Not everyone in Fuller’s day regarded Andrew Fuller with a favourable eye. There were, of course, theological opponents like John Martin of London. And then there were writers like David Rivers who, in his Literary Memoirs of Living Authors of Great Britain (London: R. Faulder, 1798), I, 201-202, described Fuller as “the author of several Religious Tracts written with all the Vulgarity of a Methodist Teacher. He has written a controversial pamphlet against Socinianism, which displays a very small share, if any, of education or talent.” This blogger begs to differ and sees many of Fuller’s works as sheer brilliance.
Audio Interview with Haykin and Whitney
Dr. Haykin is involved, with Dr. Don Whitney, in the development and teaching of the first Ph.D. program in spirituality in the US in a non-Catholic school, and the first D.Min. program in spirituality in an SBC seminary. If you'd like to read about these new doctoral programs in Biblical Spirituality at Southern Seminary, click here. To hear a seven-minute interview with Drs. Haykin and Whitney on the Moody Broadcasting Network's Prime Time America radio program about Southern's new doctoral programs in Biblical Spirituality, click here. Once there, go 1:20:00 into the program where the interview starts.
Posted by Steve Weaver, Research and Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.
John Newton on Entering Pastoral Ministry
A newly transcribed and published excerpt from John Newton's diary provides a understanding of his view on the ministry. Dr. Haykin has reviewed the booklet, Ministry on my mind: John Newton on entering pastoral ministry by John Newton, transcribed by Marylynn Rouse. Dr. Haykin believes that this work deserves to go on the short list of books which every man aspiring to pastoral ministry needs to read. Read the review here. Other reviews are available here. Check back regularly as new reviews are usually added on a weekly basis.
Posted by Steve Weaver, Research and Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.
Helmuth James von Moltke, martyred January 23, 1945
On this day, in 1945, Helmuth James von Moltke (b.1906) was excuted by the Nazi regime for being a Christian and refusing to acknowledge Adolf Hitler as his supreme commander in all things. Von Moltke was the son of an English woman and a wealthy German landowner, the latter was in turn the grand nephew of a famous German Field Marshall from the First World War. Throughout the 1930s Moltke had opposed Hitler and the Nazi regime, and regarded their accession to power as a catastrophe of the first magnitude. During the war years he actively opposed Hitler, but unlike some others he came to reject the idea that assassinating Hitler was the way to correct matters within Germany. He was a Christian who refused to behave as the Nazis did. In January 1944, though, he was arrested for his active resistance to Hitler. He was put on trial in January 1945 and he rejoiced in the fact that eventually his trial boiled down to one fact, that he, as a Christian refused to accept Hitler’s demand for total and absolute obedience.
At one point in his trial, his judge, Roland Freisler, shouted at him: “Only in one respect are we [i.e. the Nazis] and Christianity alike: we demand the whole man!” Freisler then asked Moltke: “From whom do you take your orders? From the Beyond or from Adolf Hitler?” “Who commands your loyalty and your faith?” Moltke rightly saw these questions as the decisive ones of his entire trial. As he told his wife in a farewell letter, he was on trial simply as Christian and nothing else. From the point of view of the Nazis, because as a Christian he refused to give total obedience to Hitler, he had to die.
Ever since I read some of his letters to his wife Freya in the 1970s, I have found his life to be a source of tremendous inspiration.
Look at this cake!
Now, while we are speaking about the Puritans and pudding, look at this cake that would have added some serious calories to Calvin's waistline. HT: Ian Clary.
Did the Puritans dislike Christmas pudding?
Last fall while speaking at Hespeler Baptist Church on the Puritans a friend gave me a page she had found in the catalogue of a British firm that shipped various British foods overseas. This particular page advertised Christmas pudding.
Part of the ad ran thus: “Christmas pudding should be so wickedly good it makes you feel like repenting. That’s the effect it had on the Puritans, who, back in Britain in 1664, banned the rich dessert as a lewd tradition. Thankfully, King George gave in to temptation and removed the ban in 1714.”
Pasing by the incredible statement of the first line, it seems as if this ad derived its historical data from this webpage of BBC2: “Traditional Christmas Pudding” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A660836), where we are further informed that the Puritans' argument against the pudding was that “mainly due to its rich ingredients” they deemed it “unfit for God-fearing people.” When George reintroduced it, according to this web page, the Quakers objected, calling it “the invention of the scarlet whore of Babylon.” Doing a quick check, it appears that a number of places on the Web have similar information and the same dates.
There are some obvious problems here. First, the Puritans, if we mean the English Puritans, had no power to be banning anything in 1664 since the Restoration in 1660 had led to their complete removal from the halls of power. Then, the Quakers are not to be confused with the Puritans. King George of the ad is presumably George I (r.1714-1727). George, who spoke virtually not a word of English—he was a Hanoverian from Germany—became king in August of 1714. And it was that December he reinstated the Christmas pudding.
