USA > Kentucky > A history of Kentucky Baptists : From 1769 to 1885, including more than 800 biographical sketches, Vol. I > Part 63
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Up to about this time, the Baptist denomination in the United States acted harmoniously, in all their benevolent opera- tions, through their General Boards. The first exception to this was the organization, at Boston, in 1843, on anti-slavery principles, a small association, called the American and Foreign Baptist Missionary Society. The main channels through which the denomination carried on its missionary work, and kindred operations, were the four following:
Ist. THR GENERAL MISSIONARY CONVENTION OF THE BAP- TIST DENOMINATION, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, commonly known as the TRIENNIAL CONVENTION. This body was organized in Philadelphia, in May, 1814, principally to sus- tain Judson as missionary in Burmah. Its specific object from its organization, till its dissolution in 1845, was the promotion of Foreign Missions. Its Acting Board was finally located in Boston, Mass.
2. AMERICAN BAPTIST HOME MISSION SOCIETY was or- ganized in 1832, for the specific purpose of promoting the preach- ing of the gospel in North America. Its Executive Board was located in New York city.
3d. AMERICAN AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY was organ- ized in 1837, for the purpose of circulating pure versions of the Bible in all languages. Its Executive Board was located in New York city.
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4th AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION AND SUNDAY SCHOOL SOCIETY was organized in 1840, for the purpose of publishing and circulating Baptist literature, especially in the United States. Its publishing office and depository were located in Philadelphia, Pa.
Numerous smaller associations, auxiliary to these, were formed all over the country, and through them flowed into the treasuries of the principal boards the benevolent contributions of the denomination, from all parts of the United States. But it began to be manifest, that the northern and southern church- es could not work in harmony. A publication appeared in some of the periodical prints, intimating that the Acting Board of the Triennial Convention would no longer tolerate slavery. This communication was afterwards accredited to Dr. R. E. Pattison, then Home Secretary of the Boston Board, and who afterwards made himself somewhat notorious by attempting to kidnap the Western Baptist Theological Institute, while he was its Presi- dent. The Alabama State Convention, at its meeting, in 1844, had its attention called to the above named publication, where. upon it passed a series of resolutions, subsequently known as the ALABAMA RESOLUTIONS. The second of the series reads as follows :
" Resolved, That our duty at this crisis requires us to de- mand from the proper authorities in all those bodies to whose funds we have contributed, or with whom we have in any way been connected, the distinct, explicit avowal that slaveholders are eligible, and entitled, equally with non-slaveholders, to all the privileges and immunities of their several unions; and es- pecially to receive any agency, mission, or other appointment, which may run within the scope of their operations or duties."
The Acting Board of the Triennial Convention, in the course of their reply to this resolution, say : "If, however, any one should offer himself as a missionary, having slaves, and should insist on retaining them as his property, we conld not appoint him. One thing is certain, we can never be a party to any ar- rangement which wonld imply approbation of slavery."
On the publication of this answer, the Board of the For- eign Missionary Society of Virginia convened and passed a series of resolutions condemnatory of the action of the Board of the Triennial Convention, and calling for a meeting of delegates from the churches and associations of the Southern States, to
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convene at Augusta, Georgia, on Thursday before the 2d Lord's Day in May, 1845.
The proposed meeting in Augusta was anticipated by the meeting of the American Baptist Mission Society, which con- vened in Providence, R.I., in April, 1845. At this meeting, Dr. John S. Maginnis, of New York, offered the following pre- amble and resolutions ·
" Whereas, The American Baptist Home Missionary So- ciety is composed of contributors residing in slave holding and non-slaveholding States ; and, whereas, the constitution recog- nizes no distinction among the members of the Society as to eligibility to all the offices and appointments in the gift, both of the society and of the Board ; and, whereas, it has been found that the basis on which the Society was organized, is one upon which all the members and friends of the Society are not now willing to act, therefore,
" Resolved, That, in our opinion, it is expedient that the members now forming the Society, should hereafter act in separate organizations at the South and at the North, in pro- moting the objects which were originally contemplated by the Society.
