"People of the Book"

Editor's Review:

Stuart Brogden asks uncomfortable questions for people who have been conditioned to accept church practices as they have been done for ages. The initial reaction to fundamental questions being raised about traditional church customs is often knee-jerk resistance, cynicism, and doubt.

It will help the reader to thoughtfully consider these questions without prejudgment-particularly regarding the format of instruction, the Lord's Supper, the role of women, titles for God's servants, the plurality of elders, and much more-as Stuart grounds every argument directly in Scripture.

These questions are raised, discussed, and answered against the backdrop of an extensive perusal of church history, drawing not only from extra-biblical sources but anchoring firmly in both the Old and New Testaments. It enlightens the reader regarding the evolution of many church practices that modern churchgoers have merely inherited and accepted without question.

The supplemental chapter at the end-a paper delivered by Dr. Bill Mounce discussing formal equivalence and other translations of the Bible-further enhances our appreciation of why we should be "People of the Book."

Baptists are central to the discussion and are generally referred to as the "people of the Book"-a focus Stuart Brogden makes no pretenses about.

Rey Seveses