Texas Baptist Leadership and Social Christianity, 1900-1980 (TEXAS A AND M SOUTHWESTERN STUDIES) - Hardcover

Storey, John W.

9780890962510: Texas Baptist Leadership and Social Christianity, 1900-1980 (TEXAS A AND M SOUTHWESTERN STUDIES)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0890962510 ISBN 13: 9780890962510

Publisher: Texas A & M Univ Pr, 1986

The social upheavals of the twentieth century have elicited the gamut of responses from organized religion. The social gospel” in northern Protestant circles was a response to ills from rapid industrialization, and its activism rested upon a liberal theology critical of conventional Protestantism. The social Christianity” that developed in the more rural South, on the other hand, was deeply rooted in theological conservatism, and it justified its call for social action with the Bible. In Texas, the responses of Southern Baptists to social problems have ranged from an emphasis on individual sin to a growing awareness of the social imperatives of Christianity. Since 1950 Texas Baptists have led the Southern Baptists Convention in applying the good news” to daily life. The personalities that brought social awareness to Texas Baptists Joseph M. Dawson, T. B. Maston, Acker C. Miller, Foy Valentine, Jimmy Allen, James Dunn saw no contradiction between evangelism and social Christianity. The influence of these men and others and their direct efforts were the force behind the Christian Life Commission. This highly readable history of the development of social thinking among Texas Baptists reflects the author’s careful use of oral memoirs and personal interviews. It highlights one denomination’s effect on history and its response to changing social conditions in the New South.

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About the Author:

JOHN W. STOREY, a professor of history at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, was educated at Lamar, Baylor, and the University of Kentucky. His articles on the intellectual and religious history of the South have been published in numerous journals.

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