The essays in Pilgrim Pathways: Essays in Baptist History in Honour of B.R. White explores the lasting influence of one of the most prominent scholars of the history of Christianity. Topics examined in this book include: Baptist identity in light of historic patterns and transatlantic treatments, the theology of children, the rise of Baptist hymnody as an indicator of Baptist piety, and the application of Baptist principles in context. Readers will find this an indispensible book for understanding both the ideas of White and the early history of Protestantism in Europe.

A leading exponent of the new moderate Calvinism that brought new life to many Baptists, John Rippon (1751-1836) helped unite Baptists during his lifetime. Reared in the West Country and trained at Bristol Academy, Rippon served for over sixty years at the London church where John Gill had been minister. Through his 'A Selection of Hymns from the Best Authors', Rippon exerted a powerful influence on Baptist worship and devotional life. Through his Baptist Annual Register (1790-1802), the denomination's first periodical, Rippon recorded the denomination's growing maturity, encouraged a strong missionary commitment, and promoted links between Baptists in Britain and America. With a keen sense of English Protestant history, which he helped preserve, and an active leadership in many Baptist organizations, Rippon helped conserve the heritage of Old Dissent and stimulated the evangelicalism of the New Dissent.

Evangelical Dissent in the early eighteenth century had to address a variety of intellectual challenges. How reliable was the Bible? Was traditional Christian teaching about God, humanity, sin and salvation true? What was the role of reason in the Christian faith? Philip Doddridge (1702-51) pastored a sizeable evangelical congregation in Northampton, England, and ran a training academy for Dissenters which prepared men for pastoral ministry. Philip Doddridge and the Shaping of Evangelical Dissent examines his theology and philosophy in the context of these and other issues of his day and explores the leadership that he provided in evangelical Dissent in the first half of the eighteenth century. Offering a fresh look at Doddridge’s thought, the book provides a criticial examination of the accepted view that Doddridge was influenced in his thinking primarily by Richard Baxter and John Locke. Exploring the influence of other streams of thought, from John Owen and other Puritan writers to Samuel Clarke and Isaac Watts, as well as interaction with contemporaries in Dissent, the book shows Doddridge to be a leader in, and shaper of, an evangelical Dissent which was essentially Calvinistic in its theology, adapted to the contours and culture of its times.

Surveys the message, homiletical method, and the effect of Newton's preaching during the Olney and London periods, along with Newton as hymnwriter and the influence of his Olney hymns. Includes many previously unpublished photographs and new data. --Publisher (mellenpress.com).