Copyright © 2015 Evan Daniel Burns All Rights Reserved. the Southern
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Copyright © 2015 Evan Daniel Burns All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. “A SUPREME DESIRE TO PLEASE HIM”: THE SPIRITUALITY OF ADONIRAM JUDSON A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Evan Daniel Burns May 2015 APPROVAL SHEET “A SUPREME DESIRE TO PLEASE HIM”: THE SPIRITUALITY OF ADONIRAM JUDSON Evan Daniel Burns Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Michael A. G. Haykin (Chair) __________________________________________ M. David Sills __________________________________________ Gregory A. Wills Date______________________________ To Kristie, a devoted missionary wife cut from the same rock as the three Mrs. Judsons; and to my father and mother, whose holy ambitions and warm affection trained up a missionary. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................ ix PREFACE ........................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................1 Status Quaestionis ...............................................................................................5 Thesis ................................................................................................................17 Methodology .....................................................................................................17 Summary of Contents ........................................................................................22 2. THE LIFE AND CONTEXT OF ADONIRAM JUDSON .................................24 The Eighteenth Century ....................................................................................24 Evangelicalism Emerges ...................................................................................26 Roots of the Modern Missionary Movement ....................................................34 The New Divinity of New England ..................................................................42 Andover Theological Seminary ........................................................................55 Biographical Sketch ..........................................................................................62 Ambition Building (1788-1804) .............................................................. 62 From Deism to Hopkinsianism (1804-1810) ........................................... 65 A Missions Movement (1810-1812) ........................................................ 70 A Consecrated Woman (1810-1812) ....................................................... 71 Leaving and Cleaving to the Call (1812-1814) ....................................... 73 Translating and Preaching (1814-1821) .................................................. 75 v Chapter Page Darkening Clouds of Providence (1821-1830) ........................................ 78 Fruit-Bearing in All Seasons (1830-1850) .............................................. 81 3. “YIELD TO THE WORD OF GOD”: BIBLIOCENTRIC SPIRITUALITY ................................................................... 86 Keeping the Word .............................................................................................86 Biblical Truth and Baptism ...............................................................................91 Baptistic Conversionism ...................................................................................94 Slow Assurance .................................................................................................97 Disciple-Making with the Word........................................................................99 Proclaiming the Word .....................................................................................103 Publishing the Word ...............................................................................108 Translating the Word ..............................................................................110 Preaching the Word ................................................................................113 The Infallible Word .........................................................................................115 Slow Gospel Growth .......................................................................................119 Apologetics and Evangelism ...........................................................................120 Conclusion ......................................................................................................124 4. “THY WILL BE EVER DONE”: ASCETIC SPIRITUALITY ...............................................................................125 Submitting to the Sovereign Will of God .......................................................126 Judson’s God-Centered God ...................................................................127 Submitting to God in Risk ......................................................................129 Submitting to God in Affliction ..............................................................132 Submitting to God in Grief .....................................................................137 vi Chapter Page Submitting to God in Death ....................................................................143 The Path of Duty .............................................................................................146 Standing on the Gospel ...........................................................................147 Standing Amid the Unknown .................................................................150 The Duty to Stay .....................................................................................151 Self-Denial ......................................................................................................165 The Context of Judson’s Dark Night and Self-Denial ............................167 Hopkinsian disinterested benevolence ...........................................167 Madame Guyon’s devotion ............................................................168 The dark hour .................................................................................169 Judson’s self-denial in perspective .................................................172 Doctrines and Descriptions of Self-Denying Piety .................................175 Rules of life ....................................................................................175 Points of self-denial ........................................................................178 Duty to oneself ...............................................................................180 The born-again man .......................................................................180 Judson’s The Threefold Cord .........................................................181 The missionary model of self-denial ..............................................186 Conclusion ......................................................................................................189 5. “WE REAP ON ZION’S HILL”: HEAVENLY-MINDED SPIRITUALITY .........................................................191 Heavenly-Mindedness .....................................................................................191 A Lifelong Heavenly-Minded Disposition .............................................192 vii Chapter Page Heavenly Comfort ..................................................................................195 Heavenly Longing ..................................................................................205 Postmillennial Hopefulness .............................................................................213 Millennial Glory .....................................................................................216 Conclusion ......................................................................................................226 6. “O, THE LOVE OF CHRIST”: CHRISTOCENTRIC SPIRITUALITY ..............................................................228 Pleasing Christ ................................................................................................230 Christ’s Benevolent Example .................................................................231 Christ’s Great Commission.....................................................................237 Loving Christ ..................................................................................................245 True Religion and Prayer ........................................................................246 Communion with Christ .........................................................................248 Importunate Praying ...............................................................................257 True Religion and Family .......................................................................260 Poetry and Piety ......................................................................................263 Conclusion ......................................................................................................270 7. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................272 Analysis ...........................................................................................................275