Well, someone who loves the Puritans needs to research this and find out the truth. This would make a very good term paper!
Volume on John Broadus Reviewed
One of Dr. Haykin's many responsibilities is to serve as the series editor for a new series "Studies in Baptist Life and Thought" published by B & H Academic. The first volume of this series was published this past year and it features a collection of essays on the life and legacy of John A. Broadus. W. Madison Grace II, a PhD student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has recently reviewed this volume for their Baptist Theology website. Be sure and check out the review as well as the many other valuable resources available on this website devoted to the study of issues related to Baptist life.
Posted by Steve Weaver, Research and Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.
The history of nonsense is...
I was in a different Barnes and Noble today—the one on Glades Road in Boca Raton. Man, some of you will think I live in Barnes and Noble! This time I noticed another great quote but failed to take note of the book it was in.
“Nonsense is nonsense; and the history of nonsense is scholarship.”
LOL! Priceless and how true at times!
Tea and the Glory of God
I was in a Barnes and Noble tonight and dipped into a book by Rebecca St. James—Sister freaks: Stories of Women who gave up everything for God (New York: Warner Faith, 2005). I didn’t get beyond the first page, where I read this quote from Watchman Nee: “Everywhere Jesus went, there was revolution. Everywhere I go, they serve tea” (p.xi). She didn’t footnote it, so I am not sure where she got this from. But two thoughts immediately came to mind. First, what a way to express the difference between us and our Lord: even as committed a disciple as Watchman Nee (though I would dissent from some of his views about discipleship) knew well the difference. The presence of Jesus was true revolution, beside which the French and Russian Revolutions, American and Industrial Revolutions, and all of the political hype of the last few weeks, pale into insignificance. Second, I thought of a remark I read this week in the Miscellaneous Works of Rev. Charles Buck (New Haven: Whitmore and Minor, 1833), which I found in the library of Knox Theological Seminary, Fort Lauderdale. I had never heard of Buck (1771-1815), who was a Congregationalist minister and who once served as the amanuensis of John Ryland, Sr (p.16-17). When I read about Buck’s connection with Ryland I was hooked and went through the entire book. Among other things, Buck published two collections of anecdotes. One of these books contained the following story—and tea is the link with the Watchman Nee quote.
According to the London Anglican evangelical William Romaine (1714-1795), the “glory of God is very seldom promoted at the tea-table” (p.486). Watchman Nee would definitely have agreed! But not so, Romaine averred, when one drank tea with fellow-Anglican James Hervey (1714-1758), who was also a close friend of both John Wesley and John Ryland. “Drinking tea with him,” Romaine observed, “was like being at an ordinance; for it was sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (p.486).
So drinking tea could be revolutionary!
Dr. Haykin's Latest Book: The Christian Lover: The Sweetness of Love and Marriage in the Letters of Believers
Dr. Haykin's latest book, The Christian Lover: The Sweetness of Love and Marriage in the Letters of Believers, has just been released by Ligonier's Reformation Trust publishing arm. In this volume, Dr. Michael A. G. Haykin declares that “reading expressions of love from the past can be a helpful way of responding to the frangibility of Christian marriage in our day.” To that end, he brings together letters from one or both parties in twelve significant relationships from church history. The correspondents include such notables as Martin Luther (writing to his wife Katie), and John Calvin (expressing to friends his grief over the death of his wife Idelette). Lesser-known writers include Helmuth von Moltke, who wrote to his wife as he faced execution as the hands of the Nazis in 1945. The contents range from courtship communications to proposals of marriage to final words before dying, but most have to do with the events of everyday life. Dr. Haykin provides an introduction to each set of letters and draws practical applications for today’s believers based on the expressions of love made by the correspondents. In the end, The Christian Lover is a celebration of marriage, an intimate window into the thoughts of men and women in love with both God and one another.
To view the Table of Contents and read a Sample Chapter click here.
The book retails for $15.00 and is available for a 20% discount ($12.00) from the publisher.
The book is available from Amazon.com for $10.20.
Westminster Bookstore is offering the volume for $9.90 (34% off).
But the best deal is available from Reformation Heritage Books, where they are offering a 50% discount ($7.50) until tomorrow afternoon at 5:00 pm.
Posted by Steve Weaver, Research and Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.
A Review of Vital Signs of a Healthy Church by Guy Chevreau
Dr. Haykin recently discovered and reviewed a book by Guy Chevreau, who had previously authored a book defending the Toronto Blessing movement, titled Vital Signs of a Healthy Church. A Diagnostic. To read the book review click here. A list of other book reviews may be accessed here.
