2 books found
All of us are shaped in many ways by unseen markers in our DNA. Unknown ancestral traits contribute to determination of such things as eye and hair color, height, and even a certain propensity or susceptibility to certain diseases. To some extent religious bodies are similarly the product of their beliefs and doctrines, at times and in certain ways, to beliefs and doctrines buried in the inherited make-up of that body or denomination. Landmarkism is such a genetic-like marker in the Southern Baptist Convention yet is largely unknown, and its influence is barely recognized today as a contributing factor in much of Baptist practice and belief. This book seeks to trace the origin and transmission of landmark beliefs from the time of its greatest influence to the present day when it is largely unknown but certainly present in beliefs and practices that have developed and become part of the Southern Baptist body in many instances.
He argues that love of God, self, and others requires of followers a joyful sorrow that transforms enemies into friends. The peace of Christ, says Gilman, requires not merely peacemaking but pacifism, while Christian justice requires not merely justice as equal fairness but justice as equal mercy. Finally, Gilman shows that compassion, as the seminal experience in which love, peace, and justice converge, is the experience through which the Christian community is able to participate in and shape the character of public life." "For readers searching for the true beating heart of Christian faith, and who want to know what the practice of Christian virtue can and should be, this thoughtful and carefully argued book supplies an answer."--BOOK JACKET.