the cultural influences that shaped Baptist identity.
Robert E. Johnson is currently Professor of Christian Heritage and Academic Dean at the Central Baptist Theological Seminary. He has also taught at the Faculdade Teológica Batista de São Paulo, Brazil, and the Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the editor of American Baptist Quarterly and the author of numerous scholarly articles.
'Rarely does a historical study encompass the whole world, but
Robert E. Johnson has achieved that goal in his account of the
beginning and development of Baptist life in various lands. He sees
the movement as culturally diverse, even in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries; stresses the female part in the evolution of
the denomination; and sets the emergence of the Baptists in their
socio-politico-cultural setting. Here is a new perspective on
Baptist identity for the twenty-first century.' David Bebbington,
University of Stirling, Scotland
'The first detailed study on the diversity of the varied cultural
influences that shape Baptist identity and the global elements of
the Baptist tradition, this book is also an extremely fair-minded
discussion of the interpretations and issues involved. All who read
the book will realize that the global role of the Baptist movement
in the postmodern world is part of tomorrow's news, not simply
yesterday's history. The book is indispensable for its honest
labors and the vast stuff of global Baptist history it makes
accessible. It should find a global and responsive readership.'
Joshua Wai-Tung Cho, Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary
'A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches is a mine of useable
information for the Baptist theological student, pastor, and church
administrator and is a fitting complement to every local and
general Baptist history present on the market. At the same time,
its ecumenical importance must not be overlooked. This work is an
indispensable global introduction to the Baptist churches and also
an invaluable insight into Baptist understandings of the catholic
faith, as the apostolic faith has been understood, practised, and
communicated universally since the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries. Dr Johnson has left every church historian in his debt.'
Revd Horace O. Russell, DPhil, Palmer Theological Seminary
'A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches is a sweeping drama of
one of the most important religious movements in the world today.
The reader is ripped away from a tired Anglo-centric reading of
Baptist history and thrust into a breathtaking vista of polycentric
movements around the world. Dr Johnson, having immersed himself
into so many Baptist histories, is now the leading authority on
worldwide Baptists. His book is required reading, not only for
those interested in Baptist history, but for anyone who seeks to
capture the broad panorama of the new history of global
Christianity.' Timothy Tseng, President and Executive Director,
Institute for the Study of Asian American Christianity
'This volume not only is a comprehensive study, historically and
theologically, of the Baptist family around the world but also
explores such often overlooked issues as identity and
relationships. The work places Baptist bodies in their
sociopolitical environment and provides valuable material on such
matters as the role of women as well as the indigenous character of
Baptist bodies outside the matrix of the Anglo-American world.'
Albert Wardin, Professor of History Emeritus, Belmont University
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