Review: W.G.: The Opium-addicted Pistol Toting Preacher Who Raised the First Federal African American Union Troops
W.G.: The Opium-addicted Pistol Toting Preacher Who Raised the First Federal African American Troops
By Donna Burtch and William Burtch (Sunbury Press)
The subtitle seems to say it all, but William Gould Raymond was even more multi-faceted. His abolitionist beliefs led Raymond to volunteer with Company H in the 86th New York Infantry, better known as the Steuben Rangers. He commanded the Provost Guard, where he carried out orders to contain the high-stakes gambling, liquor trafficking and prostitution that plagued the District of Columbia and corrupted the military personnel stationed there. He also was chaplain of the hospitals in Washington, D.C.
Sibling authors Donna and William Burtch give most attention to the role of their great-great-great grandfather—alongside fellow chaplain J.D. Turner—in recruiting and serving as initial commanding officers of the First District of Columbia Colored Volunteers. When Secretary of War Edwin Stanton issued the order that established the Bureau of Colored Troops, the unit Reynolds and Turner had mustered at their own expense and with President Abraham Lincoln’s authorization became the heart of the First U.S. Colored Troops. The authors carefully document those contributions through public notices in Washington newspapers of the time and Lincoln’s presidential papers. However, the House Committee on War Claims denied an $843 invoice for reimbursement, and Reynold’s grave marker in Arlington Cemetery identifies his rank as 1st Lieutenant—the rank he held in the 86th New York Infantry—rather than the rank of Lieutenant Colonel he was granted when Lincoln appointed him as a commanding officer of the African American recruits.
Later in life, Reynolds was a Baptist missionary to Kansas but fell into “worldly pursuits,” such as railroad expansion projects and trafficking in racehorses, and he believed his failure to give full attention to his calling resulted in health problems. Pain caused by ulcers, heart disease, and liver and kidney ailments led a doctor to prescribe opium, and he became addicted to the narcotic. Even after he returned to Washington, he confessed to seeking “diversion in worldly amusements,” such as playing dominoes, croquet and checkers, and in attending theater productions with friends and “even horse shows at fairs.” Filled with guilt, he experienced a mystical vision and spiritual renewal in the woods of Rock Creek near Washington. He spent his final years as a faith healer, first in the Baptist churches he had served for decades and eventually in nondenominational congregations.
W.G. is a work of military history, religious history and family history. More than that, it offers an intriguing portrait of a complex and fallible—but dedicated—man of God.
Ken Camp, Managing Editor
Baptist Standard
In this book, Ibrahim—director of the Center for Christian Understanding of Islam at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary—offers a succinct but incisive exploration of Muhammad’s history and his teachings. In one important section, he makes a distinction between three Muhammads—the legendary mythic figure of folk Islam, the prophet revered by observant Muslims and the historical individual known primarily for his military exploits.
In time for Mother’s Day giving and summer reading, New York Times bestselling author, lawyer and media personality Shannon Bream has released The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak: Lessons on Faith from Nine Biblical Families. The main title might lead the reader to mistakenly believe the Liberty University alumna teaches only about relationships between mothers and their daughters. Instead, the book thoughtfully and thoroughly examines faith in the Scriptural stories of women through their roles as mothers and daughters, some simultaneously. As a bonus, she weaves in her own personal story.
In a brief introduction, Connor likens the Bales’ journey to navigating icy roads, spinning out, occasionally in the ditch, and then going “Crash” as he shares Hannah’s near-fatal medical crisis in 2018. Using descriptive chapter titles all beginning with the letter C, the loving daddy then goes back in time to share his and Mary’s story.
The story opens with Bronco and three canine friends snacking on honey cake, at least until any picnic’s most unwelcome visitors spoil the fun. But Bronco’s greatest fear isn’t ants but bees. A bee touches his tail buzzing, “Help me!”
Her Nana builds the best forts but “never lets me win” at checkers, so someday I’ll beat her “fair and square,” the girl says. She “hates poopy diapers” because she’s already changed 10,453 and “can’t face one more.” Nana sugars tomatoes, sneaks cookies before dinner and allows trying on makeup. She uses “twenty different bottles of polish” on fingers and toes and lets “me make my own choice” when it comes to clothes. Nana’s great at “ginormous” hopscotch games, playing in sprinklers and urging climbing high in the sky.
In Charlotte Atlee White Rowe: The Story of America’s First Appointed Woman Missionary, Reid Trulson, retired executive director of American Baptist International Ministries, chronicles the other Charlotte, whose service and controversial appointment in 1815 have been largely overlooked and “written out of history.”
Loren Haarsma, associate professor of physics at Calvin University, does not question the validity of evolution. He does wonder, however, about traditional Western readings of Scripture such as Augustine’s position on the creation and fall story. He considers alternatives, focusing on four scenarios for how the orthodox biblical understanding of sin and its origin might square—or “harmonize”—with evolution.
Song fills the pages with Scripture, personal confession, examples gleaned from students in her “Internet and Society” course and academic research. Throughout the book, the cultural sociologist of media and digital technologies inserts exercises titled “The Freedom Project: Experiments in Praxis.” The practices, many of which she uses with students, include a goal, digital experiment, actions and reflections designed to help understand device impact.
The mother of four girls explains, “Like any parent, I assume, I struggle—always questioning whether I am doing enough, teaching enough, laying enough of a foundation for these precious gifts.” McLennan, a former second grade teacher, lays that foundation in seven “Dear Daughters” chapters, all written with love, wisdom, practical advice, solid research and most of all, Scripture and biblical truth.
The latest book follows the same format as its predecessor. It features two dozen essays about Baptists, ranging from 17th century religious liberty champion Obadiah Holmes to 20th century ethicist and peacemaker Glenn H. Stassen. Most are about 10 pages in length—short enough to read in a brief time but long enough to provide engaging anecdotes from lives well-lived.
After reading How the Word is Passed, I can say, “I better understand the fear.”