" Resolved, That a committee be appointed to report a plan by which the object contemplated in the preceding reso- lution may be accomplished in the best way, and at the earliest period of time, consistently with the preseveration of the consti- tutional rights of all the members, and with the least possible interruption of the missionary work of the society."
The preamble and resolutions were adopted, and thus a virtual separation of the Northern and Southern members of the Society was effected.
In accordance with the call of the Board of Managers of the Virginia Foreign Mission Society, there assembled in Augusta, Ga., May 8, 1845, three hundred and ten delegates from the States of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky, and the District of Columbia. Other southern States were represented only by let- ter. After mature deliberation, the Southern Baptist Conven- tion was constituted. A Board of Foreign Missions was ap- pointed, to be located in Richmond, Va., and a Board of Do- mestic Missions, to be located in Marion, Ala.
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These movements completely severed the Baptists of Ken- tucky, as well as those of the other slaveholding States, from all the northern Boards, so far as missionary operations were con- cerned. It has been seen, however, that they continued to contrib- ute to the American and Foreign Bible Society, till the year 1850.
The war between Mexico and the United States began in 1846, and continued about two years. This carried away many of the active, enterprising young men of Kentucky from the field of Christian labor ; and the California gold fever broke out, in 1848, and carried away perhaps a larger number.
The decade under review was one of unusual excitement, both in political and religious circles. Still the cause of Christ steadily advanced among the Baptists of Kentucky. There was an unprecedented activity in the home field of labor, and large additions were made to the churches every year during this per- iod. The decade closed with a glorious revival which extended to most of the churches in the State, and prevailed from 1847 till 1852.
A revival of religion in Kentucky, even as late as 1827-30, was so different in its manifestations from a revival of religion in in 1847-50, that a passing observation on the subject may fitly be made at this place. From the settlement of the State to the first named date, there were five extensive religious awakenings, beginning respectively, in 1785, 1800, 1810, 1817 and 1827. Each continued about three years, within the limits of the State, but seldom more than fifteen or eighteen months, in any one church. During the latter period, the church would usually receive a number of candidates on each Saturday meeting, which was held once a month, and baptize them on the follow -. ing day. Each candidate was required to stand up and give a detailed account of his spiritual exercises, from the time of his conversion, till he found peace in Christ. If his "experience" was unsatisfactory, he was rejected, and exhorted to continue seeking till he should obtain satisfactory evidence that he had been "born again." At the regular church meetings and the occasional night meetings, held sometimes at the meeting house, but much oftener at the private dwellings of the people in the vicinity, besides the sermon, there was much exhortation, prayer and singing, with weeping, rejoicing, shaking hands and frequent shouting.
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Difference in Revival Meetings.
When the revival season was passed, the church continued to meet once a month, have Saturday and Sunday preaching, and exercise strict discipline over its members. But there were few additions to the church by "experience and baptism" till another revival season came around, and often the church would be much diminished in numbers by death and exclusion, unless it was kept up by immigration from the older States.
During the revival of 1827-30, Vardeman, Noel, Jno. S. . Wilson, the Warders and some other ministers began to hold meetings of three or four days continuance. Great crowds of people attended these meetings, the chief attraction of which was the supposed excellence of the preaching. Many were deeply convicted of their sins. The penitents were invited to come forward and designate themselves as such, when they received instructions from the ministers and other church members, and special prayer was offered for their conversion. As they usually occupied one seat, convenient of approach, and were spoken of as mourners, on account of their sins, the seat they occupied during the exercises came to be called the Mourn- ers' Bench. This may have been used sometimes as a conveni- ent term of designation, but much oftener, by the wicked and the followers of Alexander Campbell, as a term of contempt.
It has sometimes been erroneously supposed that the prac- tice of praying for the unconverted originated among the Bap- tists, about this period. This is a great mistake. It was prac- ticed by Dudley, Taylor, Hickman and other pioneer preachers from the time of planting the first churches in the Mississippi Valley. Attention was particularly directed to the practice about 1827, because it was then first opposed, and that by the followers of Alexander Campbell, who opposed almost every- thing in religious practice that did not originate with the would be great retormer.
