Book Reviews -- By: Anonymous
Journal: Journal of the Institute of Reformed Baptist Studies
Volume: JIRBS 06:1 (NA 2019)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous
JIRBS 6 (2019) p. 143
Book Reviews
From Shadow to Substance:
The Federal Theology of the English Particular Baptists (1642–1704),
Samuel D. Renihan
(Oxford: Centre for Baptist History and Heritage, 2018, 389pp.),
reviewed by Jonathan W. Arnold*
* Jonathan W. Arnold, DPhil, serves as assistant professor of Christian theology and church history, and as director of The Augustine Honors Collegium at Boyce College in Louisville, KY.
At the outset of this impressive work, Samuel D. Renihan expresses his desire to fill a gap in the burgeoning study of early Baptist theology. Renihan rightly notes the narrow focus of the vast majority of recent studies, including monographs exploring the contributions of single theologians such as John Spilsbury, Hercules Collins, Benjamin Keach, and even Thomas Collier. According to Renihan’s reading, this narrow focus artificially limits the scope of study and, thus, skews the respective conclusions, often leading to exaggerations of unique contributions. By reading broadly within the entire spectrum of those deemed to be Particular Baptists, Renihan succeeds in presenting a clearer picture of one specific era of this proto-denomination, thus providing a helpful corrective for Baptist studies.
Renihan’s most noteworthy advancement can be found in his inclusion of “lesser-known” Baptists—Andrew Ritor, Abraham Cheare, and Edward Hutchinson, to name a few—into the now well-rehearsed discussion of early Particular Baptist theology. These important, but often overlooked, figures provide color to what is all-too-often a merely grayscale portrait of the earliest Particular Baptists. Notably, Renihan accepts the identity of these figures as Particular Baptists without question, merely following previous identifiers. In and of itself, this does not detract from Renihan’s work, but it certainly leaves room for additional inquiry, especially given the recent calls for re-evaluation from scholars like Matthew Bingham. Current scholarship certainly demands a more in-depth consideration
JIRBS 6 (2019) p. 144
of the identification of a theologian with a particular wing of Baptist thought (e.g., General, Particular, Seventh-Day).
The research on the development of covenant theology provides a fruitful setting for Renihan’s interaction with the early Baptists. While this research remains in the background of the larger study, the entirety of the second chapter more than proves its worth. This aspect of the project demonstrates both the breadth and depth of the discussion over covenant theology at the end of the sixteenth century. Renihan adroitly navigates the myriad data on the subject, providing not only a helpful overview but an ins...
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