Baptists Today editor Marv Knox reviews a new biography of former BJC Director James Dunn, written by Aaron Weaver. "James M. Dunn and Soul Freedom" recounts both his life story and his life's work in a way that, Knox writes, "goes beyond biography."
[T]his is the story of what most people refer to as religious liberty and what Dunn almost always calls soul freedom, "the fire that burns in the innards of every true Baptist." For Dunn, the genesis of soul freedom is every person's creation in God's image, and it means everyone ultimately is free to approach God directly and responsible to God alone….
Dunn worked on a national stage in Washington while Baptists and most Americans fought over the meaning and implications of religious liberty and separation of church and state. So, this book provides an engrossing primer on the public arguments, court cases and legislative proposals that have interpreted the First Amendment and shaped public religious practice the past 30 years. It also offers an insightful look into one of the key sectors of the Southern Baptist Convention controversy that spanned most of that era.
Kudos to Aaron for what sounds like a fantastic and important chronicle of Baptist history. I can't wait to read it!
