Down by the Riverside: a Brief History of Baptist Faith

Baptist History and Heritage, Summer-Fall, 2004 by Robert G. Gardner

Down by the Riverside: A Brief History of Baptist Faith. By Everett C. Goodwin. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2002. 144 pp.

"[W]ritten for beginners" who have "little previous knowledge about Baptists" (p. viii), Down by the Riverside has been prepared from the perspective of the American Baptist Churches in the USA and should be read with that in mind. The author has enjoyed a distinguished career as pastor, author, and editor in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Washington, D.C., and now Scarsdale, New York.

This paperback book is brief, non-threatening to a novice. Chapters average only ten pages each, with about 250 words per page. The pages are inviting, with ample margins, frequent subtitles, and easy-to-read 12-point type. Footnotes are unobtrusive.

After a four-page introductory section, "Baptists at a Glance," Goodwin covers four centuries of Baptist history in sixty-three pages of well-written text emphasizing the United States. The usual names are present: Williams, Clarke, Backus, Stearns, the Judsons, Rice, Graves, Rauschenbusch, Graham, King, and Carter--as well as some that might not be expected: George Lisle, Andrew Bryan, Lott Carey, Charles Evans Hughes, Harold E. Stassen, and Harry S. Truman. The various Baptist battles are described in summary form.

The introduction is followed by fifty-one pages concerning "Basic Baptist Beliefs," in which Goodwin examines the broadly Christian tenets that Baptists hold, the importance of Jesus Christ as the norm by whom the Bible is to be interpreted, the church, baptism, the Lord's Supper, the ministry, the ideal of church governance by consensus, soul freedom, separation of church and state, scriptural freedom, and the centrality of missions.

Goodwin concludes with "Baptists in the New Millennium," agreeing that prediction is uncertain--and then enumerating six challenges that Baptists are already facing. As Baptists continue to be "faithful to the highest and best spirit of their past" (p. 126), Goodwin is confident, they may be assured that God will continue to lead them.

Goodwin properly admits that his facts are virtually all from the research of others (p. ix). Torbet, Gaustad, Shurden, McLoughlin, Estep, and Lumpkin are among his favorites. Usually his facts appear correct. His colonial Baptist statistical estimates are not up to date (pp. 17, 25, 110), he doesn't seem to understand the relationship between the Southern Baptist Publication societies and the Sunday School boards of 1863 and 1891 (p. 113); and he has overlooked a name-change to "CBAmerica" (p. 50), but not even the most critical reviewer would suggest that his discussion is thereby fatally flawed.

Other criticisms are more important--and more subjective. His title and subtitle are unfortunate. With all due regard for the venerable spiritual, Down by the Riverside calls attention to a minor Baptist contribution to American religious life and to the worldwide church, as he seems to indicate on page 99. A Brief History of Baptist Faith (singular) suggests a Baptist cohesiveness that certainly does not exist, as he observes on pages 45, 49-51, and 59. Both Roger Williams (pp. 13-15) and the slavery controversy (pp. 39-42) receive more space than they deserve in such a small book, space that might well have been devoted to African-American, Southern, and CBF Baptists. His bibliography is almost adequate--lacking only Leroy Fitts, A History of Black Baptists (1985), Jesse C. Fletcher, The Southern Baptist Convention (1994), and Albert W. Wardin, editor, Baptists Around the World: A Comprehensive Handbook (1995).

Within the context of the ABC/USA, this thin volume admirably fulfills its stated purpose. It could certainly be used profitably by one reader at a time. However, it could also be used by ABC study groups all over the country as a means of introducing information and initiating reflection. Furthermore, with appropriate supplementary materials, it could be employed within other Baptist contexts as well. Its overall value is beyond question.--Reviewed by Robert G. Gardner, professor emeritus of religion, Shorter College, Rome, Georgia, and senior researcher in Baptist history, Jack Tarver Library, Mercer University, Macon, Georgia.

Michael E. (Mike) Williams, Sr. is dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and professor of history at Dallas Baptist University, 3000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, Texas 75211-9213. 214-333-5276 | Fax: 214-333-6819 E-mail: mikew@dbu.edu