From religious liberty to women in ministry a historical portrait of a diverse, international people "Conversations about Baptist identity too often generate more heat than light. This book is a happy exception, telling the Baptist story with great insight and clarity."ùCurtis W. Freeman, Research Professor of Theology and Baptist Studies, Duke University Divinity School<BR><BR>"David Bebbington's well-earned reputation as a brilliant historian is confirmed with this fine overview of Baptist history and practices. This timely, balanced, and insightful guide will serve generations to come."ùDavid S. Dockery, President, Union University<BR><BR>"One of the Baptist tradition's finest writing historians has given us here an engaging overview of the Baptist movement from the Reformation to the present day. A work of mature research, this book tells the Baptist story in a way that makes it accessible to scholars and beginning students alike." ùTimothy George, founding Dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University, and General Editor of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture<BR><BR>Baptists Through the Centuries provides a chronological survey of the main developments in Baptist life and thought from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. As Baptists spread globally beyond their British and American origins, Bebbington demonstrates how they constantly adapted to the cultures and societies in which they lived, generating even more diversity within an already multifaceted identity. In the course of telling the story of Baptists, Bebbington also examines the challenging social, political, and intellectual issues in Baptist historyùattitudes on race, women's roles in the church, religious liberty, foreign missions, and denominational identityùand situates each one within a broader context.