Bill J. Leonard

"...one could even question the advisability of attempting a single volume history of Baptists. It seems to be one of those things you can't live with or without. Everything about Baptists could not be told in 4250 pages, much less 425. But someone must try, because that's as far as some will ever explore the landscape of Baptist history. Better that they get an overview than nothing at well. In addition to what Leonard reveals about Baptists in the book, the book reveals something about his passions (missions and education), his priorities (ecumenism) and his prejudices (separatism, landmarkism). Despite a few reservations, I recommend that the lover of Baptist history add this book to his or her library. Students, teachers, and pastors will find Baptist Ways to be a useful tool. In the end we may all learn with Edwin Gaustad that "It is true that Baptists embrace religious liberty -- in their best days for all of humankind. It is also true that Baptists embody religious liberty -- in their worst days in the unending multiplicity of denominational tags and labels and nicknames."
Excerpt from my comments here: http://baptistsearch.blogspot.com/2008/01/baptist-ways-opinion.html… (more)