"Nurtured in a Tennessee Baptist home, the grandson of a pioneer Baptist preacher and church starter, William Whitsitt grew up knowing and admiring the principle leaders of Landmarkism (Graves, Pendleton, and Dayton)." "Brilliant scholar and loyal Baptist, Whitsitt was a key leader in the original effort to mobilize the white Baptist churches of the South into an effective and centralized denominational organization to support missions and Christian education. His scholarly discoveries in original English Baptist documents offended Baptist sensibilities and the resulting national controversy led to his being hounded from office. At stake in the controversy was academic freedom and the fundamental issue of the struggle of Southern Baptists with the legacy of the enlightenment and modernity - the confrontation between the "new learning" and the "old faith.""--BOOK JACKET.