In pursuit of purity

the long version

Written in 1986, In Pursuit of Purity, by BJU church history professor David O. Beale, is still the most authoritative history of militant Fundamentalism ever written from a Fundamentalist perspective. Beale begins the story with the prayer meeting revivals of 1857 and traces it through the rise of conservative Bible conferences, the ascendance of modernistic liberalism, and the intradenominational battles that ensued. He focuses especially on Baptists and Presbyterians without excluding other groups. Especially helpful for its brief biographical and denominational histories. - Publisher.