Authentic Baptists as identified by Randall Balmer and the threat of the legacy of Charlie Kirk

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 In 1959 and I was baptized at the Truett memorial Baptist Church in Hayesville, North Carolina the birthplace of George W Truett.  my father was the pastor there and it registered with me early the historical marker on Highway 64 on the sidewalk right in front of the Baptist Church.  This  historical markers said something to the effect-- and you can find it online --George W Truett, great Baptist who was 40 years to pastor the first Baptist Church Dallas, Texas was born 3 miles west of here.  There is a camp in Haysville still there in Truett‘s honor and in fact, oh one of my daddy‘s good scrabble playing friends Hershey Miller was in the 10th grade in high school in those days. His father was the association of missionary and he slept in the room in George W Truett‘s bedroom at his house there at the camp in 1960. The  great Baptist Stewart a Newman Came through Haysville with the president of Southeastern seminary and another fella on the way to Nashville in the early days of the Elliott controversy, mom made a good meal for them and when it was over Newman, who really wasn’t enthusiastic about what he knew he would face in Nashville told Olan Binkley said you fellas just go ahead. I think I’ll stay here with Billy. Newman I was later to find out was a mentor to James Dunn DUNN himself.Newman  taught at Southeastern seminary was a teacher, not only for my dad, but his classmates Randall, lolly and Bill Self.  

   1960 would’ve been about four years after he followed WA Criswell  while at the pastors conference in South Carolina after Criswell  would’ve given a race speeding speech. Nwewman said W Criswell doesn'tit speak for me.   See Duke's Curtis Freeman Dead from the Neck up on thattelling piece of American history.   The late 30s it turns out from a oral tradition interview with Newman in archives at Baylor,  Newman was on a Train with George Truett  from Fort Worth to Memphis and they talked a good four hours on that trip and Newman said it wasn’t long before Truett was talking about his entanglement with Jay Frank Norris.   Norris did everything he could to be little Truett and to diminish his great legacy at first Baptist Dallas. In  bigger context in what is to follow the great historian Jill  LEPORE missions in her grand history of America These Truths;, she smart enough to see how Norris and his way of thinking was to poison America’s politics in the 20th centurycom that through the fundamentals take over the southern Baptist convention and it’s part with Bushes the guy he called the third and then perfected in what became the MAGA movement of fundamentalism is the key role plays the key part so much so that when Lepore gets to the 70s, she emphasizes the role of the eagle forum played in slowing down America’s Grudging advanced towards progressive thought in the presidency of Clinton and Obama

  

   Then, as we know the break her own with Trump all this to say with her cover story on the Atlantic for the month of October 2025 she talks about the constitution and original ism and like fundamentalism in the SBC original ism, restless viewof the constitution is throttling America’s best vision this coincides with my friend for 30 years at Dartmouth Randall BALMER his book on Church state separation of the hallmark of Baptist in America, of which Truett was a key a key par

   Jill Lepore in her recent history of America These Truths put the Truett Newman Conversation on the train ride in larger perspective. She has the savvy to make note of the legacy of J Frank Norris and the political evolution of his fundamentalism in her segment on the Scopes Monkey trial. By the end of the 20th Century Karl Rove was perfecting the strategy of molesting religious convictions that have given us the MAGA Base. Lepore doubles down on the Eagle Forum, a sister the John Birch Society and umbrella groups Paul Pressler, Patterson and Jesse Helms were energetic about. It is of some note that Tim Tebow's Mother, a member of Jerry Vines FBC Jacksonville Florida, was the Eagle Forum woman of the year in 2018  

 Thisd is the set up for review of Balmer new book on separation of church and state. Evey authentic Baptist church should have ten copies of this jewel of a reminder of just how significant Baptists are in a very distinctive part of the greatness of America now under threat of the legacy of Charlie Kirck and Christian nationalists forces.

    Balmer recently names Kirk and is compadre David Barton " charlatans" 

    More to come in this review so come back soon.