Southern Baptist history

In every society there are diverse conflicts in education primarily because of sectarian interests and variances in culture, religion, ethnicity, gender and politics. In general, the more diverse a society is, the greater the potential for conflicts. This is true of Trinidad and Tobago where a cacophony of differing identities, languages, religions and cultural practices can sometimes result in disharmony, disagreements and occasional disorder. Among the many issues, one of the most contentious in the education sector is that of a concordat (agreement) between the government and the Roman Catholic Church. Commonly referred to as 'The Concordat,' this 9-article document which was published on 25th December 1960, guarantees the Roman Catholic Church and its denominational board the right to the administration of their schools and the exclusive teaching of their tenants, beliefs and values. Having been adopted by other religious denominations, the Concordat is often the subject of discussions, articles, TV presentations, and even litigation. Many of these commentaries are made without proper reference to the historical and religious context of the document. This is unfortunate as serious discussion on any issue, especially a contentious one, must first begin with a thorough understanding of the root cause for its existence as "one cannot solve a problem without first examining its antecedent cause" (Dr. Hollis L. Green, 2010). This article aims to add value to the discourse by presenting the historical and religious context of the Concordat from the beginning of the modern education system until its publication just prior to Independence.

The New Testament scriptures abound in the teaching that Christ is the Savior of the church, his spiritual body.  However, unlike the first and second centuries, we live in a world of hundreds of churches all claiming allegiance to Christ.  How does one find his way to the church Jesus is the Savior of?  Is his church a collective of all the denominations?  This is a discussion that needs to be engaged in.

Effective worship leadership requires thorough preparation that goes beyond just song selection and rehearsal. It is a spiritual discipline, rooted in a deep understanding of the purpose of worship and the role of the worship leader. This chapter outlines a method for preparing to lead worship that is spiritually grounded, intentional, and focused on glorifying God. It emphasizes understanding the purpose of worship, the importance of prayer, aligning the worship experience with the theme of the service, choosing familiar songs, and diligent rehearsal. These steps ensure that worship leaders can guide congregations into meaningful encounters with God while fostering unity and engagement within the body of Christ.

When I visit this congregation with which I’ve had a long relationship,1 there are always two things in my mind—the big picture and the little picture. The big picture, for me, is my family’s fifty-plus-year relationship with this congregation. The little picture is what’s going on that particular day. For example, a few years ago I played the piano at their Christmas Eve services. That event, for me, was a snapshot within the big picture.

When I played for that Christmas Eve service, I wasn’t able to think about, let alone bask in, the big picture very much. Why? Because of the little picture—the task at hand. Because the songs had notes, chords, rhythm, and tempo. Imagine if I had played the wrong Christmas carol, in the wrong key, at the wrong tempo. And then, after the service, when people asked me what had happened, I simply said, “Hey, I was basking in the big picture, soaking in how cool it is to be here at my home church.”

This big-picture/little-picture scenario is an illustration for what we’re doing when we read and apply the Bible to our lives.

To put it plainly: In the Christian life we should try to be aware of the big trajectory that we’re on, and also aware of the small parts we play in it. And when we read the Bible, we read both to find out what their specific situation was, and also how they fit in with God’s big plan.

Mechanicsville, Alabama was an established settlement as early as the 1840s. There was a thriving mechanics shop that provided essential services to residents of the community during a time of intense growth and development. This machine shop and the skilled mechanics that
worked there almost certainly inspired the name of Mechanicsville. During its peak years the community also had a Post Office, a shoe shop, a general store, a tavern, a wagon factory, a gunsmith shop, a school and at least four churches.
One of the earliest residents in the Mechanicsville community was Reverend Cyrus White and his wife Verlinda Harvey White. In 1822 he and Reverend Jesse Mercer helped organize
the General Association of Baptists in Georgia. Reverend White traveled throughout Georgia preaching and was
a very popular speaker. In 1829 Reverend White published a pamphlet on atonement which was extremely controversial and not well received by Baptist leaders and ministers with strong Calvinist leanings. His pamphlet
sparked a heated doctrinal controversy that raged among the Baptists of Georgia in 1830. Eventually White and the churches that aligned themselves
with his teachings were disfellowshipped from the Georgia Baptists’ Ocmulgee Association. In “the winter of 1835 Mr. White and his wife and children emigrated from Georgia to Russell, now Lee County and settled near Mechanicsville.” In Alabama Reverend White was primarily known as a teacher rather
than a preacher. He established a school at Mechanicsville, and he also taught school in the Wacoochee Valley community. Many of the residents of the Mechanicsville community attended Mr. White’s school and remembered him as “a man of independent thought, indomitable mental energy and spiritual zeal.”11 Even though he was now a teacher his “spiritual zeal” was still evident in many ways. Reverend White organized Smyrna Baptist Church which was located one-mile northeast of Mechanicsville.

