Benjamin Keach and the Development of Baptist Traditions in Seventeenth-century England

Benjamin Keach and the Development of Baptist Traditions in Seventeenth-century England PDF Author: David A. Copeland
Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
This study traces one of the major groups of English religious dissenters by studying the life and controversies surrounding one of the group's principal figures. As the acknowledged leader of Baptists from around 1675 to his death in 1704, Keach helped establish many of the theological positions of Baptists. His greatest accomplishment was the reintroduction of congregational hymn-singing among English Protestants. This look at Baptists and dissenters of 17th-century England is based on Keach's 35 books and pamphlets, as well as the writings of those who opposed him.

Benjamin Keach and the Development of Baptist Traditions in Seventeenth-century England

Benjamin Keach and the Development of Baptist Traditions in Seventeenth-century England PDF Author: David A. Copeland
Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
This study traces one of the major groups of English religious dissenters by studying the life and controversies surrounding one of the group's principal figures. As the acknowledged leader of Baptists from around 1675 to his death in 1704, Keach helped establish many of the theological positions of Baptists. His greatest accomplishment was the reintroduction of congregational hymn-singing among English Protestants. This look at Baptists and dissenters of 17th-century England is based on Keach's 35 books and pamphlets, as well as the writings of those who opposed him.

The Excellent Benjamin Keach

The Excellent Benjamin Keach PDF Author: Austin Walker
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781894400633
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 496

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Book Description
Ministering during turbulent times for Nonconformists, Benjamin Keach endured both persecution for his faith and rich blessing on his ministry. Arriving in London in 1668, Keach soon became pastor of a church in Southwark, on the south bank of the Thames, later known as the Metropolitan Tabernacle (where Charles Spurgeon was eventually to pastor). His extensive writings-including sermons, poetry, hymns, apologetics and treatises against theological errors-alongside his preaching ministry, made Keach one of the key Particular Baptist leaders of his day. His friends included Hercules Collins, William Kiffin, Hanserd Knollys, Henry Forty and Joseph Stennett. The Excellent Benjamin Keach is a major study of his life and thought and provides insight into the ecclesiastical and political turmoil of seventeenth-century England. Keach's solid character, integrity and Christian graces enabled him to defend scriptural truths while avoiding personal attacks. He is particularly known for his vigorous defence of the singing of hymns in church, the laying on of hands and the doctrine of justification by faith alone. His preaching was marked by fervency and zeal, for he said, "cold and lifeless preaching, makes cold hearing." Keach encouraged his hearers to flee to Christ for salvation, assuring them there was sufficient mercy at the cross for the worst of sinners. For believers, Keach encouraged them to love the truth, to get it deep into their affections, so that they could "show themselves bold and courageous in the cause and interest of God, and their souls." This is a book to invigorate your love for God and his Word. It will challenge you to stand boldly with holy men and women of the past, as you seek to live faithfully for Christ in the present day.

Hymns and Hymnody: Historical and Theological Introductions, Volume 2

Hymns and Hymnody: Historical and Theological Introductions, Volume 2 PDF Author: Mark A. Lamport
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532651279
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Hymns and the music the church sings in worship are tangible means of expressing worship. And while worship is one of, if not the central functions of the church along with mission, service, education, justice, and compassion, and occupies a prime focus of our churches, a renewed sense of awareness to our theological presuppositions and cultural cues must be maintained to ensure a proper focus in worship. Hymns and Hymnody: Historical and Theological Introductions is a sixty-chapter, three-volume introductory textbook describing the most influential hymnists, liturgists, and musical movements of the church. This academically grounded resource evaluates both the historical and theological perspectives of the major hymnists and composers who have impacted the church over the course of twenty centuries. Volume 1 explores the early church and concludes with the Renaissance era hymnists. Volume 2 begins with the Reformation and extends to the eighteenth-century hymnists and liturgists. Volume 3 engages nineteenth century hymnists to the contemporary movements of the twenty-first century. Each chapter contains these five elements: historical background, theological perspectives communicated in their hymns/compositions, contribution to liturgy and worship, notable hymns, and bibliography. The mission of Hymns and Hymnody is (1) to provide biographical data on influential hymn writers for students and interested laypeople, and (2) to provide a theological analysis of what these composers have communicated in the theology of their hymns. We believe it is vital for those involved in leading the worship of the church to recognize that what they communicate is in fact theology. This latter aspect, we contend, is missing--yet important--in accessible formats for the current literature.

