Today, I was able to spend some time at the University of British Columbia campus with my wife and daughter—and no surprise, bookstores occupied much of the day: the UBC bookstore where my daughter found a goldmine of Loeb classics, and Regent College Bookstore, which is an absolutely awesome place. I found a new book on William Wilberforce and his wife Barbara Spooner by Anne Stott, and also a fresh translation of Athanasius’ letters to Serapion and Didymus the Blind’s On the Holy Spirit. I also picked up the latest Crux magazine that has an article on A. Fuller by Keith Grant. I also picked up The Regent World, 24, no.1 (Winter 2012),where, on p.6, in an advertisement for a pastors’ conference entitled “Overflow—Spiritual Rhythms and Practices that Draw from Christ’s Fullness” (featuring Bruce Himdmarsh, Darrell Johnson and Susan Phillips), mention is made of pastors, due to demands on their time, being reduced “to a spotty spirituality and to sporadic fullness.” The phrase “spotty spirituality” is “spot-on” as a way of describing a leading affliction of Christian leadership in our day. Hopefully, what we are also doing at Southern in our programs on biblical spirituality will help diminish this affliction.
Nine books: my summer 2012 reading
Books are so much a part of my life—and summer is great when I can read some books that I would normally not have time to read. Here is a small list of some I have already read this summer and a few that I hope to read in July and August:
- Adrian Murdoch, The Last Pagan: Julian the Apostate and the Death of the Ancient World, where Murdoch examines the life and legacy of Flavius Claudius Julianus (332–363), who failed to reverse the Christianization of the Roman Empire. Read this at the beginning of the summer and loved its historical finesse, though Murdoch is down on Christians, including one of my ‘favs,’ Gregory Nazianzen.
- Peter Popham, The Lady and the Peacock: The Life of Aung San Suu Kyi. When I was in Florida in May, I picked up this biography and could not put it down: a tremendous story of a remarkable woman.
- Andrew Atherstone and David Ceri Jones, Engaging with Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The life and legacy of ‘the Doctor’: regretfully this collection of essays, the product of a conference held in 2011, is not available yet on this side of the Atlantic—despite a negative review in The Banner of Truth, I found the essays uniformly good and very insightful.
- Robert Lacey, The Queen: A Life in Brief: I am not one to normally read biographies of modern royals, but in this year of her Diamond Jubilee, I thought I would read a brief overview of Queen Elizabeth II, an important player in our world (witness her speech at Dublin Castle in 2011 and her imminent meeting with past-IRA commander Martin McGuinness).
- Jane Brown, Lancelot ‘Capability; Brown: The Omnipotent Magician 1716–1783: I have long admired this gardener who changed the face of Georgian England and am looking forward to an engrossing read.
- Paula Frederiksen, Sin: The Early History of an Idea: picked this up this past Monday in a Vancouver Chapters bookstore—she examines sin especially in a number of second-century authors and then compares the concept in Origen and Augustine—looking forward to a stimulating read, though I fear Augustine will be cast as the bad guy.
- Peter Clarke, Mr. Churchill’s Profession: The Statesman as Author and the Book That Defined the “Special Relationship”: also picked this up on Monday and am currently reading it—hard to imagine finding a new angle on Churchill that has not been explored, but Clarke has found such: Churchill as an author and historian. A fascinating read so far.
- John Owen, The Priesthood of Christ: this is a modern rendition of an excursus in Owen’s famous Hebrews commentary—my recent study of Hebrews over three years changed forever my thinking about the relationship between the covenants and highlighted the importance of Hebrews’ teaching about Christ as our high priest. Am looking forward to this a meditative read.
- Augustine, Confessions, trans. Garry Wills: I have normally read this work in R.S. Pine-Coffin’s translation—have decided to venture out and taste Garry Wills’ new translation. I tried this a few years ago with Henry Chadwick’s translation—but the experiment didn’t work. Maybe Wills will capture my allegiance—we shall see.
