Come Out from among Them and Be Ye Separate Saith the Lord: Separationism and the Believers' Church Tradition

Believers Churches have their origin in the Radical Reformation of the sixteenth century. Over the past 450 years the movement has included the Brethren Mennonites Hutterites various types of Baptists and the Restoration Movement. While never a unified denominational structure the Believers Churches together have been characterized by a strong personal faith in Christ a call to discipleship and Christian activism a high view of the authority of Scripture and profession of faith in believers baptism. The Believers Churches have represented their beliefs in various ecumenical settings missionary gatherings and theological conversations.In the late 1950s representatives of the several Believers Churches began to meet in a series of conferences to explore their common views on doctrine history and ethics. Topics at the conferences have included baptism Lords Supper the nature of the church and religious voluntarism. In 2016 the 17th Believers Church Conference was held at Acadia University and sponsored by Acadia Divinity College. The theme was The Tendency Toward Separationism Among the Believers Churches a key recurring characteristic. This volume includes the papers presented at the conference and examines the theme from an immediate post-Reformation perspective including Baptists Black Baptists Restorationists (including the Churches of Christ) the Hutterites Pentecostals the role of women and significantly the separationist tendency as it occurs in New Religious Movements. Typologies and analyses are provided by leading historians theologians and social science specialists.