The paper contends that eschatology, specifically apocalyptic theology, shapes a vital influence in forming the Baptist movement—and most Evangelicals—theology in the Philippines. In the 1500s, Spain offered the Roman Catholic Christian faith to the Filipinos as a means of colonization. Likewise, after more than three centuries, American missionaries came and proclaimed Protestant Christianity—in the form of Evangelicalism, including the Baptist faith. These missionaries arrived with a colonizing mindset; hence, historically and theologically speaking, Filipino Baptists originated within a Western American evangelical context. While the above statement is valid, Indigenous narratives, experiences, and theologies require representations locally and globally. Hence, this paper offers a Filipino perspective of a historical sketch of the early stages of the Baptist movement in the Philippines as a prophetic fulfillment.

Moreover, the paper argues that the Baptist movement in the Philippines is rooted in eschatological, apocalyptic theology from the beginning to its recent developments. Initially, the paper introduces how Baptist missionaries—and Evangelicals—entered the Philippines with a colonial mindset. Next, it offers a brief historical religious background of the Philippines and a definition of a Filipino Baptist identity known as ‘Baptist Quadrilateral.’ In addition to this quadrilateral, the paper argues that eschatology is vital to Filipino Baptist identity. This final section presents how apocalyptic theology shaped the Baptist movement from its beginnings through this contemporary period.

On January 26, 1800, Johann Gerhard Oncken was born in Varel in northern Germany. Oncken was politically prudent, theologically sober, and at the same time a zealot for mission and evangelism. What is still astonishing about him today is not only the remarkable success of his missionary work, but also the fearless dignity with which he demanded respect for his congregations from the political and ecclesiastical establishment.

The Doctrine of Salvation—often called soteriology—is the cornerstone of Christian theology, focusing on how God rescues sinners from the consequences of sin and brings them into eternal life with Him. Rooted in Scripture, this doctrine explains the divine work of redemption, revealing how God's eternal plan of salvation is carried out through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and applied to the believer through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Bradbury on the duty and doctrine of baptism The first insight I gained into the artificial gospel of duty-baptism allied with duty-faith was through reading a book by Thomas Bradbury of Pinners' Hall, London, published in 1759 under the title of The Duty and Doctrine of Baptism. Bradbury has been highly helpful in a positive way to me at times and wrote a number of very sound books. This work demonstrates how many in Bradbury's day reduced faith and baptism to human thoughts based on human endeavours. Bradbury was a Congregational minister whose book developed from a series of sermons on the topic at the time of the Arian Controversy amongst chiefly Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists. It caused much rethinking in these circles, especially concerning baptism and the Lord's Supper and the obedience necessary in practicing the rites according to a good conscience. It was no coincidence then that early separatists from the Reformed faith, who were guilty of teaching dutyobedience leading to duty-faith, were accused of

When people consider the Baptists many suppose that they are diverse simply in their baptism. And in this they are quite correct. However, they may not fully appreciate just how correct they are. Yes, Baptists are about baptism. They stand apart from every other religious body in the world, and this is due to their baptism. This difference is not just in the manner but in how it exhibits great and important principles.

I often think back on events that have occurred in my life and during my me in the ministry. I think about wonderful things God has done for my family and me. I think about people He has used to bless me. I think about mistakes I have made and how I could have handled some things differently. Some things have happened in churches that at one me I never could've imagined were possible. People have made choices that puzzle me. I have learned that things and people are not always as they appear to be, or not as we like to think they are. We can view people and things through rose-colored glasses. I recall a season of life when I thought often of a line in a Toby Keith song: "I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."

In this brief study, the writings of Lyman H. Atwater, a Presbyterian pastor-theologian and close associate of Charles Hodge, are considered against the notion that the Old Princeton tradition was singularly focused on Presbyterian doctrine and apologetics, and was indifferent to the social and economic problems of the nation.  Atwater, a key apologist for orthodox Calvinism in the mid-nineteenth century, responded to some of the more vexing economic problems of his day; including the financial activity, monetary policy, and labor unrest during the Civil War and the turbulent 1870s.  This study concludes that the proponents of Princeton Theology were not silent about the problems of nineteenth-century industrialization and economic culture, but in Atwater, engaged the marketplace from a socially conservative and theologically orthodox framework.

Baptists have always had an interesting relationship with education. On one end of the spectrum, some have seen education as a necessity, while on the other end, some have seen it as a scandal. While the debate over the place of education (in a general sense) in Baptist life can be passionate and produce hard feelings, the question of the education required for ministry preparation is almost always heated and filled with real animosity. 1 David Benedict, writing in 1860, describing the Baptist attitude toward ministry education of fifty years prior, said that few "had acquired anything more than a common school education on the limited scale which was then in vogue." This was not seen as a problem either, according to Benedict: "Indeed, it was no uncommon thing to hear passing remarks of a disparaging nature on college learned ministers, in the language of the times, as greatly deficient in the pathos and unction of their ministerial performances." 2 However, Benedict said this sentiment changed "as these old members passed off the stage, and a new race took their places." These were those "who required more cultivation in their preachers, and as these preachers themselves became more and more sensible of their deficiencies in mental culture, they began to cast around them for the best means of attaining it." 3 Not only did this new generation "cast around" in the early nineteenth century, but they pushed American Baptist theological education to new heights, influencing Baptists for generations. 1 The most well-known anti-education group was the anti-mission Baptists. As the name indicates, anti-mission Baptists primarily derided missions work, but it followed that education was likewise a problem. They were generally against the idea of cooperative effort and especially disliked what they saw as wasted funds and pride. Further, the rural versus urban and southern versus northern dynamics were at play.

Mentor: Dr. Frank Schmitt A review of academic and Para-church organizations reveals that few programs exist that provide a balance of academic and professional preparation for youth ministers. Revolution Generation Youth Ministries has attempted to design such a program. The purpose of this project is to explore the history and design of the Revolution Generation Mentorship Program and evaluate it in comparison to such programs. This evaluation will be accomplished through a programmatic comparison with the standards of the Association for Biblical Higher Education, accredited college programs and other internship programs. The information gathered will be utilized to strengthen the Revolution Generation Mentorship Program.

It is enough to turn you away from the political process to recall that neither candidate for the American presidency seriously addressed this issue in 1988. For Yeats "politics" was one thing and "that girl" another. She embodied simple beauty and love, the rhetoric of the heart. "But O that I were young again / And held her in my arms." By implication, "politics," for Yeats, meant difficult issues and complex analysis, the rhetoric of the head. The presidential election of 1988 obliterated Yeats's distinction. The "handlers"the campaign managers, speech writers, media consultants, spin controllers, flacks, advisers, friends, and wives of the candidatesdid their best to convince Americans that each candidate for the presidency-George Bush or Michael Dukakiswas nothing less than "that girl standing there," a worthy emblem of beauty and a sufficient object of desire. Since both Bush and Dukakis suffered from severe charisma deficiencies, each made his case by running down the other. Forget issues and analysis, implied both candidates in their misleading rhetoric and their manipulatory media messages. Come live with me and be my love, courted Bush through the long, hot summer and fall of 1988. Trust in me, cooed Dukakis. In November, America decided it liked Bush better, but all of us were diminished by the inane campaign. Small wonder that now, after the midterm congressional elections, on the brink of the 1992 presidential campaign, as a new millennium approached, we would like to forget all about 1988, a bad dream that continues to haunt the American mind. Try as they mightor as their mighty manipulators managedneither presidential candidate could match the beauty or lovableness of Ronald Reagan, the cover boy of American politics, still standing there; still smiling, nodding, joshing, and waving his way through the Iran/contra and arms-diversion scandal; still trying to remember what he knew and when he forgot it. (Reagan maintained "plausible deniability" of his subordinates' actions, though Oliver North, Reagan's point man on the Iran/contra extravaganza, assumed "that the president was aware of what I was doing and had, through my superiors, approved of it.") 6 J 06

