We have been greatly encouraged and edified in the study of church history. I have hundreds of volumes in my library related to this subject, but, as is the case in many other subjects, most of the ones that are distributed through the typical Christian bookstores today are not dependable. Church history, to be read correctly, must be discerned through the eyes of those who understand the apostolic church and who believe the promises of Jesus Christ relating to the perpetuity of the church. While there are many dependable resources on church history that have been authored in centuries past, they are difficult to find today. We are happy to inform our readers of the following sources for some of these rare titles. (Please note that by no means do we recommend everything that is contained in these books.)
BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL COMMITTEE
This publisher is affiliated with the American Baptist Association (not to be confused with the liberal American Baptist Convention) and offers several Baptist history books, including:
Peter Allix -- The Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont and of the Albigenses (1821)
J.M. Carroll -- The Trail of Blood (1931)
C.P. Cawthorn -- Pioneer Baptist Church Records of Kentucky and Tennessee (from 1790 to 1900)
John T. Christian -- (1899) (2 vol.) Baptist History Vindicated or Did They Dip?
Eusebius of Caesarea -- Ecclesiastical History (the first 300 years of church history)
George Stanley Faber -- The History and Theology of the Ancient Vallenses & Albigenses (1838)
John Fox -- Acts and Monuments (Martyrology) (condensed edition by W.B. Forbush)
R.B.C. Howell -- The Evils of Infant Baptism (1852)
Samuel Morland -- The History of the Evangelical Churches of the Valleys of Piemont (1658)
George Paschal -- History of the North Carolina Baptists
Jean Paul Perrin -- History of the Ancient Christians (1846)
John Porter -- The World's Debt to the Baptists (1914)
G.H. Orchard -- A Concise History of the Baptists (1855)
David Spencer -- Early Baptists of Philadelphia
J.A. Wylie -- History of the Waldenses (c. 1860)
The Baptist Standard Bearer
The Baptist Standard Bearer is committed to TULIP Calvinism, and we strongly disagree with that position, but they are reprinting many helpful history materials. The following are some of the out of print titles that they offer:
John Q. Adams -- Baptists, The Only Thorough Reformers (1876)
Thomas Armitage -- History of the Baptists (1890) (2 vol.)
David Benedict -- General History of Baptist Denominations (1860) (2 vol.)
J. Newton Brown -- Memorials of Baptist Martyrs (1854)
William Cathcart -- The Baptist Encyclopedia (1881)
J. M. Cramp -- Baptist History: From the Foundation of the Church to the Close of the 18th Century (1869)
Thomas Crosby -- History of the English Baptists (1740) (4 vol.)
J. L. M. Curry -- Baptist Churches Radically Different From Pedobaptist Churches
James M. Frost -- Paedobaptism: Is It from Heaven, or of Men? (1875)
R.B.C. Howell -- The Evils of Infant Baptism (1852)
Francis Wayland -- Notes on the Principles and Practices of Baptist Churches (1857)
The Baptist Standard Bearer is in the process of reprinting other rare historical titles, including the following:
Isaac Backus -- A History of New England, with Particular Reference to the Baptists (1871) (2 vol.)
John T. Christian -- Baptist History Vindicated or Did They Dip? (1899) (2 vol.)
Alvah Hovey -- Evils of Infant Baptism (1880)
GOOD BOOKS
Good Books offers hardbound reprints of a wide range of rare books, not only on church history, but also on Bible texts and versions (such as those by Burgon, Cook, and Hoskier dealing with the eighteenth century defense of the Received Text). Most of the titles deal with Reformed, Presbyterian, and Puritan theology and history, but some materials are Baptist. Please be forewarned that the reprints offered by Good Books are photocopies and the quality is not always very good. Also, the orders are usually not filled quickly, because the books are printed and bound on demand. The hard cover bindings are top grade.
Following are some of the important Good Books reprints dealing with church history:
Christopher Anderson -- The Annals of the English Bible (1845) (2 vol.)
Thomas Crosby -- The History of the English Baptists (1738) (4 vol.)
