Trail of Blood  by Dr. J.M. Carroll

This little book moved me beyond words.  I thought I knew a little bit about church history and admittedly a little less about Baptist history, though I am a Baptist.  Years ago when I read Foxe's Book of Martyrs, I was shocked yet inspired by the spiritual prowess of those early Christians.  Dr. Carroll's book brought their suffering closer to home.  Foxe failed to mention the suffering Baptist-like believers endured for nearly 1200 years.  I suspect that's because he didn't count these "anabaptists" as Christians.  Maybe he wanted to hide the 50 million Baptist-like believers who were slaughtered betweem 400 amd 1600 AD.  I don't know.  You decide.

Sure, I knew about the Spanish Inquisition.  Or at least I thought I did.  I didn't know so-called Christians quickly developed the habit of persecuting, torturing and even murdering fellow Christians no sooner than the Roman pagans supposedly accepted Christianity and stopped feeding us to the lions.  I didn't know Christians who believed the same biblical doctrines that I believe, like believer's baptism based on a personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as opposed to infant sprinkling, were hunted down, imprisoned and murdered for standing on those biblical doctrines rather than obey the established church, which by its establishment and connection with the state violated another biblical doctrine, that of local church autonomy and liberty of conscience.

Dr. Carroll gives us a very careful history, one that a lot of folks would pretend never happened. They would rather you didn't know the truth about church history, or you might suspect history could repeat itself.  It already has and it will again.  Though they might like to control history or knowledge itself, they really can't.  As surely as the Lord guided the steps of early Christians, true believers can still find the truth.  He doesn't hide Himself from those who earnestly seek Him.

Dr. Carroll not only follows the trail of blood down through the centuries, he uncovered the trail for us to follow it too.  That's something every Baptist should appreciate.  I wholeheartedly recommend this book to those seeking the truth.