It is enough to turn you away from the political process to recall that neither candidate for the American presidency seriously addressed this issue in 1988. For Yeats "politics" was one thing and "that girl" another. She embodied simple beauty and love, the rhetoric of the heart. "But O that I were young again / And held her in my arms." By implication, "politics," for Yeats, meant difficult issues and complex analysis, the rhetoric of the head. The presidential election of 1988 obliterated Yeats's distinction. The "handlers"the campaign managers, speech writers, media consultants, spin controllers, flacks, advisers, friends, and wives of the candidatesdid their best to convince Americans that each candidate for the presidency-George Bush or Michael Dukakiswas nothing less than "that girl standing there," a worthy emblem of beauty and a sufficient object of desire. Since both Bush and Dukakis suffered from severe charisma deficiencies, each made his case by running down the other. Forget issues and analysis, implied both candidates in their misleading rhetoric and their manipulatory media messages. Come live with me and be my love, courted Bush through the long, hot summer and fall of 1988. Trust in me, cooed Dukakis. In November, America decided it liked Bush better, but all of us were diminished by the inane campaign. Small wonder that now, after the midterm congressional elections, on the brink of the 1992 presidential campaign, as a new millennium approached, we would like to forget all about 1988, a bad dream that continues to haunt the American mind. Try as they mightor as their mighty manipulators managedneither presidential candidate could match the beauty or lovableness of Ronald Reagan, the cover boy of American politics, still standing there; still smiling, nodding, joshing, and waving his way through the Iran/contra and arms-diversion scandal; still trying to remember what he knew and when he forgot it. (Reagan maintained "plausible deniability" of his subordinates' actions, though Oliver North, Reagan's point man on the Iran/contra extravaganza, assumed "that the president was aware of what I was doing and had, through my superiors, approved of it.") 6 J 06

This study investigated the contributions of Royal Ambassadors Ministries to Church Growth in Ibadan Baptist Conference. The specific objectives were to discover the churches that have functional Royal Ambassadors in Ibadan Baptist Conference; to discuss the impact of Royal Ambassadors Ministries on church growth in those churches; to identify factors enabling Royal Ambassadors Ministry to contribute to such churches' growth and to enumerate challenges of Royal Ambassadors Ministry in contributing to church growth. Being a descriptive research, the researcher utilized interview and participant observation as instrument for data collection. Forty people were interviewed from the selected associations to ascertain the contributions of Royal Ambassadors Ministries to Church Growth in Ibadan Baptist Conference. Descriptive analysis of the interview is done.

Introduction: This book entitled, “Criswell‟s Guidebook for Pastors” is written by Dr W.A. Criswell, former senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas. In this book, he introduced about his writing by saying that he wrote from his fifty years experiences as pastor. He dedicated this book to all pastors and ministers in churches of all sizes and location. He mainly argued that experience is supreme sources of wisdom. No one can comprehend what God can give to anyone who has experienced God-given wisdom in life. It is not something you can learn from the book. Dr WA Criswell talks a lot about the happiness and joy of the pastors whenever they are engaging in soul winning. He also emphasizes that the joy of the Lord comes to him when people in his congregation are growing spiritually, especially in the knowledge of Christ. He encourages younger pastor to fall in love with our savior and put values on acquiring personal relationship with Christ. If we can do that, we can have the best experience in life. Dr Criswell wrote this book in the hope that some pastors may be encouraged and blessed by his experiences that he shared through this book.

The article explores the divergent responses and perspectives within the global Baptist community regarding the ongoing conflict, genocide and humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Palestine. It contrasts the unwavering pro-Israel stance of the Southern Baptist Convention, driven by Christian Zionism, with the more nuanced and compassionate approach advocated by the Baptist World Alliance. It argues that this divide transcends theological debates and exposes a fundamental conflict of values and vision. It calls for Baptists to transcend rigid political and theological positions, and instead align their witness with the biblical imperatives of righteousness, reconciliation, and concern for the dignity and rights of all people, including the Palestinian people suffering under occupation and oppression. It urges Baptists to pray, speak, and act with urgency to promote justice, peace, and a future where the fundamental rights and humanity of both Palestinians and Israelis are upheld.

The article explores the complex relationship between Zionism and Western Christianity. It argues that the uncritical support of Zionism by many Western Christians has distorted the core teachings of Christianity, particularly regarding justice, peace, and the treatment of others. The article delves into the historical and theological roots of Christian Zionism and critiques how this ideology has influenced political and religious stances, leading to a departure from traditional Christian values. The piece calls for a re-examination of these beliefs and urges Christians to align more closely with the principles of love, justice, and compassion as taught by Jesus.

