Baptists and Religious Liberty
Book Reviews
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed.” Francis Bacon (d. 1826)
Baptists and Religious Liberty
William M. Pinson, Jr., Dallas: BaptistWay Press, 2007.
Reviewed by Darold Morgan
Baptists everywhere are acquainted with the heralded ‘Study Course’ programming in the local church. Until recently this was the periodic study of Baptist doctrine, history, and Christian Ethics in the local church, using material generally formulated by the denominational agencies. Immense amount of teaching and training came from this source. Pinson’s book is a good example of what a local Baptist church could use with profitability today! Bill Pinson is recognized far and wide from his collegiate and seminary teaching and writing as a genuine authority in the field of Church and State and Religious Liberty. Here is a book that merits immediate and serious study in most local Baptist churches, as well as other denominational churches.
Simply stated, we must not forget how religious liberty came about. It did not just happen. There are names and documents and events that this book reminds us of which testify forcefully to the evolvement of this basic Christian and American belief that has blessed beyond measure our beloved land. One of the reasons for its greatness stems from this sacred posture. How it came about is found in these pages. We must not forget these sources.
Pinson puts into focus in historical segments names that are in the Baptist pantheon of greatness: John Smyth, Thomas Helwys, Roger Williams, John Clarke, Obadiah Holmes, Isaac Backus, John Leland, and of course, George W. Truett.
One of the values of Pinson’s book is his treatment of some of the surging current issues which have forced the foundations of Religious Liberty into retreat and negativism. These pages deserve careful study and wide publicity. The quotation from Herschel H. Hobbs is exceptionally timely: “If eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, it is especially true of religious liberty.” (126) The author closes with a simple eloquence about this necessary defense of the American treasure.
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