A Catholic Reformed Theologian

A Catholic Reformed Theologian PDF Author: D. B. Riker
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1608994511
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
This study demonstrates that Benjamin Keach, the most important Baptist figure of the seventeenth century, was a catholic Reformed theologian. This is done by investigating his relationship with the tradition of the church, his interaction with federalism, and his concept of baptism. Dr Riker presents Keach, and thus the Baptist tradition, in a new way: not as a "Calvinist" but as part of the broad Reformed family. Secondly, believer's baptism, the rite from which the Baptists derive their name, is systematically scrutinized over against pedobaptism. In so doing, Riker presents every argument, strong or weak, that was used in the sixteenth- and seventeenth- century debates, and their respective refutation by a Baptist. "In these days of ecumenical rapprochement, it is important to retrace the origins of different theological traditions and see how they relate to the wider Christian world. Benjamin Keach was a Baptist theologian who drew on both Catholic and Reformed principles and Dr. Riker has ably demonstrated how he must be classified as belonging to both those traditions. This book helps us to put believers' baptism in context and is an important contribution to inter-church dialogue in our own time."---Gerald Bray Director of Research, Latimer Trust, Cambridge, UK, and Research Professor, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University "Making use of fresh perspectives on the history of the church in the late medieval and early modern eras, this new study of the most important Baptist theologian of the late seventeenth century capably demonstrates both Keach's catholicity and his profoundly Reformed convictions. As such, this excellent study helps orient contemporary Baptist thought as to its place in the larger Christian tradition and the inadequacy of the church-sect model as a way of explaining the Baptist past. Riker has helped restore Keach to his significant role as one of the key shapers of Baptist life and thought Highly recommended." ---Michael A. G. Haykin Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary "Dr. Riker's book challenges any assumption that English Nonconformity was uninterested in the church's tradition and history. It makes a significant contribution to a growing body of scholarship that highlights the connections between the work of the Reformed thinkers such as Keach and the theology of the patristic and medieval eras." ---Nick Thompson Lecturer in Church History, School of Divinity, History and Philosophy, University of Aberdeen

Bodies of Belief

Bodies of Belief PDF Author: Janet Moore Lindman
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 9780812206760
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
The American Baptist church originated in British North America as "little tabernacles in the wilderness," isolated seventeenth-century congregations that had grown into a mainstream denomination by the early nineteenth century. The common view of this transition casts these evangelicals as radicals who were on society's fringe during the colonial period, only to become conservative by the nineteenth century after they had achieved social acceptance. In Bodies of Belief, Janet Moore Lindman challenges this accepted, if oversimplified, characterization of early American Baptists by arguing that they struggled with issues of equity and power within the church during the colonial period, and that evangelical religion was both radical and conservative from its beginning. Bodies of Belief traces the paradoxical evolution of the Baptist religion, including the struggles of early settlement and church building, the varieties of theology and worship, and the multivalent meaning of conversation, ritual, and godly community. Lindman demonstrates how the body—both individual bodies and the collective body of believers—was central to the Baptist definition and maintenance of faith. The Baptist religion galvanized believers through a visceral transformation of religious conversion, which was then maintained through ritual. Yet the Baptist body was differentiated by race and gender. Although all believers were spiritual equals, white men remained at the top of a rigid church hierarchy. Drawing on church books, associational records, diaries, letters, sermon notes, ministerial accounts, and early histories from the mid-Atlantic and the Chesapeake as well as New England, this innovative study of early American religion asserts that the Baptist religion was predicated simultaneously on a radical spiritual ethos and a conservative social outlook.

