When I first surfed over to Associated Baptist Press and saw a review of Wade Burleson’s Hardball Religion had been posted, I could only roll my eyes. Who better to give Burleson an overly favorable review than his two henchmen???
Needless to say, I was surprised by what Cole and Duren wrote. Check these paragraphs out:
The goal of Burleson’s story, however, is not to provide an exhaustive history, but rather an intimate narrative of personal experiences.
Thus, readers who are unfamiliar with the events recorded do not always receive full background or sufficient context. In some instances, Burleson’s omissions leave the work void of a needed interpretive framework. In others, the author renders facts and events with varying degrees of chronological accuracy.
At times, Burleson’s recollection of events is vastly different from our own, and some of the details he provides cannot be corroborated by our own archives of e-mails, letters and blog posts. Indeed, we regret that Burleson, in his haste to publish the book, has demonstrated a certain degree of carelessness in citing his sources, checking his facts — and imputing motives to his subjects.
Hardball Religion is not a work of candid self-examination, so the reader should not expect revealing moments of second-guessing or regret on the author’s part. We searched diligently to find where Burleson might acknowledge any momentary error of judgment, harshness of tone or bitterness of spirit, though we found none.
Rare indeed are men whose mirrors reflect no flaws. We only wish Burleson had offered a few words of contrite introspection that might serve to undermine popular mischaracterizations of him and reveal the man we both know as a friend. His book could only have been strengthened thereby.
Good stuff. John Pierce also has an excellent review of Burleson’s Hardball Religion in the latest issue of Baptists Today. See Burleson Late To The Game
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To call me Burleson’s, or anyone’s, henchman is completely ignorant, Aaron, and you know it.
Hey Duren,
Ever heard of hyperbole?
You know, it’s a literary device which, according to Wikipedia, “may be used to evoke strong feelings or create a strong impression, but is rarely meant to be taken literally.”
The problem with “fundamental-conservatives” as your kind used to be called is that y’all like to take EVERYTHING literally.
However, Ben Cole and Wade Burleson are not unfamiliar with similar literary devices - the proof of that is in the pudding, er their blog posts.
I’m pretty confident that any person who reads this post and is familiar with the names Ben Cole and Marty Duren will already have their own opinion formed about your relationship to Burleson. They’ll likely receive my one-word description as hyperbolic….
It’s worth noting that any future Baptist history text that mentions Wade Burleson, Ben Cole or Marty Duren will likely be authored by someone with a moderate-progressive Baptist pedigree like myself.
Secular historians don’t care about a controversial trustee of the missions agency of the Southern Baptist Convention. And Southern Baptist historians who wish to have a future in the Southern Baptist Convention will undoubtedly completely skip over the Memphis Declaration, McKissic, Klouda, and Burleson saga in their accounts of Baptist history.
Moderate and progressive Baptists who choose to include a section on early 21st century SBC history will likely give Klouda and McKissic a paragraph or two as my dad has already done in his book and a Baptist History & Heritage journal article. However, short-lived attempts at denominational reform usually don’t get much coverage in history texts at the end of the day. It’s unfortunate that the Burleson/Cole/Duren effort at reform was so short-lived….
I don’t know what Marty is talking about, but I’m a knuckle-dragging, club-wielding henchman Troglodyte or the nastiest sort.
henchman- (pl. men) chiefly derogatory a faithful follower or political supporter, esp. one prepared to engage in crime or dishonest practices by way of service
You know, like Batman and Superman had “henchmen.” Oh, right, that was the Joker and Lex Luther. I’m afraid that there are not enough people in America that are appreciative of such a literary device. Not even among the moderate-progressive types.
As to whether I’ll be mentioned in anyone’s Baptist history…talk about your hyperbole.
How dare Duren or anyone else imply that ignorance is not a valued virtue on this blog!
Cole and Duren were very merciful.