The article critiques the Southern Baptist Convention's (SBC) stance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, arguing that it reflects a "troubling mix of theological narrowness, political expediency, racial discrimination and dispensational theology." It contends that the SBC's unwavering support for Israel overlooks the harsh realities faced by Palestinians under occupation, including land confiscations, home demolitions, arbitrary detentions, and disproportionate military actions. It challenges the SBC to confront the ethical and theological imperatives of standing in solidarity with the oppressed, advocating for human dignity, peace, and justice for all people in the region, including Palestinians. It calls on the SBC and other Christian organizations to move beyond rhetoric and actively seek reconciliation, mutual understanding, and the alignment of their actions with the teachings of Jesus.

The article provides a critical examination of the Southern Baptist Convention's (SBC) recent resolutions against Palestine, which are seen as profoundly anti-Christian. The author argues that the SBC's unwavering support for Israel and Zionism mirrors their past backing of slavery, which they justified using biblical verses, thus contradicting core Christian principles. The article also highlights the SBC's neglect of Palestinian Baptists and Christians, aligning with the denomination's historical legacy of siding against justice. The author calls on the SBC to reconsider its resolutions, advocate for a just solution that respects the rights of all parties, and reclaim the true spirit of Baptist Christianity by championing the marginalized and oppressed.

This morning (30.06.2024), an upload from the pen of Michael Haykin popped up unexpectedly on my computer screen. The same essay was sent me again during this afternoon. It is an abridged edition of Haykin's No Other Foundation: A History of the Church, Part 4. It is quite a feat to put the history of the Christian Church from 1700-2000 into just under 1,500 words, so there is bound to be things missed out or statements made without considering contraarguments. But why bombard the net with essays so negligently knocked together with obviously little research behind them? However, Haykin adds a useful bibliography for those who wish to follow his thoughts on a wider basis. Here are a few notes I immediately made on Haykin's History.

Revised
5/2024
Landmark Brethren,
The purpose of this Thesis is to rebut Bob Ross' charges against Landmarkers made in his book, "Old Landmarkism and the Baptists." And further to be of help to any who may have been deceived by his sophistry. Many good brethren have been led to renounce Landmarkism because of Ross' writings. Ross' work is not a simple benign exercise in theology but rather a serious attack against those who hold an opposite view of his of the Church.

Here are a few queries regarding your booklet 'Immersion?' a. Is it wise to start a work on baptism which will appeal to all Christians by stressing the persecution of Baptists? Other denominations such as Anglicans, Lutherans, Quakers, Congregationalists etc. have been persecuted for their faith in great numbers and Baptists have not appeared in history as being less of a persecuting strain than other denominations. Human nature being as it is, history shows that the ones at the top wield the big stick the most. Though Baptists and those they claim as their predecessors have been less often at the top, at least in England, they have certainly been amongst the most violent against those who disagree with them when their 'chance' came. You forget, perhaps, that the Baptist claim those North African persecuting movements such as Donatists, Katheroi etc as their forefathers in the faith. Look at the persecution caused by their armed forces, especially when they were supported by the Emperor. Incidentally, you will note that one of these movements led by Novatian is claimed as 'Baptist' i.e. Immersionist yet we know a good deal about Novatian, especially that he was sprinkled/affused at baptism. Furthermore, he had put off baptism for ritualistic

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:37-39, NKJV)

Baptists are a particularly diverse stream of Christians, partly because their theological convictions empower individual decision making. This article discusses colourfully how the diversity of Baptists is reflected in the Philippines today. It seeks to articulate the core features of the Baptist identity and encourages Baptists both to enrich and to be open to learning from other parts of the body of Christ rather than isolating themselves.

This dissertation investigates the influence of western missionaries upon African Christians in general and more specifically, Baptists in Kenya. Of particular concern to this study is western influence on the concept and practice of Christian ministry in Kenya Baptist churches. It is asserted that western missionary influence has been negative upon Kenya Baptist churches in the concept of Christian ministry. Missionaries introduced a distinction between clergy and laity, emphasizing a ministry model of paid clergymen who dominate and drive their respective congregations. This contradicts clear New Testament teaching that every believer is a minister and is spiritually gifted to do Christian ministry in the context of the local church. Pastors are needed to equip and free church members to minister. Thus, it is concluded that Baptists in Kenya need to change from following missionary introduced patterns of Christian ministry to that which is spiritual gifts-based and lay dependent.

