This dissertation argues that pure worship was the early English Particular Baptist distinctive. Their overwhelming desire to worship God purely drove the development of this group's theology and ecclesiology as well as their self-identity.;Chapter 1 explains the goal of the argument, establishes a definition of worship, and clarifies the scope of the early Particular Baptists.;Chapter 2 establishes the liturgical context of sixteenth and seventeenth century England, drawing particular attention to the goals and motives of the Puritans and Separatists, and explaining their connections with the Particular Baptists.;Chapter 3 describes how worship influenced the early Baptist doctrine of the church, focusing on their concepts of freedom, primitivism, and separatism.;Chapter 4 describes how worship influenced the early Baptist doctrine of the Scriptures, particularly right hermeneutics.;Chapter 5 describes how these Baptists wed their worship with the gospel.;Chapter 6 introduces the hymn-singing controversy of the late seventeenth century as a recapitulation of the entire argument. It also draws conclusions and implications for further study and development.
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