Posted by Steve Weaver, Research and Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.
Richard John Neuhaus
What a shock to read of Richard John Neuhaus' death. Like Dr. Russell Moore, I too will miss his lucid and pungent prose. And I too plead guilty to always turning to the back first when I read my monthly copy of First Things. There are four or five journals/magazines I have a subscription for—a couple of professional history journals—and then there is First Things. How often the journal has been an oasis for me. I thank God for Richard Neuhaus. And do read the quote from Neuhaus that Dr. Moore includes in his appreciation.
The Spirit of Truth, traditionalism and tradition
When revival comes, the Spirit who brings it also—and always—comes as a Spirit of Truth. He brings heart renewal to God’s people—their eyes sparkle with fire and light—and he reforms theological thinking. Semper reformanda, the Spirit reforming us ongoingly, do we not confess that? Take the revival among English and Welsh Calvinistic Baptists at the close of the “long” eighteenth century. In the wake of this dramatic renewal came a fresh evaluation of what constituted the parameters of the Calvinistic Baptist community. During the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries these parameters had been oriented around the concept of the church as a congregation of baptized believers and any missional component largely lost. Revival came to be linked to Baptist polity. This focus among Calvinistic Baptists on ecclesiological issues and their linking of spiritual vitality to church order, however, received a direct challenge from the Evangelical Revival. The participants of this revival, who knew themselves to be part of a genuine movement of the Spirit of God, were mainly interested in issues relating to salvation. Ecclesial matters often engendered unnecessary strife and, in the eyes of key individuals like George Whitefield, robbed those who disputed about them of God’s blessing.
By the end of the century many Calvinistic Baptists agreed. While they were not at all prepared to deny their commitment to Baptist polity, they were not willing to remain fettered by traditional patterns of Baptist thought about their identity. Retaining the basic structure of Baptist thinking about the church they added one critical ingredient drawn from the experience of the Evangelical Revival: the vital need for local Baptist churches to be centres of vigorous evangelism. There is no doubt that this amounted to a re-thinking of Baptist identity. From the perspective of these Baptists, Baptist congregations and their pastors were first of all Christians who needed to be concerned about the spread of the Gospel at home and abroad.
May we, the spiritual descendants of those brethren—oh what a joy to have men and women like Andrew Fuller and John Sutcliff, Samuel Pearce and Anne Steele, Benjamin Beddome and Benjamin Francis as our forebears!—not fail to learn the lessons they learned so well!
Oh to treasure the traditions these brothers and sisters have handed on to us, but a pox on traditionalism! This is not a contradiction: to love our traditions, but to want nothing to do with traditionalism. The latter loves the past becuase it is simply the past and thinks that things were always done better then. The former loves the traditions of the past for they are bearers of truth and we dare not lose that treasure.
Oh to be found faithful to the end of our days to the faith once for all delivered to the saints and which these brethren have handed on to us. But oh to avoid like the plague the aridity of traditionalism in second- and third-order theological truth, not daring to think new thoughts in these areas. Fuller and his friends were not so fearful.
May we be found faithful to their heritage. May we, like them, be found utterly passionate in our love for the Lord Jesus and his great kingdom—the only community of good and blessing that will last for all eternity—but God help us to know what must be done to be true to this passion in our day!
Nakedity, corporeality and classical Christianity
One of the deepest ironies of the Ancient World is that the Judaeo-Christian tradition, which has a manifest taboo about nakedity (outside of marriage), also has a deep respect for the body (it will be resurrected, for one), while Graeco-Roman paganism, which was shameless in its display of nudity, had a very low view of the worth of the body. The popular Greek saying sōma sēma, “the body is a tomb” well sums up this low view of the human body. In this respect, Gnosticism, with its overt hatred of bodily existence, is flat-out Hellenization. While orthodox Christianity, with its championing of corporeality, is proving its resistance to cultural accommodation on this issue.
"I think my wife's a calvinist"
It is amazing what some people can put to music. Listen to this by Brandon Milan. Check this out on Michael Dewalt’s blog: i think my wife’s a calvinist
Enjoy!
But what category should I put this in?
Sweet Tea & Theology has the lyrics here: A Song For A Calvinist Wife.
Free Thomas Chalmers Offer
Michael Ives is making a great offer on his blog: West Port Experiment". He is offering a chance to win a free copy of John Mackay’s Thomas Chalmers: A Short Appreciation. For more information see below:
One main purpose of this blog is to facilitate renewed interest in Thomas Chalmers, the great 19th century Scottish preacher, churchman, and social reformer. I am convinced that he needs to be rediscovered again,especially in the place of his spiritual birth - the Reformed community.
