Regular Baptists in Maine, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, 1780 to 1815
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The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fogler Library Spring 5-26-2020 Separating God's Two Kingdoms: Regular Baptists in Maine, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, 1780 to 1815 Ronald S. Baines University of Maine, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd Part of the Canadian History Commons, Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, History of Christianity Commons, History of Religion Commons, Political History Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Baines, Ronald S., "Separating God's Two Kingdoms: Regular Baptists in Maine, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, 1780 to 1815" (2020). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3183. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/3183 This Open-Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SEPARATING GOD’S TWO KINGDOMS: REGULAR BAPTISTS IN MAINE, NOVA SCOTIA, AND NEW BRUNSWICK, 1780 TO 1815 By Ronald S. Baines B.S. Westfield State College, 1989 M.A. Reformed Theological Seminary, 2007 A DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in History) The Graduate School The University of Maine May 2020 Advisory Committee: Liam Riordan, Professor of History, Advisor Richard Judd, Professor of History, emeritus Michael Lang, Associate Professor of History James M. Renihan, Professor of Historical Theology, IRBS Theological Seminary Scott See, Professor of History, emeritus SEPARATING GOD’S TWO KINGDOMS: REGULAR BAPTISTS IN MAINE, NOVA SCOTIA, AND NEW BRUNSWICK, 1780 TO 1815 By Ronald S. Baines Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Liam Riordan An Abstract of the Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History May 2020 The trans-national Regular Baptist tradition in the northeastern borderlands of Maine, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick grew rapidly from 1780 to 1815. The spiritual imperatives of this Calvinistic group with its commitment to believer’s baptism of adults and closed- communion churches made them distinctive, and a central argument here is that the worldly implications of “Two Kingdom” theology, founded on the strict separation of religious and civil realms, was central to Regular Baptists’ success in the region in this period. Three leading ministers whose actions as authors, itinerants, and as organizational leaders receive especially close attention: Maine-based ministers Daniel Merrill and Isaac Case (whose important manuscript diary is little known), and Edward Manning, a leading figure in the Maritimes, who cooperated closely with Merrill. Regular Baptists were dissenters to both the Standing Order and Anglican establishments in Maine and the Maritimes, which often sparked strong conflict with religious authorities. Moreover, the rigorous Calvinism of Regular Baptists that required adult baptism and only sanctioned closed-communion churches made high demands on members, making the tradition’s expansion in this period especially notable. While these high standards might seem to isolate Regular Baptists as an exclusive group, active itinerancy, mission work, congregational organization, and associational efforts were key to the tradition’s expansion in this time and place. Regular Baptists were distinct from free-will evangelical groups that have been closely studied as central to the Second Great Awakening in the United States and were also quite different from adherents to the New Light Stir led by Henry Alline in the Maritimes in the 1770s and 1780s. Struggles over the proper function of associationalism (how to balance congregational autonomy with broader denominational cooperation) and the rigor of the closed- communion standard are especially important worldly implications of Two Kingdoms theology that need to be understood to achieve a full view of Regular Baptist success during their foundational period of growth in the northeastern borderlands. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1 2. THE KINGDOM TORN: BAPTISTS AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD ..............................20 The Baptists and the Kingdom of God ..............................................................................25 The Inauguration of the Kingdom..........................................................................26 The Subjects of the Kingdom ............................................................................................29 The Church and the Kingdom ............................................................................................32 The Sword of the Kingdom................................................................................................40 The Expansion of the Kingdom .........................................................................................46 The Consummation of the Kingdom..................................................................................59 Conclusion .............................................................................................................61 3. BABYLON INVADED: THE EXPANSION OF THE KINGDOM, ITINERANCY IN MAINE AND NOVA SCOTIA .....................................................................................................63 Itinerants and The First Baptist Church of Berwick, District of Maine.............................64 Regular Baptist Itinerancy in Maine: Isaac Case ...............................................................72 Isaac Case and Baptist Success ..............................................................................80 The Process of Ordination among the Regular Baptists ............................81 Personal Regeneration ...............................................................................81 The Internal Call to the Ministry ...............................................................85 The External Call of the Church ................................................................86 The Importance of Local Church Independence ........................................87 The Subordination of Formal Education....................................................89 The Settling of Peripatetic Pastors .....................................................................................94 iii Rev. Isaac Case at Thomaston (1784-1792) and Readfield (1792-1799) ..............94 Rev. Edward Manning of Nova Scotia (1766-1851) .............................................96 Edward Manning’s New Light Congregational Ordination .....................103 Edward Manning’s Baptism by Immersion .............................................103 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................106 4. THE KINGDOM CONSOLIDATED: ESTABLISHING CLOSED COMMUNION BAPTIST CHURCHES ...............................................................................................................112 Kingdom Expansion in Maine: Establishing Baptist Churches .......................................116 Calling Unbeliever’s Out of the World: Believer’s Baptism as the First Step to Enter the Kingdom of God ..............................................................................................................119 Gathering Believers into the Kingdom: Establishing Regular Baptist Churches ............129 The Formation of the Church: The Church Covenant .........................................133 The Formulation of the Church: The Church Confession ...................................140 Kingdom Expansion in Nova Scotia ................................................................................146 Gathering Believers into the Kingdom: Establishing Regular Baptist Churches in Nova Scotia ..........................................................................................................153 Becoming Bona Fide Baptists: The Enoch Towner Case ........................158 5. THE CONNECTION AND PROTECTION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD: LOCAL CHURCH AUTONOMY AND ASSOCIATIONALISM IN THE NORTHEAST .....................................................................................................................163 Associations and the Question of Local Church Independence .......................................164 The Rise of Regular Baptist Associations in Maine: the Bowdoinham Association ...........................................................................................................164 iv Protection of Local Church Independence and Interdependence ............167 From the Bottom Up: Local Church Protection of Local Church Independence ...........................................................................................170 From the Top Down: Association Protection of Local Church Independence ...........................................................................................172 The Rise of Regular Baptist Associations in the Maritime Provinces .............................175 Associations and the Furtherance of the Kingdom ..........................................................186 Associations and Local Church Assistance