Andrew Fuller’s signature in the trust deeds of Cannington Baptist Church
Yesterday I was privileged to speak at the 125th anniversary of Cannington Baptist Church in Cannington, Ontario, roughly two hours’ drive from where I live. The congregation had gathered to celebrate God’s goodness, a worship service beautifully planned by deacon Ian Archibald. A group called “The Reflections” helped us worship in heart as they sang a number of traditional and contemporary songs. They were really excellent. And I was enabled to speak from Hebrews 13:7–8, a great text for arguing for the importance of history, a text I had already used in S. Ireland at the Cork Summer Bible Week. In preparing for the delivery of the Word today, I had looked over a history of the Church—prepared twenty-five years ago in 1987, the centennial of the church—in which the doctrines set forth in the Trust Deed were spelled out. It is a classic summary of Baptist convictions. Those who had a right to use the building for worship were to hold these beliefs:
The being and unity of God: the existence of three equal persons in the Godhead: the inspiration of the Old and New Testaments, the total depravity of man: election according to the foreknowledge of God: the Divinity of Christ and the all sufficiency of His atonement; justification by faith alone in the righteousness of Christ; the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration; perseverance of the saints; the resurrection of the dead; the final judgement [sic]; the punishment of the wicked, and the blessedness of the righteous, both eternal; the immersion of believers in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit the only baptism; the Lord’s Supper, a privilege peculiar to baptised believers: A Church, a company of baptised believers, voluntarily associated and meeting in one place on the first day of the week for mutual edification and the maintenance and propagation of these doctrines, the Word of God a complete and infallible rule of faith and practise; the religious observance of the first day of the week; and the obligation of every intelligent creature to believe the record which God has given of His Son.
In this statement we see the influence of the fourth-century Trinitarian debates and the Niceno-Constantinopolitan creed of 381; the Augustinian emphasis on human depravity and the necessity of divine election; the Reformation watch-cry of solus Christus; the great Baptist distinctives of congregationalism, believer’s baptism and closed communion; Puritan sabbatarianism; the belief in the inspiration and infallibility of the Word of God—common to all ages of the Church—and lo and behold pure Fullerism in the final statement about “the obligation of every intelligent creature to believe the record which God has given of His Son.”
I did not expect to see Fuller’s signature in such a place, but there it was: good to see it! Fuller is such a good mentor, because he delighted in proclaiming the gospel to all and sundry.
History of Hughson Street Baptist Church authored by Michael Haykin & Ian Clary
Dr. Haykin recently collaborated with Ian Clary on a history of the 125-year-old Hughson Street Baptist Church in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. The book, titled "Rivers of Living Water": Celebrating 125 Years of Hughson Street Baptist Church, Hamilton, Ontario, 1887-2012, was recently reviewed by Mark Nenadov.
For information on how to obtain a copy of this volume, please contact Dr. Haykin at mhaykin@sbts.edu.
"How would you respond to the Catholic argument that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is a fairly recent innovation?"
Dr. Haykin has responded to a question recently submitted on this website’s “Ask Me a Question” feature. The question was: “How would you respond to the Catholic argument that the doctrine of justification by faith alone is a fairly recent innovation?” Dr. Haykin responded here. Feel free to interact with his response and share your own opinions in the comment section for this post.
Andrew Fuller and the modification of Calvinism?
It may be the case that Calvinistic soteriology is wrong-headed biblically—if so, many, if not most, of our Baptist forebears in the 18th century were wrong-headed. But my concern is not so much there right now as with regard to some recent statements circulating about Andrew Fuller made by Dr W R Estep. Contrary to Dr Estep’s “Calvinizing Southern Baptists” (was that his title? And has not this piece made the rounds before?), there was no modification of Calvinism by Andrew Fuller. He was a full-blown Calvinist: in fact, he called himself a “strict Calvinist” in opposition to the confused views of Richard Baxter, on the one hand, and the hyper-Calvinism in certain quarters, on the other. According to Estep, “Andrew Fuller wrote The Gospel Worthy of all Acceptation [GWAA] against [John] Gill’s Calvinism, concluding: ‘Had matters gone on but a few years, the Baptists would have become a perfect dunghill in society’.” Actually, GWAA did not include that statement. It comes in a letter to Archibald McLean, the Scottish Sandemanian Baptist (see Works, III, 478) dealing with what Fuller frequently called false Calvinism.
In one very insightful text, a review of two sermons by a hyper-Calvinist by the name of W.W. Horne, Fuller writes this (Works, III, 583):
“In calling the doctrine defended by Mr. Horne false Calvinism I have not miscalled it. In proof of this, I appeal to the writings of that great reformer, and of the ablest defenders of his system in later times—of all indeed who have been called Calvinists till within a hundred years. Were you to read many of Calvin’s sermons, without knowing who was the author, you would be led, from the ideas you appear at present to entertain, to pronounce him an Arminian; neither would Goodwin, nor Owen, nor Charnock, nor Flavel, nor Bunyan, escape the charge. These men believed and preached the doctrines of grace; but not in such a way as to exclude exhortations to the unconverted to repent and believe in Jesus Christ. The doctrine which you call Calvinism (but which, in reality, is Antinomianism) is as opposite to that of the Reformers, puritans, and nonconformists, as it is to that of the apostles.
