Baptist Heritage

In our eBulletin this month we have highlighted some of the very best publishers of books in our Baptist Heritage. Have a read through all our recommendations here

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Particular Baptist Sermons on the Slave Trade - A Review

We are pleased to see this excellent review published by Baptist historian Michael Haykin of this recent title:

Matthew E. Roe, compiled and ed., Preaching Deliverance to the Captives: Particular Baptist Sermons on the Abolition of the Slave Trade (N.p., 2021), 213 pages. 

One of the most amazing developments in the long eighteenth century has to be the moral and philosophical struggle waged by British abolitionists against the slave trade and slavery. And critical to its success was the key role played by British evangelicals. The name of the Anglican evangelical abolitionist William Wilberforce (1759–1833) is justly famous in this regard. But there were a multitude of others who also made significant contributions to the struggle. This newly-published volume of sermons on the abolition of the slave trade by five Particular Baptist pastors is revelatory of one of these significant contributions, that of the Particular Baptists. 

Matthew E. Roe, who has self-published these sermons, places them in context in a detailed introduction (pp. 3–23). He shows the way that these sermons represent not simply the views of five individual pastors, but those of an entire denomination. Roe begins with the citation of texts from three Baptist associations—the Northamptonshire, the Western, and the Yorkshire and Lancashire—that reveal what one of them called “our deepest abhorrence” of the slave trade (p. 5). The concurrence of individual Baptists such as Martha Gurney (1733–1816), William Carey (1761–1834), Robert Hall, Jr. (1764–1831), John Rippon (1751–1836), and John Collett Ryland (1723–1792) in this detestation are also detailed (p.6–13). Roe notes key themes in the sermons, such as the inherent equality of all human beings, the duty of Christians to promote benevolence, and the utter injustice of the African slave trade (p.13–17). Despite the common Particular Baptist concern about bringing politics into the pulpit, these preachers were convinced that they had to speak to this issue, for it was a moral issue, not a political one per se (p. 19–21). 

The five sermons—preached by Robert Robinson (1735–1790), James Dore (1763–1825), John Beatson (1743–1798), Abraham Booth (1734–1806), and John Liddon (d.1825)—were all preached within a five-year span, from 1788 to 1792, a period of intense activity by the abolitionists to secure the end of the slave trade. It was to be another fifteen years, though, before Parliament abolished the “diabolical traffic” (the words of John Liddon, p. 190). They are all reproduced in full with a minimum of editing. Each of them is introduced by a biographical sketch of the preacher. Following each sermon Roe has assembled various critical reviews that appeared when these sermons were first published. A few of these reviews are quite critical. For my part, however, each of these sermons is a gem and together they provide a fabulous window onto the way scriptural reasoning was the primary influence shaping the arguments of these abolitionists. The sermons by Dore and Booth are especially powerful in their exegesis and application. That by Robinson is probably the weakest of the five. It was preached during the closing years of his life when he was theologically confused—“ruined by pride” was the estimation of the evangelical Anglican John Berridge (1716–1793) (p. 31). Central to Roe’s publishing of these sermons is a desire “to inspire the modern reader when approaching similar issues today.” Slavery and trafficking in human persons still exist in the modern world, as well as “other forms of injustice” and “disturbing scenes of oppression.” And these call for the exercise of Christian benevolence (p. 22). These eighteenth-century preachers do indeed give us a great model to follow. Moreover, though Roe does not mention this, they also provide a substantial critique of some Christians in our day, who wish to mount a defence of slavery. Simply put, their arguments would astonish these Baptist preachers, who are generally far better guides to Scripture and Christian practice. 

Michael A.G. Haykin The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, KY

Published in The Journal of Andrew Fuller Studies, No 4, February 2022.

Happy New Year

We're a little late with our greetings, but we do indeed wish you all the best for the coming months of 2022!

First up this year we have a couple of key titles that we want to highlight to you... they will challenge you to consider the subtle lies that our society is becoming immersed in and how to stand up to these lies with the absolute truths of the Bible. 

