William the Baptist: A Classic Story of a Man's Journey to Understand Baptism

Publisher's Description

"On a bright summer evening, about the middle of June, as Pastor Cowan was sitting with his wife on their front porch, William Meadows, a promising lawyer, passed by. . ."

So begins one young man’s journey to understand and reconsider the Bible’s true position on baptism. When William marries into a church denomination that is very different from his own, he finds himself struggling to reconcile two opposite views on baptism. Through a series of conversations with a wise, older pastor, William strips away his preoccupations about baptism and returns to the plain, clear truth that the Bible teaches

James Chaney first used this unique format of personal dialogue to explore baptism and its modes in this timeless book, and his observations are just as powerful and needed today. He sheds light on a controversial topic by confining his argument to the Word of God alone, first examining the meaning of baptism through its uses in Scripture, then exploring the significance of the ceremony, and finally examining the evidence of cases of baptism in the New Testament.

Take a fresh look at baptism by sitting in on these conversations yourself, now edited and updated for a modern audience by Ronald Evans. And, as the editor observes, ‘May it be refreshing and enlightening once again to have William the Baptist pose his questions—questions for which there are satisfying answers.’

About the Author

James McDonald Chaney (DD, Princeton Theology Seminary) graduated from the William Jewell College in Missouri and received a Masters degree from King College in Tennessee. He went on to receive a Doctor of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey and was ordained in 1858 by the Lafayette Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church, Missouri. He served as pastor and preacher at several churches in Missouri and was the president of the Elizabeth Aull Female Seminary in Lexington, Missouri, the Kansas City Ladies' College in Independence, Missouri, and the Independence Academy of Missouri. William the Baptist, his most popular work, was originally published in 1877 and has been reprinted by several publishers.