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In attempting to write a history 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. Yet it is a right royal history they have. It is well worth the telling and the preserving.
This collection of essays by different authors is presented as a tribute to Walter B. "Buddy" Shurden, (distinctively Baptist) church historian, teacher, preacher, author, Baptist apologist extraordinaire. The rationale of this celebration of the lifework and influence of Walter Shurden is well stated, for example, in editor Marc Jolley's preface: "[D]uring some of the initial forays of our most-recent and ongoing Fundamentalist-Moderate controversy, there were days when I thought about changing denominations. Shurden's works were instrumental in my remaining a Baptist, not because I could see how Baptists had always had controversies and survived--although that is true--but because he helped me understand that the reason I had been Baptist and would remain so was due to our Baptist distinctives, our freedoms. For so much more, but especially for that understanding, I am forever grateful." Many students, Baptists in the pews, some at the pulpit or lectern, even some who are not "distinctively Baptist" could testify in like terms regarding the ongoing work and influence of Walter B. Shurden. The essays in this collection of course address some of the primary concerns of Walter Shurden, augmenting that already significant lifework.