As a small contribution to getting the word out, I’ve decided to make a special offer. I am going to give away 5 copies of W.M. Mackay’s Thomas Chalmers: A Short Appreciation randomly to church leaders or those preparing for the ministry. For the next two weeks, from today until January 21, anyone who would like to get a free copy can enter the drawing by e-mailing me (michael@reformedparish.com) with your name & e-mail address. If you are selected, I’ll let you know on Jan. 22 and will then request your mailing address.
If you aren’t a church leader, feel free to check back in a week. If I don’t get many responses, I’ll open it up to anyone.
Posted by Steve Weaver, Research and Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.
A Great Baptist History Site and Journal
Nathan Finn has posted at Between the Times about a new issue of The Journal of Baptist Studies:
The 2008 edition of The Journal of Baptist Studies has now been published. JBS is an autonomous, peer-reviewed scholarly journal in Baptist history and historical theology that was launched in 2007. JBS is an online journal that is published once a year, normally in early December. JBS is part of a broader website titled Baptist Studies Online, which also includes Baptist primary sources, links to Baptist study centers and archival repositories, and announcements related to the field. Southeastern Seminary provides financial support for Baptist Studies Online and JBS.
The Table of Contents for the 2008 edition of JBS is listed below:
The Journal of Baptist Studies Volume 2 (2008)
Editorial
Articles
“Service is Not Slavery: A Review of Recent Literature on Women in the Southern Baptist Convention” By April Armstrong, pp. 2-15
“Southern Baptist Faith in Black and White after World War II: An Examination of Recent Monographic Literature” By Edward R. Crowther, pp. 16-26
“The 1919 Statement of Belief and the Tradition of Confessional Boundaries for Southern Baptist Missionaries” By Jeffrey R. Riddle, pp. 27-43
Book Reviews
Chute, Anthony L. A Piety Above the Common Standard: Jesse Mercer and Evangelistic Calvinism, by Steve Weaver
Flynt, Wayne. Alabama Baptists: Southern Baptists in the Heart of Dixie, by John A. Nixon
Nettles, Tom J. By His Grace and For His Glory: A Historical, Theological and Practical Study of the Doctrines of Grace in Baptist Life, by Tony Chute
Shurden, Walter B. Not An Easy Journey: Some Transitions in Baptist Life, by Nathan A. Finn
Stricklin, David. A Genealogy of Dissent: Southern Baptist Protest in the Twentieth Century, by Aaron Weaver
Thompson, James J. Jr. Tried as by Fire: Southern Baptists and the Religious Controversies of the 1920s, by Mark Rogers
Posted by Steve Weaver, Research and Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.
"Dyed with Jesus' blood": the type of men needed in the ministry--the view of Basil Manly, Jr
More from Basil Manly, Jr. This time a portion of one of his best sermons, that on what constitutes a call to the ministry: “Now we need numbers in the Ministry. The plenteous, perishing harvest wails out a despairing cry for more laborers. But we need purity more than numbers; we need intelligence more than numbers; we need zeal more than numbers. Above all, we need consecrated men, men who have stood beneath the Cross, till their very souls are dyed with Jesus’ blood, and a love like his for perishing millions has been kindled within them.”
[A Call to the Ministry (Greenville, South Carolina: G.E. Elford’s Job Press, 1866), 16].
Why blogging cannot be the basis of lasting historical reflection
Blogging and doing history: it is obvious that I think the two are complementary to some degree and that those doing history should blog. But there is an ephemeral nature about blogging that is counter-productive to historical writing. We write to be read—and read by future generations and not simply our passing contemporaries. I just looked at some blog entries I posted three years ago this time of year—Jan 2006—and some of the references on the web I referred to no longer exist. As I said, blogging is too ephemeral a medium to make it the basis of lasting, influential history writing.
"No sacrifice too great": Basil Manly on being a seminary professor
Exactly one hundred and fifty years ago, Basil Manly, Jr (1825-1892), one of the four founding faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, entered upon what he came to consider his life’s great work, namely his teaching and mentoring students at Southern. Manly’s commitment to theological education can be gauged by words he had written in a letter to a leading Baptist layman in South Carolina, John B. O'Neall, in which he stated that the “cause of theological education is one dearer to me than almost any other and I esteem no sacrifice too great for its promotion.” [Basil Manly, Letter to John B. O’Neall, September 13, 1856 (Manly Collection of Manuscripts, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Archives)].
“No sacrifice too great”: O that I might share this conviction—yes, with due regard to other responsibilities in my life—but for those of us whom God has called to do theology and be involved in the mentoring of aspiring pastors—O may I have a due sense of the weightiness of this calling and its joy and its cost.
I dare not say it is the calling of callings—I only know that it is the path God has laid out for me. And may I be diligent this year in the duty of my calling.
PS My thanks to Dr Greg Wills for drawing my attention to this text.