At Liberty Under God Toward a Baptist Ecclesiology

by Mask, Jeffrey E.

• ISBN13: 9780761808985
• ISBN10: 0761808981
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-12-04
• Publisher: UPA

Summary

This work surveys Baptist history from its origins in seventeeth-century England until its transplanting to North America. The historical survey continues in America with attention to the formation of denominational structures and church practice. Four elements of ecclesiology are highlighted: community, individuality, particularity, and universality. The final chapter unites these themes as polarities that must be held together in order to present a Baptist conception of the church as the Body of Christ. The image is developed briefly for social application.

Table of Contents

Preface	v
Chapter One The Church in Recent Baptist Theology in the United States	1	(28)
Critical Studies	2	(4)
Baptist Theological Literature of the Nineteenth Century	6	(14)
Baptist Theological Literature in the Twentieth Century	20	(9)
Chapter Two The Roots of a Baptist Ecclesiology in America	29	(36)
Historical Context: From Henry VIII to William and Mary	30	(14)
Baptist Confessions of Faith from Charles I to William and Mary	44	(14)
Comparative Analysis	58	(7)
Chapter Three Baptist Ecclesiology in the New World	65	(42)
Elements from the English Confessions	66	(9)
The Regulars and the Separates in the New World	75	(19)
The Subsequent Effects of the Separate Tradition	94	(10)
Concluding Analysis	104	(3)
Chapter Four Universality and Particularity under the Sovereignty of God	107	(14)
The Issues at Stake in Universality and Particularity	108	(6)
A Dialectic of Universality and Particularity	114	(7)
Chapter Five Individuality and Community: Freedom of Conscience under the Freedom of God	121	(22)
Issues at Stake in Individuality and Community	122	(11)
A Dialectic of Individuality and Community	133	(10)
Chapter Six The Church: The Body of the Christ	143	(42)
A Preliminary Definition of the Church	145	(2)
Selecting a Primary Image of the Church for a Baptist Perspective	147	(8)
Interpreting the Image with an Eye to Practical Topics	155	(24)
A Regenerate Church Membership	156	(5)
Voluntary Association	161	(4)
Polity and the Practice of Power and Tolerance	165	(5)
Practical Unity and Denominational Structures	170	(6)
The Mission and Ministry of the Church	176	(3)
A Comprehensive Statement of a Baptist Conception of the Church	179	(6)
Bibliography	185	(24)
Index	209