The Open Brethren Denomination, named in Romania „The Christians According to the Gospel‟ had a well-established identity during the Interbellum. Regarding the church government, some principles were emphasised in the Open Brethren churches during the interwar period, one of them was the autonomy of the local church. This principle constituted an obstacle for the totalitarian communist regime to control the local churches. For this reason, the State imposed restrictions and changes in the theology and in the practice of the Brethren Denomination. The fight was terrible especially regarding the autonomy of the local church but, even if the atheist regime won at the denominational leadership level, the members of churches did not fully accept the changes. Immediately after the fall of the communist regime the Open Brethren restored the biblical principle of the autonomy of the local church. The Brethren churches could apply the Bible as they understood it because the PostCommunist Sta...

the official postsecondary institution of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada and the Church of the Nazarene Canada, located in Calgary, Canada. He is the author of e Heart of the Gospel: A. B. Simpson, the Fourfold Gospel, and Late Nineteenth-Century Evangelical eology as well as other academic publications. e author first delivered the substance of this book to his denomination, the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, during a seminar. us, the writing style is "more accessible to students, pastors, and the interested person in the pew" (xiii). e author's students believe that holiness is "a commodity, a lifestyle, or an ethic that one is expected to attain" (xii) which the author counters with the view that holiness is a theocentric category. He asserts his conviction as follows: "We can correctly understand the relation of holiness to ethics and morality only when we first understand it theologically" (xii). In chapter one, the author asserts the universality of "e Desire and Need for Holiness," underscoring three parties which desire holiness. While the author provides no statistical and little anecdotal evidence to substantiate his claim, he holds that the Church (the first party) evinces a desire for holiness based on the following: 1) a return to ancient worship; 2) a recent widened scope of salvation to encompass the whole person; 3) the increase of evangelical activism; 4) "the attempt to see God"; 5) the desire for the Church to demonstrate Christ; and 6) an increase of mutual scrutiny among the different generations within in the Church (2-13). e second party, nonbelievers, demonstrate a desire for holiness through a pursuit of spirituality and a demand for integrity and holiness within the Church. God is the third party desiring holiness. e author then stresses the need for holiness among the first two parties. An excursus concludes each chapter of the text; this one discusses five hurdles to holiness. Van De Walle provides a biblical definition of holiness in chapter two. e theme of transcendence is the keynote. Holiness is "the tran

This documentary focuses on the role played by Separate Baptist preachers from the area of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia in the making of American religious freedom. In colonial Virginia, the Church of England was in control as the official religion of the colony. Questioning the Anglican Church or refusal to attend its services meant certain prosecution. However, this did not stop some daring Baptist preachers from presenting an alternative. The documentary spends time focusing on James Ireland, Elijah Craig, Samuel Harris, and John Leland, and the roles each played in the development of the Baptist faith in Virginia as well as

Would you please prayerfully consider including the following letter in your Letters to the Editor section of a coming issue. The problem involved is a matter of widespread interest and concern in Europe and, I believe, is becoming a vital issue in the States.

This thesis gives a brief presentation of the church history climate in Finland in the 1800s and early 1900s and then goes deeper with enquires into the joint birth-history and theology of what is today the Evangelical Free Church of Finland (Suomen Vapaakirkko) and the Swedish speaking Evangelical Free Church of Finland (Missionskyrkan i Finland). The thesis looks into the historical events, revivals and theological views that helped pave the way for, and shaped, the Free Church movement in Finland. The thesis also touches on the denominational process of the Swedish speaking Evangelical Free Church of Finland as late as in the early 2000s. The aim of the thesis is achieved through historical research methods with primary and secondary written sources.

White House ceremonies honoring sports champions - presidential sports encomia - have become common events in presidential communication since the Carter Administration. In the last quarter-century, more than one hundred presidential sports encomia have taken place, with US presidents honoring both professional and intercollegiate athletes. Presidential sports encomia not only afford Chief Executives an opportunity to stand alongside champions, creating a winner-by-association effect, but also allow them to articulate the importance of sports in American society. Whether addressing civic responsibility, patriotism, or race relations, presidential sports encomia ultimately connect athletic achievement to American ideals. In this way, the symbolic power of sports is employed in the development and maintenance of American civil religion. Analysis of these ceremonies reveals how US presidents use the rhetorical resources of sports encomia for both their own political agendas and the lar...

The 1689 Baptist Confession of faith was written in old English. This is a Telugu translation of one of the modern English revisions to make it more readable in our century. May the theology of William Carey cover India as the waters cover the sea.