Baptist History in England and America

In his Baptist History in England and America, David Beale illuminates numerous topics, including Baptist origins, their search for the ancient manner of immersion, and even the way they acquired the name Baptist. His book annotates key beliefs and practices in Baptist confessions of faith. Multiple chapters describe persecutions Baptists suffered, and contributions they made toward religious freedom and liberty of conscience. Striking a balance between brief and exhaustive, the author aims to inspire and to encourage, as well as to inform, in a precise and accurate manner. He provides in-depth coverage of numerous topics never mentioned in average surveys. Beale refutes the oft-repeated charge that key Baptist leaders were once Seekers, Levellers, Ranters, and Fifth Monarchists. The book is unique in the extent of its usage of local church records and numerous manuscripts in libraries at home and abroad. David Beale taught Baptist History (college and seminary) twice a year for thirty years at Bob Jones University and Seminary. Currently residing in Simpsonville, SC, he is active in his local church and dedicates his time to writing, speaking in churches, and conducting academic modules and seminars.

Table of Contents
Dedicated
Contents
Preface
Part I: Preliminary Essentials
1. Introductory Essays on Our Baptist Heritage

Part II: English General Baptists to the New Connection
2. The English Separatist Roots of General Baptists
3. General Baptist Beginnings: Thomas Helwys to Thomas Grantham
4. General Baptist Doctrinal Decline and the Rise of the New Connection

Part III:English Particular Baptists to the Down Grade Controversy
5. The Politico-Religious Landscape of the Earliest Particular Baptist Churches
6. Three Key Baptist Leaders: Hanserd Knollys, William Kiffin, and Benjamin Keach
7. Particular Baptist Confessions of Faith
8. John Gill and the Modern Question: The Emergence of Antinomianism
9. The Rise of Evangelical Calvinism: Life of Andrew Fuller to the Prayer Call of 1784
10. William Carey: His Life and Ministry
11. Charles Spurgeon: His Life and Ministry

Part IV: Baptists in America
12. Roger Williams and John Clarke - Founders of the First Two Baptist Churches in America and Co-Founders of Rhode Island
13.Seventeenth-Century Baptists in Massachusetts

14. William Screven, Elias Keach, and Morgan Edwards: Church Planting, Expansion, and Higher Education
15. The Separate Baptists: Struggle for Religious Freedom in North Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia
16. Isaac Backus, John Leland, and Their Associates: Final Steps toward Religious Liberty
17. Pioneer Missionaries: Adoniram Judson, Luther Rice, and John Mason Peck
18. Northern Baptist Seminaries and the Rise of Theological Liberalism
19. The Rise and Development of Baptist Fundamentalism
20. The Southern Baptist Convention: Its Strong Foundation, Rise of Liberalism, and Conservative Resurgence

Part V: Sources for Baptist Ecclesiology
21. Additional Tools and Resources

Appendix A: Reconciling Old Style - New Style Calendar Dates
Appendix B:Overview of Free Will Baptists in America
Appendix C: Travel Guide to Historical Baptist Sites in England, Wales, and America

Index