The "three or four days meetings" instituted by Varde- man and others gradually lengthened in the period of their dura- tion, until they reached a continuance of two weeks or more, took the appellation of "protracted meetings," and became general during the revival of 1837 and the years following. Among the most efficient laborers in these protracted meetings, from 1840 to 1850, were Thomas Smith, A. D. Sears, John L. Burrows, Alfred Taylor, Smith Thomas, and T. J. Fisher, Var-
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deman having gone to Missouri, and Noel, both the Warders and Wilson having gone to their reward.
It was the introduction of protracted meetings that wrought so great a change in the manner of conducting religious revivals, and building up the churches. Formerly the churches were revived and enlarged by the addition of new converts, once in : about ten years : after protracted meetings came into general use, many of the churches enjoyed annual revivals and large accessions. From this cause, the growth of the Baptist deno- mination in Kentucky has been much more regular, as well as more rapid, since 1837, than previous to that period. This can be said, however, only of the main body of the denomination, which favored missions and other benevolent enterprizes. The anti-missionary faction opposed protracted meetings, and all other efforts to bring sinners to Christ, and hence have never enjoyed a revival of any considerable extent, since their seve- rance from the main body of the denomination. For example : During the revival period, from 1837 to 1840, Elkhorn Associa- tion of twenty-two churches received by baptism, 1, 504, while Licking Association of twenty-nine churches received only 106. During the same period, Barren River Association (Mis.) with nineteen churches, received by baptism 639, while Barren River ("Regular") received sixteen. During 1849-50, Elkhorn received 947, Licking eleven ; Barren River (Mis.) 485, Barren River (Regular) not one ; Sulphur Fork of sixteen churches received 226, Mt. Pleasant, with nine churches, received ten ; North Bend with eight churches, received 87, Salem (Anti.) with ten churches, received nine. These figures give a fair representation of the difference in the progress of the Missionary and Anti-missionary churches, during the revival periods referred to, as well as at all subsequent periods.
At the close of the year 1850, the separation between the Missionary and Anti-missionary elements of the denomination had been about completed. The latter had gathered themselves into twenty-five small associations, embracing 266 churches and 9,476 members. Of these, about three-fourths did not differ from the Missionary Baptists, except in the single item of forming and contributing to benevolent societies. The other fourth were pretty evenly divided into Two-Seeders, Hyper-Calvinists, and Anti-Resurrectionists. The main body of the denomination
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Statistics.
comprised forty-three associations, 757 churches and 65,489 members.
There were, at this period, in Kentucky, altogether, sixty- eight Baptist Associations, comprising 1,023 churches and 74,965 members. The population of the State was 982,405. This gave, in round numbers, one Baptist church to every 960 of the population, and one Baptist to every thirteen of the population.
The Methodist church comprised, at this date, two confer- ences, thirteen districts, 123 circuits and stations, 138 preach- ers, and 44,531 members.
The Presbyterian Church numbered five presbyteries, eighty ministers and 9,586 members.
The Episcopal Church numbered about 700 communicants.
The other denominations in the State, kept no statistics, and, there is, at hand, no data from which to make a reliable estimate of their numbers.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
BAPTIST OPERATIONS DURING THE DECADE ENDING WITH 1860.
At the beginning of the year 1851, the Baptist denomina- tion in Kentucky was enjoying a high degree of prosperity. The revival, which had prevailed among the churches more than two years, was still in progress. Large numbers were being converted and added to the churches. This state of prosperity continued, with but slight interruptions, during the whole of the decade that followed. The growth of the denomination, in numbers, influence and efficiency, was steady, up to the begin- ning of the Civil War in 1861.
