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The Life and Ministry of Robert Hall, Jr

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The Life and Ministry of Robert Hall, Jr Copyright © 2012 Cody Heath McNutt 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. THE MINISTRY OF ROBERT HALL, JR.: THE PREACHER AS THEOLOGICAL EXEMPLAR AND CULTURAL CELEBRITY 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 Cody Heath McNutt May 2012 APPROVAL SHEET THE MINISTRY OF ROBERT HALL, JR.: THE PREACHER AS THEOLOGICAL EXEMPLAR AND CULTURAL CELEBRITY Cody Heath McNutt Read and Approved by: ___________________________________________ Michael A. G. Haykin (Chair) ___________________________________________ Thomas J. Nettles ___________________________________________ Hershael W. York Date______________________________ To my grandfather, Rosie Foley, Who went to be with Jesus during this project. To my parents, David and Stacy McNutt, Always faithful in their love and support. And especially to Sally, My best friend, my love. Without her this project would have never been completed. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . vii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES . viii PREFACE . ix Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 Statement of the Problem . 2 Background to the Study . 5 Research Materials and Methodology . 8 Thesis . 14 Summary of Content . 17 2. THE LIFE OF ROBERT HALL, JR. 19 +DOO¶V&KLOGKRRGDQG(DUO\(GXFDWLRQ . 19 Teen Years and Higher Education . 24 +DOO¶V(DUO\3DVWRUDO0LQLVWULHV. 30 The Mental Breakdown of Robert Hall . 41 +DOO¶V Latter Pastoral Ministries . 47 The Death and Funeral of Robert Hall . 57 3. PREACHING METHODOLOGY AMONG BAPTISTS: WHAT HALL INHERITED AND HOW HE CHANGED . 63 A Baptist Spirituality of the Word . 63 English Baptists and Preaching in the Seventeenth Century . 67 iv Chapter Page English Baptists and Preaching in the Eighteenth Century . 72 +DOO¶V3KLORVRSK\DQG0HWKRGRORJ\RI The Preaching Task . 81 $Q$QDO\VLVRI+DOO¶V0HWKRGRORJ\DV6HHQ In His Old Testament Preaching . 93 4. DOCTRINE AND THE PREACHING OF ROBERT HALL: THE PREACHER AS A THEOLOGICAL EXEMPLAR . 109 +DOO¶V7KHRORJLFDO-RXUQH\ . 110 Theology in the Preaching of Robert Hall . 116 Hall as a Theological Exemplar . 153 5. THE FAME OF ROBERT HALL: THE PREACHER AS CULTURAL CELEBRITY . 164 Romanticism and the Rise of Celebrities in England . 164 The Lion of Leicester: Hall as a Conversationalist . 172 The Thousand-Stringed Harp: Hall as a Rhetorician . 177 The Prince of Preachers: Hall as a Cultural Celebrity . 186 7KH7LWDQLF)LJXUH+DOO¶V&HOHEULW\$IWHU'HDWK. 200 6+$//¶66(502162) NATIONAL RECOGNITION: THE MAKING OF A CULTURAL CELEBRITY . 207 Hall in Political Context . 207 Modern Infidelity Considered . 209 Reflections on War . 222 Sentiments Proper to the Present Crisis . 230 Funeral Sermon for the Princess Charlotte of Wales . 238 7. CONCLUSION . 251 v Chapter Page Appendix 1. A CATALOG OF HALL¶66(50216 . 257 2. PICTURES RELATED TO ROBERT HALL . 283 )857+(5(9,'(1&(2)+$//¶6 ENDURING LEGACY . 290 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 297 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Works Olinthus Gregory and Joseph Belcher, eds., The Works of the Rev. Robert Hall, A. M. ODNB H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison, eds., Oxford Dictionary of National Biography ³/LIHDQG7HDFKLQJ´ Angus Hamilton Macleod, ³7KH/LIHDQG7HDFKLQJRI5obert Hall, 1764±´ vii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table Page $$&DWDORJRIWKH+DOO¶V6HUPRQV. 256 Figure A1. 3KRWRJUDSKRI5REHUW+DOO¶V7RPE Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol . 282 A2. Portrait of Robert Hall with Signature by N. C. Branwhite . 283 A3. Portrait of Robert Hall with Signed Benediction by J. Flowers . 284 A4. Pen and Ink Drawing of Robert Hall by W. Mason. 285 A5. Robert Hall and Other Baptist Ministers . 286 A6. Photo of the Robert Hall Statue, De Monfort Square, Leicester . 287 A7. Second Photo of the Robert Hall Statue, De Monfort Square, Leicester . 288 viii PREFACE It would be impossible to name the countless individuals who have undergirded my doctoral studies since the fall of 2007. God has truly used the prayers, encouragement, financial support, and wisdom of many people as the means of grace that have caused my perseverance in this scholarly endeavor. I must first thank Timothy Whelan of Georgia Southern University, whose recent work on Robert Hall first piqued my interest in this fascinating subject. Throughout my work on Hall, Whelan and I have exchanged numerous e-mails, where he has provided me with keen insight, important resources to consider, and the occasional remarkable anecdote or story from his own research related to Hall. Austin Walker, pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church