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?Demonstrating an intimate familiarity with the sources, Dean Brackney here presents a sprightly thematic treatment of the Baptist tradition.' This is followed by a major biographical directory that gives bone and sinew to the preceding discussion. All of that, together with notes, bibliographical essay, and helpful chronological chart, erects an imposing, yet inviting edifice." Edwin S. Gaustad Professor University of California, Riversde "Number 2 in Greenwood's Denominations in America, The Baptists was written by W.H. Brackney. . . . It is divided into two parts: The Baptist Tradition and A Biographical Dictionary of Baptist Leaders. Six chpaters in the first part deal with these major topics: an overview of Baptist history, the Church's controversial position on the Bible, basic Church doctrine in America through the centuries, its sacraments/ordinances or "signs of faith," the voluntary spirit "at the very heart of the Baptist self-understanding," and a history of the struggle for religious liberty. Under the second part are a chronology of events from 1609 through 1979, listings of the denominations on the continents with the number of churchs and memberships figures, and a bibliograhic essay. Index. An excellent historical reference on the subject. Recommended for extensive reference collections on religion.?-Reference Book Review
About the author
William H. Brackney is The Millard R. Cherry Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Acadia Divinity College, and a member of the Faculty of Theology in Acadia University in Nova Scotia, Canada.
WILLIAM H. BRACKNEY is Principal and Professor of Historical Theology at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. The author of four books and contributor to numerous scholarly publications in Baptist and North American religious history, Dr. Brackney is Chairman of the Division of Study and Research of the Baptist World Alliance. His education includes degrees from the University of Maryland, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Temple University, where he received his doctorate in history and religion.
William H. Brackney is Professor in and Chair of the Department of Religion at Baylor University. His books include The Baptists (Greenwood, 1988), Christian Voluntarism in Britain and North America (Greenwood, 1992), Christian Voluntarism: Theology and Praxis (1997), Pilgrim Pathways (1998), and Historical Dictionary of the Baptists (1999).
