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Did you know that Baptist chiurches started in France before they started in Texas ?
If you master just a little bit of French, please try to follow this video, which is the first of a serie of short History videos retracing the long story of Baptist Churches in France from 1810 to 1950 (based upon a PhD).
Female religious leadership in Protestant churches is trendy. However, things don't always go smooth.
The Protestant landscape displays very contrasting trends.
If we consider the British isles, situations vary enormously.
Just to take an example, England is way ahead Scotland in terms of Female access to Pastoral leadership.
How come ? Let's consider the Baptist case. The first English Baptist female minister was ordained in 1918.
In Scotland, the same happened in..... 2009 !!!!
The Scottish Kirk (the main Presbyterian body in Scotland) did no much better. The main Presbyterian Church in Scotland ordained its first female minister in..... 1969 (40 years after France. Madeleine Blocher Saillens was ordained as a Baptist minister in Paris as early as in 1929).
Why is it like this ? Why SCOTLAND, whose History is so full of Freedom fighters, is so way behind England, France and many countries in terms of female religious leadership ?
One BIG reason may be rooted in far history.
Actually, John Knox (1514-1572), a huge towering figure in Scotland's religious history, played a pivotal role in the implementation of Protestant Reformation in Scotland.
And he was very much AGAINST any kind of female religious leadership, as this article ot the Scotsman reminds us (link).
Knoxic masculinity ?
Langham is one ot the major publishers providing today fresh quality content from skilled African authors.
Social science researchers would greatly benefit from paying closer attention to the many good books released each year, including this one: written by Eraston Kambale Kighoma from a Christian scholarly point of view, this missiology study is worth reading.
It provides a deep insight into the way Baptist churches in Congo dealt with the war in Eastern Congo between 1990 and 2011.
As you already know, I did study French Baptist history for my Ph.D (defended in Sorbonne EPHE in 1998). I've decided to review (and improve) two old Powerpoint presentations.
The first one is historical and chronological. It explains the four steps of French Baptist implantation, from 1800s to 1950s.
The second one is a thematic presentation, using both sociology and history, in order to highlight the social distinctives of Baptist churches (and individuals) in French society.
These two slideshows are in French. They may require some effort to be read and understood but the effort is worth it!
The first slideshow can be seen here : Link to historical slides
The second slideshow can be seen here : Link to thematic slides
Did you know that there were Baptist churches in France before Baptist churches started in Texas ?
Baptist beginnings trace back to 1820, with several Believer's baptisms in Nomain (North of France). One year after (1821), the first French Baptist congregation started in Aix, a very small village near Nomain.
Due to the current pandemia, French Baptists could not really mark this 200th Anniversary properly. However, this French Baptist bicentenary remains a significant step towards a more diverse French religious landscape.
As I did study this particular French Baptist history for my Ph.D (defended in Sorbonne EPHE in 1998), I've decided to review (and improve) an old Powerpoint presentation which explains the four steps of French Baptist implantation, from 1800s to 1950s.
Although this presentation is in french, the many pictures and sources may be of some interest to English-speaking lovers of Protestant History.
Professor David W. Bebbington (University of Stirling, Scotland, UK) is widely known as one of the World's best experts on Evangelicalism. It was a priviledge to see him visiting France for two brilliant lectures given in Paris (IBN on the 16th of Feb, Rue de Lille Baptist Church on the 17th of Feb). There is more to read in my French-speaking blog (link).
This album (link) opens a few windows on this landmark visit.
As a particlarly remarkable historian, but also as a person, David W. Bebbington is a towering and inspirational figure to many scholars devoted to the study of Evangelical History, including myself.
I've started to interact and meet with David W. Bebbington since 2000 (Wake Forest University, USA). David W. Bebbington's visit to France in 2018 gave me the occasion to go back to some of these older memories (see the first 8 pics of the album). Link