Lemuel Haynes and the Call of the Minister
Under the influence of Georg Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx, modern historians lost their faith in the ability of the individual to effect change or to make decisions that were not manipulated by invisible social pressures. Instead, historians began to describe historical change as the competition of social groups based on class, race, gender, or sexuality. The group-identity and competition approach to history is most cynical and...
Nine Early Baptist Texts on Religious Toleration Everyone Should Read
by Jesse Owens and Jake Stone One of the hallmarks of early English Baptists is their defense of religious toleration. I (Jesse) have argued in previous essays (here and here) that early Baptist arguments for religious toleration were neither dependent on Enlightenment ideals nor were they accidental to Baptist theology. These two points are closely related. First, early Baptist arguments for religious toleration were not dependent...
Recommended Books (Spring 2023)
Reading allows us to consult the broader wisdom of mankind as it works out ideas and beliefs in specific circumstances and reports back on the results. Authors from vastly different times and places can give us insight into the issues of our day, providing much-needed counsel to help us be wise as serpents. Below, you will find reading suggestions from our group that come from a wide range of disciplines and topics. We think these...
Jesus Is Glorious and His Glory Is for the Nations
by Daniel Speer In my last essay, I argued that the glory of Christ is at the heart of the missio Dei, and, thus, our work in missions. Unfortunately, many have forgotten the true nature of their callings and have embraced sociologically based growth models and watered-down doctrine to achieve numerical results while ignoring the importance of developing true Christian discipleship. In this essay, we will look to see how...
A Broader Understanding of God’s Mission
by Daniel Speer The Church is called to serve God with excellence in all of life. The entirety of our stewardship over creation is part of our duty to God. Our family life, literary engagement, political thinking, and media usage are all part of the ministry of God’s cosmic kingdom. The spread of the gospel at home and abroad is also part of that work. As such, missions should receive the same careful reflective attention that we call...
Christianity and Liberalism at 100 Years
In 1922, Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) preached a sermon entitled “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?” at the First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York.[1] In the decade prior to Fosdick’s sermon, Americans had suffered through the First World War, and American Protestants (particularly the Baptists and Presbyterians) were amid the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy. Fosdick’s “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?” was a call for...
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