Ruth Gouldbourne

The aim of the book is to reexamine Baptist theology and practice in the light of the contemporary biblical, theological, ecumenical and missiological context, drawing on historical and contemporary writings and issues. It is not a study in denominationalism but rather seeks to revision historical insights from the believers' church tradition for the sake of Baptists and other Christians in the context of the modernpostmodern context.

This book explores the concept of an "angel of the church." It begins with the question that so intrigued Walter Wink: Why would Jesus ask John to write to an angel in Revelation 2-3? This work develops, critiques, and expands Wink's answer. It does so by taking the historical records of three churches in England's West Country and bringing them into conversation with Wink's understanding of the angel of the church. It then goes further by introducing Wink's work to specialists in fields that include architecture, demographics, and church polity. This scholarly conversation creates a matrix within which ministers with pastoral charge might be equipped to explore the spiritual identity (or angel) of their own congregations.

Bristol Baptist College is the oldest continuing Baptist College in the world, and has a rich story of faith, service, challenge, and people. As the College moves into its fourth century, this book explores the story of the first three centuries.

During the sixteenth-century reformations, Caspar Schwenckfeld was one of the mavericks and creative thinkers who made up the amorphous grouping of radicals. At the time, and since, much has been made of the number of women who were attracted to his theology. Various reasons for this have been suggested, ranging from the attractions of a well spoken nobleman through to the pull of a more domestic religion. This study argues that the attraction lay in the theology that Schwenckfeld explored and offered, and the ways in which it destabilized the accepted social and biological definitions of gender identity.

During the sixteenth-century reformations, Caspar Schwenckfeld was one of the mavericks and creative thinkers who made up the amorphous grouping of radicals. At the time, and since, much has been made of the number of women who were attracted to his theology. Various reasons for this have been suggested, ranging from the attractions of a well spoken nobleman through to the pull of a more domestic religion. This study argues that the attraction lay in the theology that Schwenckfeld explored and offered, and the ways in which it destabilized the accepted social and biological definitions of gender identity.