We do not ask you to relinquish the doctrine of salvation by grace alone: so far from it, were you to do so we would, on that account, have no fellowship with you. We have no doubt of justification being wholly on account of the righteousness of Jesus; nor of faith, wherever it exists, being the free gift of God. …But we ask you to admit other principles, equally true, and equally important as they are; principles taught by the same inspired writers, and which, therefore, must be consistent with them.”
Ah, this is what I love about Fuller: his balance—a profound embrace of sovereign grace coupled with a passion for the salvation of sinners. These doctrines are never at odds, but companions in the extension of Christ’s kingdom. So what are we to make of the statement by Dr Estep that “Fuller’s modification of Calvinism among the Baptists made possible the foreign mission movement of which Carey became the catalyst.” Respectfully, we have to say, he has not read Fuller aright.
"Andrew Fuller & His Friends" Conference Website Now Live
Registration is now open for our 2012 conference "Andrew Fuller & His Friends." The conference website features a conference description, plenary schedule, list of parallel sessions (which look superb!), registration and accommodation details. As always, several free books will be given away at this year's conference. The conference includes a fabulous banquet meal and all the amenities of the beautiful campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. We think it's a no-brainer. Register here.
Exciting News about the Works of Andrew Fuller Project!
It is with deep gratitude to God that The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies announces that the publishing house of Walter de Gruyter, with head offices in Berlin and Boston, has committed itself to the publication of a modern critical edition of the entire corpus of Andrew Fuller’s published and unpublished works. Walter de Gruyter has been synonymous with high-quality, landmark publications in both the humanities and sciences for more than 260 years. The preparation of a critical edition of Fuller’s works, part of the work of the Andrew Fuller Center, was first envisioned in 2004. It is expected that this edition will comprise twelve to fourteen volumes and take seven or so years to publish. Read the full details here.
New Audio of Recent Bible Conference
Dr. Haykin spoke over the weekend (May 19-20, 2012) in Dalton, PA at Grace Baptist Church's Spring Theology Conference. Audio is now online of the four lectures which Dr. Haykin gave at the conference.
The God who draws near: An introduction to biblical spirituality
Saturday, May 19 2012
“Andrew Fuller: Life and Legacy—A Brief Overview” in The Works of Andrew Fuller
Saturday, May 19 2012
Help Tracking Down a Possible Carey Quote
A reader of this blog has submitted a question which we don't know the answer. His query is posted below. Please respond in the comments if you know the source of the quote that he is trying to track down.
In my reading I came across a statement of Carey's that struck me, but I only made a mental note to return to it later. Now I cannot find it for the life of me! Writing back to England I think, he addressed the question of what kind of men should be sent out to the mission field. He said, do not send men who will sit comfortably waiting for sinners to come to them. But, send men who will be out daily among the people seeking the lost. Often on horseback. Otherwise the work will die under their care. Do you know where I can find this? I have looked for hours unsuccessfully.
Conference Audio Posted for "Religious Liberty and the Cross"
Audio of our most recent mini-conference, "Religious Liberty and the Cross: 1662 and the Persecution of the Puritans," is now online on the conference page. I have posted the links to the audio files below.
- Dr. Michael Haykin – “Puritanism Under the Cross” (MP3)
- Steve Weaver – “Baptists and 1662: The Persecution of John Norcott and Hercules Collins” (MP3)
- Dr. Tom Nettles – A Brief Summation and Concluding Word (MP3)
Audio from previous conferences can be accessed on the respective conference pages found here. Registration will be opening soon for our sixth annual two-day conference. See the Schedule and Call for Parallel Session Papers.
Posted by Steve Weaver, Research Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.
Biography of Caroline Holman, a desideratum
One of the most remarkable Baptists of twentieth-century Ontario was a woman, Caroline Holman, the widow of C.J. Holman, a prominent Baptist lawyer. Her husband played an important role in the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy of the 1920s, but died not long after. She lived into her nineties, dying in 1962. She was a staunch supporter of missions and prolific writer of Christian articles, and served as the first president of the Women’s Missionary Society, formed in 1926 during the Fundamentalist-Modernist controversy as the former Women’s Baptist Home Missionary Society of Ontario West divided that year. She was one of the few people who publicly disagreed with T.T. Shields (1873–1955)—which she did in the early 1930s—and maintained his respect afterwards. See The Regular Baptist Call: A Testimony, 36, no.9 (September 1962), for a remembrance of her life and service. A biography of Mrs. Holman is a desideratum.
