Snapshots from my library 14 – Jim Curran

Jim CurranBaptist Church History

January 5 at 9:30 AM  · Snapshots from my library 14- filteringAs I proceed further in this series I thought perhaps this was a good time to make a couple of comments how we should filter as we read. I make sure as I go through that any book that might need a little bit of note of caution is warranted. We ought to always have that caution as we read any book. For example older commentaries are often off on their Ecclesiology and Eschatology. Consider Barnes Notes for example on the witnesses in Revelation 11:7-11 where the entire world sees the two witnesses killed. Barnes considered this inconceivable and explains it away whereas God knew what he was talking about all those years ago and we see today that that is very possible. Similarly today many look at the promise that God would preserve his church (Math 16:18, Eph 3:21, Math 28:19-20) with similar suspicion because of the efforts of William Whittsit which cast doubt (although thoroughly refuted by many) upon this. (For more information look at the frequently asked questions under Topics) I will not review books that are fully under this Whitsitt umbrella (such as Torbet or Vedder although I found copies for $2 at a thrift store) I have read them and can refute the ideas within them. Where the filtering must come in are the more localized Baptist histories such as a state history. Some are prefaced by a chapter in Whitsitt theory. However there is invaluable history later on individual churches, associations and individual biographies. We just have to filter.A second area that we have to filter is secular focused histories. Sometimes for particular eras such as the Medieval period much of the information that you will find is an academic history. Many are quite biased in favor of the Catholics but there are some such as Massacre at Mountsegur which are much more balanced. Again we have to filter. In the case of the pro-Catholic material we even need to “translate” for example to not be married in the Catholic church (instead married by their preachers) meant the the couple was living in sin and that the group practiced sexual license. (I would argue that the dualism leveled against many groups was a result of them rightly accusing the Catholics of being the Whore of Babylon and being of the devil. This resulted in the Catholics, assured in their wrong position, to accuse them of worshiping another God) There are biographies of Baptist figures that have been written by academics. Sometimes in the case of figures such as missionary to the Cherokees Evan Jones they are the only thing out there. These biographies vary widely in their understanding and sympathy to their subject. An Indian Caanan for example about Isaac McCoy misses in not understanding his motivation in the Gospel. Another that I have about J.M. Peck is very much on the opposite side and simply articulates all of the history including Peck’s diaries which show his love for the Lord. There are other more general books such as Sweet’s books on religion on the American frontier that are very objective and fair in their analysis. When we read all of these secular histories we always have to filter and realize that they will not always be right but can contain valuable information we can find nowhere else.This all being said always remember to filter whatever we read through the light of Scripture. He promised never to leave us or forsake us.Added by Admin Team#bookr