This happy state of affairs was doubtless due, in a great measure, to the wise policy of the General Association. That body, at its annual meetings, constantly urged upon the church- es the preeminent importance of supplying the home destitution with the preaching of the gospel. The principles upon which this supply was to be afforded, were laid down by the founders of the General Association, at the time of its constitution, in 1837. These principles were :
Ist. That the churches should support their pastors and thereby enable them to supply the destitution within, and con- tiguous to the bounds of their charges.
2nd. That each district association should supply the des- titution within its own bounds, as far as practicable.
3d. That the General Association should supply, as far as practicable such destitution, within the bounds of the State, as could not be reached by the churches and district associations.
The progress made in carrying into practical effect these wholesome principles, though not as great as was desired, was very encouraging, and, considering the bitter opposition of the Anti-missionary faction, and the false education of many of the churches, was much more rapid than could reasonably have been
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Baptist Operations 1850-1860.
expected. By means of these prudent measures, under the di- vine blessing, the denomination rapidly regained its ancient as- cendency in the Commonwealth ; and, after a series of wasting contentions, with Campbellism and Anti-missionism, for a peri- od of twenty years, the churches now enjoyed great peace and prosperity, and the more abounded in good works.
If we except the partial failure of the crops, on account of the extraordinary drouth of 1854, and the one scarcely less dis- astrous of 1856, the period extending from 1850 to 1860 was one of great temporal prosperity. The liberality of the church- es in sustaining missions and the Bible cause, was largely aug- mented. The latter cause gained unprecedented popularity in in Kentucky, for a time, in consequence of the organization of of some new Bible societies, embracing in their purposes, the revision of the English Bible.
The American and Foreign Bible Society had been very popular in Kentucky, from the time of its organizaton. The Baptists of this State continued to support it heartily, five years after they had withdrawn their patronage from all other north- ern societies. Its avowed object was to aid in the circulation of the purest versions of the Bible, obtainable, in all languages. This principle, however was modified by the following resolu- tion :
" Resolved, That in the distribution of the Scriptures in the English language, they (the Board) will use the commonly re- ceived version, until otherwise directed by the Society."
In May, 1849, this modifying resolution was repealed, in or- der to make room for preparing and circulating a corrected ver- sion of the English Scriptures. Meanwhile. Rev. Spencer H. Cone, D. D. and William H. Wyckoff Esq., probably with un- due haste, prepared and published a revised version of the New Testament, and issued a circular which contained the following paragraph :
"A corrected edition of the English New Testament has been prepared by the subscribers, in connection with eminent scholars, who have kindly co-operated, and given their hearty ap- proval to the proposed corrections. A copy of this will be sent gratuitously to the written order of each member of the Society who wishes to examine it. You are invited to procure and read it, and to attend the ensuing anniversary of the Society, when 45
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the stereotype plates will be offered as a donation, with the provision that they be printed from according to the demand."
On the appearance of this circular, a meeting was con- vened in the meeting-house of Oliver Street church, in New York city. This meeting published a lengthy answer to the circular of Messrs. Cone and Wyckoff, which was also circulated extensively among the members of the society convened in 1850, it was manifest that a majority of the members were opposed to the revision movement. The excitement was very high, and the business of the meeting was transacted with indecent haste.
At an early stage of its proceedings, the following resolu- tion was passed.
"Resolved, That this society, in its issues and circulation of the English scriptures, be restricted to the commonly received version, without note or comment."
At a later period in the proceedings, the following was put on record :
"WHEREAS, by the constitution of this society, its object is to aid in the wider circulation of the Holy Scriptures in all lands, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is not the province and duty of the Amer- ican and Foreign Bible Society to attempt on their own part, or to procure from others, a revision of the commonly received English version of the Sacred Scriptures."
The friends of revision immediately withdrew from the society, and organized the American Bible Union. The new society contemplated exactly the same object, for the accom- plishment of which the old one had been originated, except that it embraced the purpose of circulating the purest English ver- sion of the scriptures that could be procured. The Baptists of Kentucky sympathized with the American Bible Union. The Kentucky and Foreign Bible Society, at its meeting in Coving- ton, in October, 1850, withdrew its auxiliaryship from the Amer- ican and Foreign Bible Society.
