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Download Democratic Religion Freedom Authority and Church Discipline in the Baptist South 17851900 Religion in America Gregory A Wills Books

Product details Series Religion in America Paperback 208 pages Publisher Oxford University Press (March 13, 2003) Language English ISBN-10 0195160991

Democratic Religion Freedom Authority and Church Discipline in the Baptist South 17851900 Religion in America Gregory A Wills Books Reviews

• Great info, but a bit of a burdensome read. Some of the language feels old and author likes to use heavy\big\uncommon vernacular a lot. But again, the info and presentation is great. Just wish an editor had helped more
• Helpful and illuminating history of the Southern Baptist denomination's astute conviction for church discipline. Dr. Wills' analysis of Southern Baptist democratic religion was extremely helpful in giving me a better context for denominational polity and the moral/theological erosion of SB denomination with the increase of urbanization and bombardments of a pervasively progressive culture.
• Good historical information and some interesting tidbits and accounts from early American church life. If you are into lots of statistical information you will love this book...but if not, you will find it tedious.
• Dr. Greg Wills has produced an important work documenting how Baptist churches in the South functioned between 1785-1900. If you are interested in the topic, especially how gender and race affected church governance or how church discipline was carried out, then grab a copy of this book.
  
  My one warning is that you shouldn't expect this to be a page-turner. Wills has tediously documented this data by pouring through the minutes of church business meetings from the time period, and the work reflects that. It is a lot of numbers and dates and at times seems repetitive, but Dr. Wills is documenting the evidence that he found through what I can only imagine was a ton of man hours. Expect this going in and enjoy the book for what it is and you will find it very helpful
• Great product, thank you. I am glad for the opportunity to have come into contact with this item. Great seller.
• I believe that Willis wrote this book to explore the reasons for the Baptist church and where its identity was. When reading it, I felt that Willis has some ill will towards the Baptist denomination for its exclusivism and its tendency to discipline its members. I did not feel antagonism towards Baptists, but more of a negative view of how the church did what it did in discipline.
  
  I think as he moved on in the book, and as the church tolerated more and changed into a 21st century denomination, he likened up to the church more and more. At the end, his view of the Baptist church is a positive one and sees that its history was necessary for where the church is today. He wants his readers to see the good and the bad of church discipline and show where holding to those convictions take you. He respects the church in the end for holding to their guns on freedom, authority, and discipline, even if those are different from what they were in the 18th century.
  
  In his own way, he wanted to dispel the notion that the Baptist church and its beliefs is archaic and has no right to be in the discussion. He does a good job explaining why the Baptist church holds to its beliefs and why they do not sway on certain issues.
• The research in this book is impressive and makes for a fascinating read. Wills argues that the Baptists in the south resisted the influence of modernism and maintained the purity of their churches by practicing biblical church discipline.
  
  There are a lot of lessons to be learned from the book that have bearing on contemporary issues. These Baptists, like many churches today, had to battle against the temptation to do let pragmatism reign in ministry. The Baptists resisted for awhile but many ended up losing the battle in the early 20th century.
  
  Even if you don't like what these Baptists did, the book is informative and insightful.
• Great and useful book!