Sharon James has written The Lies we are Told, the Truth we Must Hold to show us the dangers of current cultural worldviews and to emphasize that we should not be intimidated by the claims of those who are militantly opposed to the Bible. In a companion volume How Christianity Transformed the World, Sharon has written a helpful historical overview of how Christianity has underpinned our society throughout the ages. Indeed Biblical truths of human worth and freedom have shaped our systems of healthcare, education, justice and more.

We are pleased to be able to offer both these books at a great discount for a limited time. Buy one of them, or get an even better deal on both of them... click here for the details.

To see an interview Sharon gave about her book The Lies we are Told, the Truth we must Hold, please click here

The Dawn of Redeeming Grace

For those of you who enjoy reading an Advent devotional in the run up to Christmas, Sinclair Ferguson has written The Dawn of Redeeming Grace for this year, which has 24 readings opening up the first two chapters of Matthew's Gospel (click on the image for more info).

Buy one of these devotionals before the end of November and we will send you a

£5 National Book Token free! *

* You will receive a voucher code to download an eGift card to the value of £5

Our Christmas cards and calendars are selling fast now. If you still need some, just click on the images below...

To read our recent news bulletin click here

Forgotten Reformer: Myles Coverdale

 Myles (or Miles) Coverdale is a very significant, but largely overlooked, figure in the English Reformation. From a monastic background, he was among the group of scholars at Cambridge in the 1520s who became influenced by Martin Luther's teaching, most of whom were later burnt at the stake for their beliefs. Coverdale only escaped a martyr's death through the intervention of the King of Denmark with Queen Mary. He was exiled to Europe, ending up at Geneva where he joined John Knox' church and came under John Calvin's influence. Here he assisted in the translation of the Geneva Bible. However his greatest feat of Bible translation work had come twenty years before in an earlier exile, joining up with William Tyndale on the continent, and after his death going on to finish what was the first complete Bible in English after the invention of printing. His life was a series of ups and downs: in different phases he was  Bishop of Exeter, but then a penniless teacher in a school in Germany. Through it all he remained the quiet, peaceable character that he was, combined with steely resolve when it came to matters of conscience. His humble determination to serve God, despite not being the literary genius that Tyndale was, is beautifully stated in his Prologue to the 1535 Coverdale Bible, and concludes with a good motto for every Christian:-

It was neither my labour nor desire to have this work put in my hand: nevertheless it grieved me that other nations should be more plenteously provided for with the Scriptures in their mother tongue, than we: therefore when I was instantly required, though I could not do so well as I would, I thought it my duty to do my best, and that with good will.

This study of Coverdale's life and work gives a real insight into the power and providence of God, bringing about and sustaining the Reformation. It would complement the History GCSE topic on King Henry VIII perfectly, to help young people see the greater spiritual movement that took place alongside the political events of that period.

Forgotten Reformer: Myles Coverdale  by G F Main, privately published, 2021. £10.

Particular Baptists and Abolition

For many the lock-downs that we have undergone over the past 18 months have provided an opportunity to do things that they may not otherwise have had time for. For one member of our household this meant a college research project extending far beyond its original remit and becoming a labour of love which has culminated in the publication of a book (perfect when you just happen to have a bookshop to sell it in 😉)...

When we think of the campaign to abolish the slave trade, the tireless work of Wilberforce and his friends is uppermost in our minds. But Particular Baptists played an important role in the campaign, speaking out against the abhorrent trade in sermons, petitions and letters.

This book brings back into print some of these historic sermons, each with a biographical sketch of the preacher, and discusses the role of non-comformists in garnering the support of the wider religious public.

"The slave trade and slavery may have been abolished centuries ago, yet modern slavery still exists along with many other forms of injustice. These sermons challenge us to continue in the Christian duty of benevolence and to affirm Christian attitudes to equality when faced with increasingly disturbing scenes of oppression across the world" (quoted from the preface).

Preaching Deliverance to the Captives: Particular Baptist Sermons on the Abolition of the Slave Trade, compiled and edited by Matthew Roe, £8.99

Did you sponsor a 2021 AV Calendar?

Thank you to everyone who sponsored an AV block Calendar to be sent overseas this year. We were able to send over 50 calendars out to the Philippines and have received a lovely letter from Pastor Ballonado in Bocaue to say they have been safely received. May they richly bless all who receive them.