In The Courage of Your Faith, twelve short stories from our Baptist history set the stage for the study of issues as relevant today as they were then. You will be challenged and you will be surprised by what stands our forefathers took and by the impact they had. They often were the source and catalyst of social conflagration. Looking at Baptist History in this way teaches us something of what it means to be a Christ follower and the role Christians had in making the world what is today. These stories are part of a Bible Study series of the same name. The studies and supporting documentation, pictures, and web links are available at
Below are the time periods, the story settings, and some of the study issues. The issues may not be directly addressed in the narratives.
• 1555 – The martyrdom of William Hunter. How important is the Bible?
• 1608 – The first Baptist church. What is Baptism?
• 1638 – The English civil war. Is salvation a matter of man's choice, or is it based on God's choice of the elect?
• 1650 – The whipping of Obadiah Holmes. Grace. Can you really have victory over sin?
• 1718 – Bonet and Blackbeard come to Charleston. What is the nature and extent of Christian liberty?
• 1745 – The First Great Awakening. How has Christianity changed the world?
• 1771 – The battle of Alamance. What is the role of EMOTION in worship?
• 1784 – The start of a new nation. What stand would an 18th century Baptist take on gay marriage?
• 1793 – Gowan Pamphlet’s black church of Williamsburg. Associations. Should churches work together?
• 1845 – Southern Baptists separate from American Baptists. What does the slavery issue that divided our country have to do with pornography?
• 1871 – Lottie Moon. How should we react to suffering?
• 1979 – The conservative/liberal confrontation for control of the SBC. Can the Bible be taken literally?
