shop
Baptize America is a work that provides both theological reflection and historical scholarship to the reader by looking at the covenant theology and the Westminster Standards, as well as the connection between the church and the nation. It is a simple but demanding work that is meant to generate reflective treatment of the religious history of America and its prospective spirituality that is expressed in the twenty-first century desire to Baptize America.
ALEXANDER CAMPBELL
Baptize America is concerned with the 250-year history of the American people that revisits one of the most crucial theological controversies of the American Frontier, the baptismal controversy of 1820 between Alexander Campbell and John Walker in Mount Pleasant, Ohio.
Against the background of the frontier expansion and emergence of the Scots-Irish influence in America, this book explores the case of whether infants should be baptized or not. The Campbell-Walker debate was more than a theological controversy – it was an international event based on the Ulster-Scottish tradition. It was also a manifestation of strains within Presbyterianism, the Baptist movement and the new American religious identity.
Wilson examines the biographical, ecclesiastical, and societal context of the debate, acknowledging the development of Campbell theologically, as a symbolist to a full-fledged sacramental perception. Twenty-first-century political and cultural issues are also captured in the book because frontier theology remains relevant in our modern-day ecclesiastical and political discourse.
Baptize America is a work that provides both theological reflection and historical scholarship to the reader by looking at the covenant theology and the Westminster Standards, as well as the connection between the church and the nation. It is a simple but demanding work that is meant to generate reflective treatment of the religious history of America and its prospective spirituality that is expressed in the twenty-first century desire to Baptize America.
Video Book Trailer
What does baptism have to do with America’s destiny?
Baptize America is a 250-year history of the American people that revisits one of the most crucial theological controversies of the American Frontier, the baptismal controversy of 1820 between Alexander Campbell and John Walker in Mount Pleasant, Ohio.
Prior to America becoming a world power, it was informed by frontier preachers, immigrant beliefs and aggressive theology arguments. This book reveals the way in which one of the dilemmas of baptism contributed to the birth of a movement that would change generations- and the reverberations of which are still being felt to this day.
Baptize America can help readers discern afresh the spiritual roots of the nation, whether in covenant theology or cultural identity, 19th-century revivalism or 21st century renewal movement.
This is more than a book, however, if you are interested in American history or theology, or simply the future of the church, this is an invitation to find a forgotten turning point.
The question of the frontier remains: Who to be baptized–Why to be baptized?
Reviews & Testimonials
Have a look at what the readers think about this book!