The Search for a Common Identity
'The Search for a Common Identity' explores the process by which Scottish Baptists came to recognize the need for a union of Baptist churches in Scotland prior to 1869. This book identifies the major leaders in each of the three main Baptist streams in the early nineteenth century and shows how they came to the conviction that it was important for them to establish a common identity. At the heart of their unity was an enthusiasm for evangelism. The Baptist Home Missionary Society was formed in 1827. Its early successes demonstrated the wisdom of cooperation between the different Baptist agencies in Scotland. There had been three attempts to form a union of churches that failed because differences of perspective could not be reconciled. The principal achievement of the 1869 Baptist Union was in enabling Baptists with different theological opinions to come together to promote common practical objectives. In short, a shared sense of purpose led to the growth and establishment of the Baptist Union of Scotland.
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The Search for a Common Identity
'The Search for a Common Identity' explores the process by which Scottish Baptists came to recognize the need for a union of Baptist churches in Scotland prior to 1869. This book identifies the major leaders in each of the three main Baptist streams in the early nineteenth century and shows how they came to the conviction that it was important for them to establish a common identity. At the heart of their unity was an enthusiasm for evangelism. The Baptist Home Missionary Society was formed in 1827. Its early successes demonstrated the wisdom of cooperation between the different Baptist agencies in Scotland. There had been three attempts to form a union of churches that failed because differences of perspective could not be reconciled. The principal achievement of the 1869 Baptist Union was in enabling Baptists with different theological opinions to come together to promote common practical objectives. In short, a shared sense of purpose led to the growth and establishment of the Baptist Union of Scotland.
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The Search for a Common Identity

The Search for a Common Identity

by Brian R Talbot
The Search for a Common Identity

The Search for a Common Identity

by Brian R Talbot

Overview

'The Search for a Common Identity' explores the process by which Scottish Baptists came to recognize the need for a union of Baptist churches in Scotland prior to 1869. This book identifies the major leaders in each of the three main Baptist streams in the early nineteenth century and shows how they came to the conviction that it was important for them to establish a common identity. At the heart of their unity was an enthusiasm for evangelism. The Baptist Home Missionary Society was formed in 1827. Its early successes demonstrated the wisdom of cooperation between the different Baptist agencies in Scotland. There had been three attempts to form a union of churches that failed because differences of perspective could not be reconciled. The principal achievement of the 1869 Baptist Union was in enabling Baptists with different theological opinions to come together to promote common practical objectives. In short, a shared sense of purpose led to the growth and establishment of the Baptist Union of Scotland.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781597527620
Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date: 01/01/2007
Series: Studies in Baptist History and Thought , #9
Pages: 437
Product dimensions: 6.49(w) x 8.99(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

Brian R. Talbot is the minister of Cumbernauld Baptist Church in Scotland. He has written a number of articles on various aspects of Baptist history, most recently on the life of English Baptist minister John Saffery (1763-1825).

