Christianity and Civilization #1 - Failure of the American Baptist Culture

"The Failure of American Baptist Culture" might seem a puzzling topic for a symposium of essays, but the contention of the editors...is that American culture or civilization has been, in the main, a Baptist modification of old catholic and Reformed culture. The New Christian Right, in its attempts to stem the tide of degeneracy in American life, is a Baptistic movement, and...finds itself in a condition of crisis, confusion, and indeed impotence. The thesis the editors are setting forth...is that American Christianity must return to a full-orbed Biblical and Reformed theology, and set aside Baptistic individualism, if it is to have anything to say to modern problems - indeed, if it is to survive.

Most Christians who have wrestled with the question of infant baptism (or paedobaptism), over against professor's baptism (the Baptist position), have noticed that each side seemingly has strong Biblical arguments for its case. For several centuries, theologians and preachers have hurled Bible texts and theological arguments back and forth, without convincing either side...

What, then, is the true character of the debate between Baptist and Calvinists, between independents and catholics? That character is presuppositional, rather than exegetical. The purpose of the essays in this symposium is to expose these presuppositions, so that a more intelligent discussion of the problems can ensue.  -from the Editor's Introduction 

About the Editor: James B. Jordan is a Calvinist theologian and author. He is director of Biblical Horizons ministries, a think tank that publishes books, essays and other media dealing with Bible commentary, Biblical Theology, and liturgy.