Fuller's memoirs of Pearce a demonstration of an Edwardsean principle
If, as Jonathan Edwards maintained in his Religious Affections (1746), “the essence of all true religion lies in holy love,” then Andrew Fuller’s Memoirs of the Rev. Samuel Pearce, A.M. (1800) is a biographical demonstration of this proposition, for, as Fuller asserted, “the governing principle in Mr. Pearce, beyond all doubt, was holy love.”
Zaspel Speaks on Andrew Fuller
Fred Zaspel recently gave a talk entitled “Andrew Fuller: The Man Who Rescued The Baptists From Hyper-Calvinism” at Calvary Baptist Seminary in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. According to Fred, “It was very well received, and we’ve begun a tradition now—a series of these kinds of “Baptist Heritage” lectures each semester.” Here is the talk on Fuller.
James K.A. Smith on the Faith
I love this: “we’re looking for the thick, rich particularity of historic Reformed faith, understood as an expression of catholic Christianity.” From James K.A. Smith in http://forsclavigera.blogspot.ca/2012/05/confessions-generations-and-future-of.html; HT: Ian Clary.
Book Review: A Week in the Life of Corinth
Dr. Haykin hs recently reviewed a new book by Ben Witherington, III titled A Week in the Life of Corinth. Read this review and others here on our Book Review page.
Call for Papers for 2012 AFCBS Conference
We are currently accepting paper proposals for this Fall’s conference (September 21-22, 2012). We have a limited number of spaces, so please respond quickly if interested. These papers should be about 3,000-4,000 words in length and able to be delivered in approximately 20-25 minutes. Those interested in presenting need to e-mail the Center (andrewfullercenter@sbts.edu) with a title and brief outline of their proposal as well as a brief resume. The topic of papers for the parallel sessions must fall within the theme of the conference, namely, “Andrew Fuller and His Friends.” The plenary session schedule is available here. Parallel sessions may focus on Fuller's relationship with others or some aspect relating to one of Fuller's "friends." Some examples of papers already accepted are:
- Dustin Benge: “When a Friend Dies: A Funeral Sermon for Andrew Fuller by Joseph Ivimey.”
- Paul Brewster (SBC Pastor): “William Staughton: Andrew Fuller’s American Baptist connection”
- Jimmy Burchett: “Andrew Fuller as a Husband and Father”
- Chris Chun: “Fuller’s Friendly Lapsarian Debate with Samuel Hopkins”
- Roger Duke: "A Rhetorical Reading of Andrew Fuller's Sermon 'The Nature and Importance of an Intimate Knowledge of Divine Truth.'"
- Chris Holmes: “ ‘Not the Exact Model of an Orator’: J. W. Morris's Assessment of Andrew Fuller's Preaching Ministry”
- David Pitman: “Fuller’s Forgotten Friends: A Sketch of Andrew Fuller’s Non-Ministerial Friends”
- Dave Schrock: "James Haldane and the Particular Efficacy of Global Missions"
Submission of a proposal does not guarantee acceptance. The presenters of papers accepted for the conference will be notified promptly.
Presenters must register for the conference (details forthcoming) and are responsible for their own transportation, lodging, and meals.
This conference is held annually on the campus of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.
6th Annual AFCBS Conference: "Andrew Fuller and His Friends"
I just posted the schedule for our 6th annual conference. The theme this year is "Andrew Fuller and His Friends." As usual, a stellar line-up of speakers are slated to speak on a range for interesting topics related to our conference them. Please watch this website for more details about the conference, including registration details. Information about and audio of previous conferences are available here.
Posted by Steve Weaver, Research Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.
Audio of Conference on Prayer and Revival
Dr. Haykin recently led a conference at Immanuel Baptist Church in Louisville on the theme of Prayer and Revival. The messages are available online here (currently the most recent six messages).
Posted by Steve Weaver, Research Assistant to the Director of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin.
Free Mini-Conference on the 350th Anniversary of the Puritan Ejection of 1662
Religious Liberty and the Cross: 1662 and the Persecution of the Puritans
Date: Wednesday, April 18th
Time: 9:30 am - 12:00 pm
Location: Legacy Hotel, 3rd Floor (SBTS Campus)
Lectures:
- Dr. Michael Haykin - "Puritanism Under the Cross"
- Steve Weaver - "Baptists and 1662: The Persecution of John Norcott and Hercules Collins"
- Dr. Tom Nettles - A Brief Summation and Concluding Word