Macbeth

Revised edition. Edited by William H. Brackhey. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1998. 550 pp.

Baptist Life and Thought: A Source Book, edited by William H. Brackney, now professor of religion in the Religion Department at Baylor University, is an updated and expanded edition of a book originally published in 1983.

The 1983 edition clearly set forth three purposes that continue to serve as the foundational purposes of this new edition. First, Brackney sought to provide a collection of Baptist primary writings, and he hoped to include lesser-known materials which had not recently been published and which were not readily available. Brackney succeeded in these areas. Numerous brief yet intriguing excerpts are provided, beginning with one from John Smyth's application to establish ties with the Dutch Anabaptists and ending with a Canadian Baptist hymn written in 1967 by Anne Skinner.

Second, the collection was compiled in such a way as to encourage further scholarly investigation. By including introductions for each section and subsection, inserting headnotes before each entry, and providing an extensive listing of useful materials at the end of each section, Brackney has succeeded in providing a sourcebook that inspires its readers to engage in additional reading and research. One glaring omission in the first "Suggestions for Further Study" is the failure to include Leon McBeth's Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness in the listing of general references. McBeth's 1987 book offers an exhaustive introduction to Baptist history and thus should be included as a beginning resource for all persons interested in Baptist studies.

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