History of the Baptists Together With Some Account of Their Principles and Practices (Classic Reprint)

Preface IN ATTEMPTING to write a hiatory of the Baptists no one is more aware of the embarrassments surrounding the subject than the author. These embarrassments arise from many sources. We are far removed from many of the circumstances under survey; the representations of the Baptists were often made by enemies who did not scruple, when such a course suited their purpose, to blacken character; and hence the testimony from such sources must be received with discrimination and much allowance made for many statements; in some instances vigilant and sustained attempts were made to destroy every document relating to these people; the material that remains is scattered through many libraries and archives, in many lands and not always readily accessible; often, on account of persecutions, the Baptists were far more interested in hiding than they were in giving an account of themselves or their whereabouts; they were scattered through many countries, in city and cave, as they could find a place of concealment; and frequently they were called by different names by their enemies, which is confusing. Tet it is a right royal history they have. It is well worth the telling and the preserving. It must be borne in mind that there are many sources of Church History. Broadly speaking we have Eastern and Western; and a want of discrimination in these sources, and frequently an effort to treat Eastern and Western churches as identical, has caused much confusion. A right understanding of these sources will clear up many dark corners. For example it is undoubtedly true that the Waldenses originated in the West and the Paulicians in the East, and that they had a different history. In later centuries they came in contact one with the other, but in origin they were diverse. A ny effort to treat them as one and the same people is misleading. In my judgment both parties were Baptist
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)