God's Last and Only Hope: The Fragmentation of the Southern Baptist Convention
Leonard (church history, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) analyzes the growing struggle between fundamentalists and moderates in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). He explores the role of the SBC in the Southern culture, the nature of the tenets uniting it, and the role of popular piety in the denomination. He then discusses the time-honored "Grand Compromise" attitude that fostered denominational unity by avoiding too narrow a definition of doctrine and practice. With the fundamentalist take-over in 1980, the SBC for the first time began to polarize and fragment. Leonard carefully examines the present controversy and reflects on possibilities for the future. This is a scholarly but very readable book that anyone interested in the history of American religion will enjoy. Recommended for both academic and public libraries.- C. Robert Nixon, M . L . S . , Lafayette, Ind.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.