Going for the Jugular: A Documentary History of the SBC Holy War
Published in 1996, Walter Shurden’s Going for the Jugular is an extremely helpful resource for those desiring to read and study primary source documents pertaining to the Conservative Resurgence of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Coming from the perspective of the moderates, Shurden groups fifty public domain readings into three time periods, 1979-1983, 1984-1987, and 1988-1991. In Shurden’s mind, these three periods represent the three distinct time frames of the controversy.
The first, 1979-1983, marks the period when both conservatives and moderates claimed various victories in the Convention. The second, 1984-1987, gives readings from the period when conservatives gained great momentum. Finally, the third, 1988-1991, documents the time when the fundamentalists delivered the knockout punch to the moderates.
Some of the notable documents included in the book are: Adrian Rogers’ Pastor’s Conference Sermon (1979), Roy Honeycutt’s “Holy War” Convention address (1984), The Glorieta Statement (1986), and the SBC resolution on the priesthood of all believers (1988).
If you are a Southern Baptist, it is important for you to know where you have come from. As one man said to me recently, “Knowing history gives you wisdom for the future.” This is very true, and it is unfortunate that many Southern Baptists do not know, or care, about the battles waged in the past. As one who celebrates the Conservative Resurgence, I disagree with Shurden’s overall perspective of the Inerrancy Controversy; however, his book is a useful tool for those seeking to learn about recent events in our Southern Baptist heritage.