Joseph Ivimey -- A History of the English Baptists (1811) (4 vol.)
Daniel Neal -- The History of the Puritans (1837)
C. De Lisle Short -- Who Was the First Bishop of Rome? (1935)
William Tyndale -- The Works of William Tyndale (1848)
Walter Wilson -- The History and Antiquities of Dissenting Churches (1808)
DEAN BURGON SOCIETY
The Dean Burgon Society and Bible for Today Ministries have reprinted dozens of rare and important books dealing with the topic of Bible texts and versions. Although these are not Baptist church history materials per se, they bear close relation to the same. Following are just a few of the Dean Burgon Society/Bible For Today reprints:
John Burgon -- The Causes of Corruption of the Traditional Text (1896); The Last Twelve Verses of Mark Vindicated against Critical Objectors (1871); Revision Revised (1883); The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels Vindicated and Established (1896)
Herman Hoskier -- Codex B and Its Allies: A Study and an Indictment (1914)
Alexander McClure -- King James Translators Revived: Biographical Notes (1853)
Edward Miller -- Guide to Textual Criticism of the New Testament (1886)
Frederick Nolan -- Inquiry into the Integrity of the Greek Vulgate or Received Text of the New Testament (1815)
F.H.A. Scrivener -- Annotated Greek New Testament (1882)
OLD FAITH BAPTIST HISTORY LIBRARY
This library is maintained by a Calvinistic landmark Baptist church, but their strident Calvinism aside, they are putting many important 17th century Baptist works at their web site. Currently they have the following titles available:
Cox, Benjamin --Thesis Concerning the Administering and Receiving the Lord’s Supper; 1642
An Appendix to a Confession of Faith, London; 1646
Some Mistaken Scriptures Sincerely Explained, London; 1646
Drapes, Edward -- Gospel Glory Proclaimed Before the Sons of Men, London; 1648
Eccles, John -- Funeral Sermon Preached for John Spilsbury, Bromsgrove; 1699.
Featley, Daniel -- The Dipper’s Dipt, London; 1645
Garner, Robert -- Treatise of Baptism, London; 1645
King, Daniel -- A Way to Zion, Edinburgh; 1656
Postscript to A Way to Zion, Edinburgh; 1656
Stumbling Blocks Removed Out of the Way, Edinburgh; 1656
Some Beams of Light for the Further Clearing of the Way, Edinburgh; 1656
Knolly,s, Hansard -- The Shining of a Flaming Fire in Zion, London; 1646
An Exposition of Matthew 25, The Parable of the 10 Virgins, London; 1674
Patient, Thomas -- The Doctrine of Baptism and the Distinction of the Covenants, London; 1654
Richardson, Samuel -- Justification by Christ Alone, London; 1647
Spilsbury, John -- A Treatise Concerning the Subjects of Baptism, London; 1652
God’s Ordinance, The Saint’s Privilege Part 1; with Benjamin Cox, Part 2, London; 1646
VINTAGE ARCHIVES
This is a relatively new publisher of rare historic titles, focusing on ancient English Bibles. Some of the titles currently in print are as follows:
William Tyndale New Testament (1526)
The Geneva Bible (1560)
The King James Bible (1611)
William Tyndale’s Five Books of Moses
The English Hexapla (1841) (containing the Wycliffe, Tyndale, Cranmer’s, Geneva, Rheims, and the 1611 KJV)
J.R. Dore -- Old Bibles: An Account of the Versions of the English Bible (1876)
Alexander McClure -- Authors of the English Version of the Holy Bible (1855)
Frederic Kenyon -- Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts (1895)
Henry Guppy -- Miles Coverdale and the English Bible 1488-1568 (1935)
W.J. Heaton -- The Bible of the Reformation (1914)
Henry Guppy -- The History of the Transmission of the Bible (1935)
B.F. DeCosta -- The Pre-Columbian Discovery of America by the Northmen
Emma Willard -- The History of the United States or Republic of America (1829)
Alexander Hamilton -- The Federalist, on the New Constitution (1817)
WAY OF LIFE LITERATURE’S ELECTRONIC BAPTIST HISTORY LIBRARY
