Historical Dictionary of the Baptists

by William H. Brackney

Publisher:

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

, 2021

Baptists are a major group of Christians with a worldwide presence. Originating in the English Puritan-Separatist tradition of the 17th century, Baptists proliferated in North America, and through missionary work from England, Europe, and North America, they have established churches, associations, unions, missions, and alliances in virtually every country. They are among the most highly motivated evangelists of the Christian gospel, employing at present in excess of 7,000 domestic and overseas missionaries. Important characteristics of the Baptists across their history are: the authority of the Scriptures, individual accountability before God, the priority of religious experience, religious liberty, separation of church and state, congregational independence, and a concern for the social implications of the gospel. Baptists recognize a twofold ministry (deacons and pastors) or a threefold order (deacons, elders, pastors).

Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Third Edition expands upon the second edition with an updated chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on important events, doctrines, and the church founders, leaders, and other prominent figures who have made notable contributions.

Praise for Historical Dictionary of the Baptists

The Baptist tradition may be the most diverse of all Protestant Christian traditions. It spans the theological spectrum from conservative to liberal and boasts a worldwide constituency, with most of its strength historically in North America. This single-volume Historical Dictionary of the Baptists covers the breadth of the tradition and is an impressive work. Written by prolific Baptist historian William Brackney (historical theology and ethics, Acadia Univ., Canada), the first edition of this work appeared in 1999, and the second edition arrived ten years later. This expanded third edition brings this useful tool up to date. Whereas most dictionaries of this scope are edited works with entries from numerous authors, Brackney is the sole author of this work, and he has done a masterful job of selecting topics from across the worldwide Baptist spectrum. The breadth of the volume is evident in the inclusion of the less-known entities in Baptist history—see, for example, the 17th-century “Leg of Mutton Baptists” (p. 355). Clergy, laity, and scholars will all find the new edition of this dictionary valuable. Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers.

Product Details

• Title: Historical Dictionary of the Baptists
• Author: William H. Brackney
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Print Publication Date: 2021
• Logos Release Date: 2022
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781538122525, 1538122529
• Resource ID: LLS:9781538122525
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T09:07:49Z

About William H. Brackney

Dr. William Brackney came to Acadia in July, 2006. He brought a wealth of scholarly, ministry, and administrative experience to his appointment as the first Millard R. Cherry Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics at Acadia. Previously Dr. Brackney taught at Houghton College, Colgate Rochester Divinity School, and Eastern Baptist Seminary where he held the chair in the History of Christianity that his mentor, Norman H. Maring, had occupied. Dr. Brackney was Vice President and Dean at Eastern, later becoming the Principal of McMaster Divinity College in 1988. At McMaster he assumed the professorial rank of professor of historical theology and as a member of the Faculty of Theology, he was also dean of that university faculty. Dr. Brackney’s work was soon recognized in the Toronto School of Theology where he was elected a member of both the historical and theological area faculties of graduate studies at TST. In 2000 Dr. Brackney became the chair of the Department of Religion at Baylor University and an adjunct faculty member of the George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor. He began the Program in Baptist Studies at Baylor that eventually produced a dozen doctoral graduates. For many years, Brackney has been a student of post-Reformation Protestant Thought, including the life and thought of the Baptists and the Radical Reformation. Dr. Brackney has also done major work in the area of human rights and global ethics from a Free Church perspective, producing the five volume Human Rights and the World’s Major Religions. In Canada he has served on the national boards of the Canadian Council of Churches, the Church’s Council on Theological Education, the Canadian Bible Society, and InterVarsity Canada. He is an ordained Baptist minister who frequently serves in pastoral ministry, most recently, the Blue Ridge Baptist Church in Falls County, Texas, fifth oldest in the state. Brackney’s graduate students include professors at colleges and theological schools as well as an array of missionaries and pastors in various denominations. He has mentored over thirty doctoral theses and dissertations and is currently heavily invested in the M.A. program at Acadia. Dr. Brackney is married to Kathryn, an artist, and they have two sons and a daughter and reside in the historic Gaspereau Valley.