Description: During the mid-seventeenth century, Baptists existed on the fringes of religious life in England. Matthew C. Bingham examines this early group and argues that they did not see themselves as a part of a larger, all-encompassing Baptist movement. Rather, their rejection of infant baptism was but one of a number of doctrinal revisions then taking place among English puritans. Orthodox Radicals is a much needed complication of our understanding of Baptist identity, setting the early English Baptists in the cultural, political, and theological context of the wider puritan milieu out of which they arose.
Review Quotes: "This provocative study will be of interest to those who research Baptist history or religion in early modern England." -- Taylor Murray, Tyndale University, Religious Studies Review
"This book rightly calls us to think more carefully, theologically, and contextually about religious groups of the revolution. It also proves how challenging that task can be." -- Joel Halcomb, University of East Anglia, Milton Quarterly "Bingham's knowledge and pertinent use of both primary and secondary source material is impressive. In the space of 157 pages he includes 649 foot notes. He ties together sources and personal narrative in an artistic way care fully constructing his argument with literary grace." -- Tom J. Nettles, The Journal of Andrew Fuller Studies"a bold, necessary, and highly valuable study ... Orthodox Radicals is a highly engaging work that no student of the period should go without reading very closely indeed." -- Pierre Le Duff, Journal of British Studies"This fascinating study in the spiritual and ecclesiastical taxonomy of those typically called 'Particular Baptists' is well worth your thoughtful consideration ... historians and others wishing or needing to rethink their casual labelling will find this a most helpful book. Baptists in particular will find much both to instruct and to prompt re ection, not least because of the abiding relevance of these questions to our own sense of identity and our practice in relation not only to others more of our own mind, but also to brothers of differing persuasions." -- Jeremy Walker, The Banner of Truth"This is an important book, but not one I would recommend for casual reading. Bingham's claims here are carefully and thoroughly laid out. ... There are extensive notes and bibliography that scholars will surely be debating for some time." -- Chuck Ivey, Things Above Us "Bingham's research will help students both situate individual Baptist authors more accurately in this historical context and place the movement as a whole more accurately in the context of seventeenth-century British Reformed orthodox theology." -- Ryan M. McGraw, Theology and History"Bingham's book makes an important contribution to the wider argument about the identity of early Particular Baptists and their links with the Reformed movement more generally." -- Robert Strivens, Evangelicals Now"Bingham's argument is well-documented ... But Bingham's theological acumen is also on display in this book. He grasps not only the historical record but the soteriological, ecclesiological, and sacramental issues at stake in these seventeenth-century debates.This book is highly recommended..." -- R. Lucas Stamps, The Centre for Baptist Renewal "This study is important for many reasons. It broadens our understanding of the bounds of toleration in Cromwellian and post- Restoration England. It also challenges historians and theologians to rethink how they apply the term "Reformed orthodox" in relation to Baptist Congregationalists. ... Bingham's research will help students both situate individual Baptist authors more accurately in this historical context and place the movement as a whole more accurately in the context of seventeenth-century British Reformed orthodox theology." -- Ryan M. McGraw, Theology & History "This is an excellent, engaging, illuminating book. I warmly commend it to all who are in any way interested in who Baptists are and where they came from." -- Bobby Jamieson, 9Marks"In Orthodox Radicals, Bingham offers a clear and compelling reinterpretation of the early history of those came to be identified as Particular Baptists (as distinguished from General Baptists)." -- L.H. Hoyle, CHOICE"'Baptist' is such a familiar label that we all think we know what it means. This outstanding book shows that we don't. Bingham shows that the mythology which has applied that label to the mid-seventeenth century isn't just anachronistic; it has distorted our entire understanding of the religious landscape of the era. If you are interested in the history of radical religion, you can't afford not to read this book."--Alec Ryrie, Professor of the History of Christianity, Durham University"Historians have long recognised the problematic nature of anachronistic denominational labels, but this book presses us to think more deeply about religious identities in seventeenth-century England. In a case study of the 'Particular Baptists, ' Bingham argues that they are better understood as 'baptistic congregationalists.' His proposal demands careful consideration by historians of the Baptists and the Congregationalists, as well as by scholars working on Independents and Cromwellians in the English Revolution."--John Coffey, professor of Early Modern History, University of Leicester"Profoundly provocative, this new monograph by Matthew Bingham challenges standard historiographical approaches to English Baptist origins with verve and solid scholarly argumentation. His thesis, if accepted, will demand nothing less than a substantial re-write of the 'Baptist story' and rethinking of what being Baptist meant in the early modern era. And to boot, it is a joy to read. Most highly recommended!"--Michael A. G. Haykin, FRHistS, Professor of Church History, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary