| Sociologist and Southern Baptist critic, Nancy Ammerman, wrote that at the height of the battle for the Bible in the Southern Baptist Convention, the flames of the resurgence were fanned by the graduates of three alternative Southern Baptist institutions: Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis, TN, The Criswell College in Dallas, TX, and Luther Rice Seminary in Jacksonville, FL. Institutions bear the stamp and imprint of their leaders. The dissertation argues that these institutions exerted a decisive theological and homiletical influence on the Southern Baptist Convention during the tumultuous Inerrancy Controversy, thus providing momentum for the Conservative Resurgence.;Chapter one provides an overview of the resurgence of the Southern Baptist Convention, giving particular attention to the controversies which have surfaced in the denomination leading up to and including the Inerrancy Controversy.;Chapter two focuses on the background and formative influences of the men who led the alternative Southern Baptist institutions during the Conservative Resurgence: Gray Allison, Paige Patterson, and Gene Williams. The similarities between them are noted: earned doctorates from the same seminary, commitment to evangelism, service as pastors of churches, and theological commitment to the inerrancy of Scripture.;Chapter three probes the history, beliefs, and curricula of the alternative institutions, with particular attention given to their instruction in preaching. The institutional insistence on the doctrine of the inerrancy of Scripture is noted.;Chapter four argues that preachers and preaching fulfilled a critical role during epochal moments in the resurgence. Analyses of two sermons by W. A. Criswell and one sermon by Jerry Vines show how preaching exerted an influence on the SBC. |