When the subject of revising and correcting, the English Bible was first introduced among the masses in Kentucky, it caused no small degree of alarm. A majority of the church members, and not a few of the illiterate preachers, had taken it for granted that the authorized version was perfect. An anec- dote, related of the eminently pious and useful but illiterate
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Bible Union.
William Mason of Virginia, by the venerable and eloquent John Bryce, may serve to illustrate the feelings and opinions of many of the Kentucky Baptists, including not a few of their preachers, as late as A. D. 1850. Mr. Mason was preaching on the importance of plainness and simplicity in expounding the scriptures, when he remarked :
"Brethren, I do not like to hear ministers using unknown languages in their sermons: Christ and his apostles all spoke in the plain English."
But, however crude the notions of the people may have been, they were desirous to know the truth. The subject of a new revision of the scriptures was widely discussed in Ken- tucky, both in the pulpit and through the religious press. The churches and preachers soon became convinced of the import- ance of having a corrected version of the English Bible, and became zealous supporters of the revision movement.
After the year 1850, the Kentucky Baptists co-operated with none of the northern societies. except the American Bible Union," and with that, in but one department of its operations, viz .: that of revising the English Scriptures. A society was formed with the single object of promoting that work, as its name indicated. That society, known as the Bible Revision Association, was nominally national and non-sectarian in its character. But its operations mere confined principally to the Southern States, and the Baptists were the principal contribu- tors to its object, the Campbellites, who generally endorsed it, being few at that period, and the Pedo-Baptists being almost uni- versally opposed.
The American Bible Union was organized June 10, 1850, "to procure and circulate the most faithful versions of the sacred scriptures in all languages throughout the world."
The board adopted the following, which was subsequently sanctioned by the Union.
Resolved, That appropriations made by the Union, shall in no case be employed for the circulation of a version which is not made on the following principles:
"The exact meaning of the inspired text, as that text ex- pressed it to those who understood the original scriptures at the time they were first written, must be translated by correspond- ing words and phrases, so far as they can be found, in the ver-
f e ٢٠
sh it ch lit ec ate
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nacular tongue of those for whom the version is designed, with the least possible obscurity or indefiniteness."
"In the plan adopted for the English version, the following principle is embodied: 'To give to the ordinary reader, as nearly as possible, the exact meaning of the inspired original, while so far as compatible with this design, the general style and phrase- ology of the commonly received version are retained.'"
The Bible Revision Association was constituted on princi- ples similar to those of the American Bible Union. The first movement towards its organization was made during the sitting of the Southern Baptist Convention at Nashville, Tenn., in May, 1851. A few friends of revision met in the basement of the house in which the convention held its meetings at such times as the convention was not in session, and arranged for a meeting to be held in Memphis, Tenn., on the 26th of the following December. When the time appointed for this meeting arrived, navigation was suspended on account of the river being blocked with ice. The few who came together appointed a meeting, to be held at the same place, the following spring. Accordingly, a large assemblage convened at Memphis, Tenn., April 2, 1852. Delegates were present from Kentucky, Tennes- see, Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania and New York. The meeting was organized, and the importance of revising the English scriptures was discussed by a number, of able scholars, among whom were Rev. S. W. Lynd, Rev. D. R. Campbell and Rev. A. Drury, of Kentucky; Rev. Thomas Armitage, D. D., and Rev. A. McClay, D.D., of New York; James Challen and Rev. David E. Thomas, of Ohio; Rev. W. C. Crane, of Mississippi; Rev. James Shannon, of Missouri, and Rev. A. Campbell, of Virginia. The Bible Revision Association was then organized upon a constitution, the second article of which reads as fol- lows:
"The object of the Society shall be to aid in conjunction with the American Bible Union, in procuring a pure version of the English scriptures."
Rev. John L. Waller was chosen President of the Associa- tion, a position he continued to fill until his death. The Board of Managers was located in Louisville, Ky.
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