Way of Life Literature has published the Electronic Baptist History Library containing many valuable and rare materials, both new and old, in the Fundamental Baptist CD-ROM Library. Following are some of the titles:
Acts and Monuments of the Martyrs by John Foxe (1674)
Annals of the English Bible by Christopher Anderson (1845)
Annals of the Reformation in England by John Strype (1822)
Augustine: Father of Roman Catholicism
Baptist Historians - Biographies
Baptist History by J.M. Cramp (1852)
Baptists Not Protestants by C.C. Carroll
Battle for the King James Bible: 1800-1870
A Bibliography of Baptist History
Bogomils of Bulgaria and Bosnia by L.P. Brockett (1879)
The Character of the Anabaptists by John Christian (1922)
A Concise History of the Baptists by G.H. Orchard (1855)
Did They Dip: An Examination of the Practice of Baptism before 1641 (1896) by John Christian
The Divine Right of Infant Baptism Examined and Disproved by John Gill
Early English Baptists by Benjamin Evans (1862)
Early History of Welsh Baptists by J. Davis (1835)
Early Traces of Baptists in Britain by J.J. Goadby (1871)
Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont & the Albigenses by Peter Allix (1690)
Evils of Infant Baptism by R.B.C. Howell (1852)
Fundamentalism, Modernism, and New Evangelicalism by D.W. Cloud
General History of the Baptist Denomination in America and Elsewhere by David Benedict (1813)
The Glorious History of the English Bible by Alexander McClure (1850)
A History of Ancient Christians by Jean Paul Perrin (1846)
History of the Ancient Vallenses and Albigenses by George Faber (1838)
A History of the Baptists by John Christian (1922)
A History of the Baptists by Thomas Armitage (1890)
A History of the Christian Church by William Jones (1812)
History of the Donatists by David Benedict (1875)
History of the English Bible by David Cloud
History of the English Baptists by Joseph Ivimey (1811)
History of the English General Baptists by Adam Taylor (1818)
History of the French Bible by David Cloud
History of the Inquisition by Andrew Miller (c. 1881)
History of the Papacy by J.A. Wylie (1888)
History of Protestantism by J.A. Wylie (1899)
History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century by J.H. Merle d’Aubigne (1835)
History of the Reformation in Spain by Thomas McCrie (1829)
History of the Spanish Bible by D.W. Cloud
A History of the Waldenses by J.A. Wylie (1860)
The Inquisition: A Study in Absolute Catholic Power
Is There a Visible Succession of Baptist Churches? by Thomas Armitage (1890)
John Wycliffe and the Early English Bible by D.W. Cloud
The Life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Miller’s Church History by Andrew Miller (c. 1881)
Protestant Persecution of Baptists in America by Joseph Banvard
Reformers and Their Stepchildren: Introduction by Leonard Verduin
Roger Williams: America's Founder of Religious Liberty
Rome and the Bible: The 19th Century by D.W. Cloud
Some Remarks on the Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont by Peter Allix (1690)
Some Remarks on the Ecclesiastical History of the Albigenses by Peter Allix (1690)
The Strange History of Pentecostalism by D.W. Cloud
The Trail of Blood by by B.H. Carroll (1931)
The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop
Waldensian History by J.A. Wylie (1860)
Were the Waldensians Baptists or Pedo-baptists? by John L. Waller (1849)
A Woman Rides the Beast by Dave Hunt
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That old warrior for the faith C.H. Spurgeon said to his preacher friends, "Sell your shirt (if necessary) and buy books." He was a tremendously diligent student and had a vast library. Sound literature is worth its weight in gold, and it is worth even more than that! The faithful old Apostle, at Rome in prison awaiting his martyrdom, said to preacher Timothy, "when thou comest, bring ... the books" (2 Tim. 4:13). Amen!
Updated November 23, 2004 (first published May 23, 1996)
(David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service)