"I Will Sing the Wondrous Story"

Author: David W. Music
Publisher: Mercer University Press
ISBN: 9780865549487
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 664

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Book Description
Baptists have a long and rich heritage of congregational song. The hymns Baptists have sung and the books from which they have sung them have been shaping forces for Baptist theology, worship, and piety. Baptist authors and composers have provided songs that have made an impact not only among Baptists in America but also across denominational and geographic lines. Congregational singing continues to be a key component of Baptist worship in the twenty-first century. Beginning with an overview of the British background, this book is a survey of the history of Baptist hymnody in America from Baptist beginnings in the New World to the present. Its intent is to help the reader better understand the background against which current Baptist congregational song practices operate. Unlike earlier writings on the subject, this book provides both comprehensive coverage and a continuous narrative. It gives thorough attention to the major Baptist bodies in America as well as calling attention to the contributions of significant smaller groups. The British Baptist background is dealt with in an introductory section. The book also includes many texts and tunes as illustrations of the topics being discussed and focuses on some of the contributions of Baptist authors and composers to the repertory of congregational song. Book jacket.

Pure Worship

Pure Worship PDF Author: Matthew Ward
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 162564213X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
Baptists are not often thought of as leading theologians and practitioners of worship. But forgotten in history is one crucial fact: the Baptist tradition formed out of a desire to worship God purely. Early Baptists devoted immense energy to questions of worship and drew conclusions of even contemporary value. Through the seismic liturgical shifts of English society in the seventeenth century, worship was both their most galvanizing and disintegrating impulse. As time passed and terminology changed and Baptists shied away from this divisive topic, this emphasis was lost. No one today considers worship a Baptist distinctive. Pure Worship re-creates the fascinating historical context of the early years of the English Baptists. Examining many thousands of manuscript pages, Matthew Ward pieces together an entire theology of worship that not only guided the early Baptists but also attracted the attention of many elements of English Christianity. Baptist thoughts on worship were neither minor nor tangential but the very heart of what distinguished them from the rest of England. Pure Worship offers a complete reenvisioning of what it meant to be an early Baptist and reveals their overwhelming desire to be known as pure worshippers of God.

Baptist Theology

Baptist Theology PDF Author: James Leo Garrett
Publisher: Mercer University Press
ISBN: 9780881461299
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 776

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Book Description
This title offers a comprehensive analysis of Baptist theology. Embracing in one common trajectory the major Baptist confessions of faith, the major Baptist theologians, and the principal Baptist theological movements and controversies, this book spans four centuries of Baptist doctrinal history. Acknowledging first the pre-1609 roots (patristic, medieval, and Reformational) of Baptist theology, it examines the Arminian versus Calvinist issues that were first expressed by the General Baptists and the Particular Baptists; that dominated English and American Baptist theology during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from Helwys and Smyth and from Bunyan and Kiffin to Gill, Fuller, Backus, and Boyce; and, that were quickened by the 'awakenings' and the missionary movement. Concurrently there were the Baptist defense of the Baptist distinctives vis-a-vis the pedobaptist world and the unfolding of a strong Baptist confessional tradition. Then during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the liberal versus evangelical issues became dominant with Hovey, Strong, Rauschenbusch, and Henry in the North and Mullins, Conner, Hobbs, and Criswell in the South even as a distinctive Baptist Landmarkism developed, the discipline of biblical theology was practiced and a structured ecumenism was pursued. Missiology both impacted Baptist theology and took it to all the continents, where it became increasingly indigenous. Conscious that Baptists belong to the free churches and to the believers' churches, a new generation of Baptist theologians at the advent of the twenty-first century appears somewhat more Calvinist than Arminian and decidedly more evangelical than liberal.

Reading Children in Early Modern Culture

Reading Children in Early Modern Culture PDF Author: Edel Lamb
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319703595
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
This book is a study of children, their books and their reading experiences in late sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Britain. It argues for the importance of reading to early modern childhood and of childhood to early modern reading cultures by drawing together the fields of childhood studies, early modern literature and the history of reading. Analysing literary representations of children as readers in a range of genres (including ABCs, prayer books, religious narratives, romance, anthologies, school books, drama, translations and autobiography) alongside evidence of the reading experiences of those defined as children in the period, it explores the production of different categories of child readers. Focusing on the ‘good child’ reader, the youth as consumer, ways of reading as a boy and as a girl, and the retrospective recollection of childhood reading, it sheds new light on the ways in which childhood and reading were understood and experienced in the period.

The Reformed Theology of Benjamin Keach (1640-1704)

The Reformed Theology of Benjamin Keach (1640-1704) PDF Author: Jonathan W. Arnold
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781907600005
Category : Baptists
Languages : en
Pages : 365

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Book Description