Table of Contents


Foreword     xiii
Acknowledgements     xv
Abbreviations     xvii
Introduction     1
The Scotch Baptists, 1765-1842     29
Origins of the Scotch Baptists     29
Distinctive Church Principles of the Scotch Baptists     31
The Relationship of Scotch Baptists with other British Baptists     45
The Causes of Disunity amongst the Scotch Baptists     53
An External Cause of Division     55
Internal Causes of Division     57
The Haldanes and the Haldaneite Baptists, 1794-1851     73
The Early Years     73
The Influence of Prominent Ministers in England     74
The Work of The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel at Home     78
Robert Haldane's Catholic Christianity     83
James Haldane's Ecclesiological Principles     86
The Causes of the Divisions in Scottish Independent Ranks     89
Some Important Colleagues of the Haldanes     98
The Work of Theological Education     106
Haldaneite Attitudes to the 1827 Baptist Union     110
The 'English' Baptists, 1796-1852     115
The Distinctive Beliefs of 'English' Baptists     115
The Earliest 'English' BaptistChurches in Scotland     118
Prominent 'English' Baptist Leaders     120
Donald McArthur     120
Dugald Sinclair     121
Alexander McLeod     124
Sinclair Thomson     126
George Barclay     127
Christopher Anderson     132
Jonathan Watson     144
'English' Baptists and Theological Education     147
The Baptist Home Missionary Society: A Substitute Union, 1827-1868?     153
The Earliest Efforts in Home Evangelisation by Scottish Baptists     153
The Formation of the Baptist Home Missionary Society for Scotland     158
The Geographical Spread of BHMS Agents     159
Financial Support for the BHMS     161
The Wider Ministry of BHMS Agents     165
Training and Provision of Home Missionaries     166
Reasons why the BHMS did not become a 'Substitute Union'     169
BHMS Activities that went beyond the Boundaries of a Baptist Union     184
The Attempts to Form a Baptist Union of Scotland, 1827-1842     191
The Formation and Demise of the 1827 Baptist Union     191
The Process of Establishing the Baptist Union     191
The Reasons for the Failure of this Baptist Union      206
The Formation and Establishment of die SBA, 1835-1842     212
The Importance of Ministerial Training in Uniting Scottish Baptists     215
Reasons for the Lack of Success of the SBA     220
The Third Attempt to Form a Baptist Union of Scotland, 1843-1856     229
The Religious Revolution in Scotland in the Early 1840s     229
The Importance of Francis Johnston in the 1843-1856 Baptist Union     231
The Significance of the Temperance Movement     240
The Place of Theological Education     246
The One Opportunity to Unite Scottish Baptists in the 1840s     247
Reasons for the Failure of the Johnstonian Baptist Union     252
Thomas Milner and the Churches of Christ     262
Francis Johnston: His Methods and Theology     265
The Genesis of the 1869 Baptist Union     277
Obstacles that had Hindered Attempts at Union     278
Factors that Assisted the Formation of a Union of Churches     287
The Importance of the SBA Leadership     287
The Importance of Outside Influences     293
English Particular Baptist Influences, with Special Reference to the London Baptist Association and the Pastor's College     300
From the SBA to the Baptist Union of Scotland     307
Union for the Provision of Theological Education     312
Conclusions     319
The Wider Social and Religious Context within Scotland     326
Developments amongst Baptists in England, Wales and Ireland     335
The Contribution of Scottish Baptist Historians, in particular the Work of Derek Murray     338
Appendices     344
The Attitude to Baptist Church Union amongst Haldaneite Baptists     344
Scottish Baptists sent from Scotland to Horton Baptist College by 1837     345
Location of Baptist Home Missionaries in Scotland, 1800-1870     346
The Number of Baptist Missionaries Employed in Scotland, 1800-1879     348
Total Income of the Baptist Home Missionary Society in Scotland     350
Total Income of the BHMS, 1829-1870     351
BHMS Subscription Income from Scotland     352
The Trends in BHMS Subscription Income using a Four-Year Moving Average     353
The Baptist Union of Scotland, 1827     354
The Proportion of Churches Affiliated to the Scottish Baptist Association or the Baptist Union of Scotland, 1827-1879     356
The Scottish Baptist Association, 1835-1842     358
The Baptist Union of Scotland, 1843-1856     360
Scottish Baptist Churches, Ministers and Lay-Leaders involved in the Total Abstinence Cause before 1842     362
English Baptist Colleges and Scotland     364
The Pastor's College Former Students involved in the Scottish Baptist Association or Baptist Union of Scotland by 1870     365
The Baptist Union of Scotland, 1869     366
The Baptist Union of Scotland, 1879     368
Bibliography     371
Index     395

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Thorough research has enabled Brian Talbot to lay bare how the Baptists in Scotland, few and divided in 1800, grew over seventy years into a sizable and united denomination."
— David Bebbington, University of Stirling

"Groundbreaking historical research is characterized by two things in particular: focused concentration on the primary sources and close attention to details. This new work by Brian Talbot on the origins of the Scottish Baptist Union has both in abundance. Moreover, in locating this important event in the larger framework of British Baptist history, he shows why this event is significant not only for Scottish Baptists but for others impacted by them in the British Isles and places further afield like Canada. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of Dissent in the British Isles."
— Michael Haykin, Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College

"Brian Talbot, by discovering much new material and reinterpreting what was known, sheds light on the struggle for union among Scottish Baptists before 1869, and convincingly challenges several assumptions. He deftly weaves together history, biography and theology and asserts the importance of the several varieties of Baptists in the life of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Scotland."
— Derek B. Murray, University of Edinburgh

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