Bible Believers

Nancy Tatom Ammerman spent a year in 1979-1980 participating in, observing, and interviewing the members of a suburban Connecticut congregation, described on its church sign as "Independent, Fundamental, Premillennial, and Baptistic." Although she is not a fundamentalist, Ammerman's own background was similar enough for her to fit in easily and to be accepted and trusted.

• ContentsPreface vii1 Introduction 12 Fundamentalist Forebears 173 Southside Gospel Church 254 Being Always Ready to Give an Answer 405 On Light and Darkness 726 The Assembling Together of Believers 1037 The Shepherd and His Flock 1208 Husband and Wives 1349 Bringing Them In 14710 The Nature and Admonition of the Lord 16711 Fundamentalists in the Modern World 188Notes 213Bibliography 227Index 241

"This is a superior work--impeccable in its scholarship and marked by a fine human sensibility. It is a significant contribution to our understanding of this particular faith community, and, beyond that, to the sociology of religion as a discipline." - Peter Berger (Boston University) "Adroitly describes and analyzes the worldview of fundamentalists today... a must for all libraries."  (Choice) "An excellent book, one that could become a model for congregational studies. It seeks an experiential as well as an empirical understanding of the life and faith of a congregation of people. It is fair and readable." (Church History) "Required reading for those who are tired of the liberal penchant or fundamentalist-bashing and would like an objective yet sympathetic study of this important movement... I highly recommend this empathetic study." - Walter J. Benjamin (The Christian Century) "A comprehensive profile of what it is and what it means to be a fundamentalist in our time." (Journal of Church and State) "Anyone who as ever spent time in a fundamentalist church will experience deja vu all over again reading Nancy Ammerman's ethnography... The strength of her fine works is her acute and empathetic observation... judicious, sympathetic, and readable." (Journal of the American Academy of Religion) Anyone who as ever spent time in a fundamentalist church will experience deja vu all over again reading Nancy Ammerman's ethnography... The strength of her fine works is her acute and empathetic observation... judicious, sympathetic, and readable. (Journal of the American Academy of Religion) A comprehensive profile of what it is and what it means to be a fundamentalist in our time. (Journal of Church and State) Required reading for those who are tired of the liberal penchant or fundamentalist-bashing and would like an objective yet sympathetic study of this important movement... I highly recommend this empathetic study. - Walter J. Benjamin, (The Christian Century) An excellent book, one that could become a model for congregational studies. It seeks an experiential as well as an empirical understanding of the life and faith of a congregation of people. It is fair and readable. (Church History) Adroitly describes and analyzes the worldview of fundamentalists today... a must for all libraries. (Choice) This is a superior work--impeccable in its scholarship and marked by a fine human sensibility. It is a significant contribution to our understanding of this particular faith community, and, beyond that, to the sociology of religion as a discipline. - Peter Berger (Boston University)