in Crawley, England, and author of The Excellent Benjamin Keach, shares an interest in Hall that served as the starting point for a wonderful, albeit long distance, friendship. His knowledge of Hall and his times provided me a wonderful sounding board for my own ideas and conjectures. He and his lovely wife, Mai, housed me for several nights before and after my research in Oxford, and being with them and seeing their love for Christ manifested in every facet of their lives has eternally blessed me. Michael A. G. Haykin, my dissertation supervisor, has supported me and yet challenged me from the onset of this project. He is a kind friend, a godly example, and a Baptist scholar par excellence. Hershael York guided and encouraged me through my doctoral course work. Through his academic expertise and pastoral experience, he has shaped and molded me as a preacher and kindled within me a zeal for this sacred calling. ix Tom Nettles has taught and advised me at pivotal moments since my work on Robert Hall began in my mDVWHU¶VVWXGLHV+LVSHUVRQDOHQFRXUDJHPHQWLQOLIHDQGPLnistry has given me great strength, and his scholarship in Baptist history has influenced my thinking more than any other writer. Finally, from observing the lives and families of all three men, I have grown to love the Lord Jesus Christ more each day. The people of New Heights Baptist Church, whom I am humbled to serve as pastor, have always given their support and prayers. They graciously provided me a three-month preaching sabbatical during which a large portion of this dissertation was researched and written. I am so very grateful to be able to minister to such a wonderful church family. 'XULQJP\WULSWRWKH$QJXV/LEUDU\DW5HJHQW¶V3DUN&ROOHJH2[IRUGLQ March 2011, both Reverend Emma Walsh and Emily Burgoyne were of immense help. Months before, the rediscovery RIQRWHVRI+DOO¶VVHUPRQVWKDWKDGUDUHO\LIHYHUEHHQ utilized was entirely of their doing. While I worked in the Angus, they were very gracious and willing to assist me with anything I needed. I owe them a great debt. Further, Anthony Cross and John H. Y. Briggs both reviewed my prospectus and offered their wise counsel while I was in Oxford. Finally, my parents have supported me since the day I was born, and their prayers and encouragement have only reached a zenith during these last couple of years. I could never repay them for their years of sacrifice and unconditional love. My wife, Sally, is indeed a blessing from God I do not deserve. She is an amazing wife and mother, a stunningly beautiful bride, a funny and kind best friend, and a model of godly humility. Even through long hours of ministering to patients as a nurse, and even longer x hours of caring for our two wonderful daughters, she has showed me nothing but love and support since the beginning of my doctoral studies just a few months after we were married. 6KHHYHQDVVLVWHGPHZLWKFDWDORJXLQJVRPHRI+DOO¶VVHUPRQVI love her more than words could ever express. And finally, to my great God, I am daily humbled by your grace and love towards my family and me. Every second spent on this project is ultimately for your JORU\DORQH3DXO¶VZRUGVKDYHWUXO\EHFRPHP\OLIH¶VSUD\HU³DVLWLVP\HDJHU expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live LV&KULVWDQGWRGLHLVJDLQ´ 3KLO-21). Cody Heath McNutt Louisville, Kentucky May 2012 xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION In his biography of Robert Hall, Edwin Paxton Hall (1820±1885) recalled the HIIHFW+DOO¶VOLIHDQGPLQLVWU\KDGRQSUHFHGLQJJHQHUDWLRQVHYHQLQZRUNVRIOLWHUDU\ fiction such as The Caxtons.1 The fictional work The Caxtons: A Family Picture, written by Edward Bulwer Lytton (1803±1873), later Lord Lytton, tells the wonderful story of a ZLVHDQGFDULQJIDWKHUZKRLVDWWHPSWLQJWRFRPPHQG³WKHELRJUDSK\RIJRRGDQGJUHDW PHQ´WRKLVEURWKHUDQGWRKLVRZQWHHQDJHVRQ%RWKWKHXQFOHDQGVRQZHUHIDFLQJ difficult times, and the father believed that biographies were just the needed medicine. Roland, the uncle, was an older gentleman who had weathered the storms of life literally and figuratively, and the son, referred to as Pisistratus, was at a crossroads in his adolescent life. The father gave them each a copy of the best remedy he could prescribe: The Life of Robert Hall. After putting the biography off for a short time, the son and uncle both devoured its contents and discussed its spiritually edifying effects. The son ZDVJUHDWO\LPSDFWHGE\+DOO¶VSLHW\DQGKLVSDVVLRQDWHGHYRWLRQWR*RGZKHUHDVWKH XQFOHZDVVWUXFNPRUHE\+DOO¶VFRXUDJHGLVSOD\HGLQDOLIHOLYHGLQFRQVWDQWSDLQ7KH 1Edwin Paxton Hood, Robert Hall (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1881), 2. Hood was a Congregational minister, writer, and biographer. Among his other writings were: Oliver Cromwell: His Life, Times, Battlefields, and Contemporaries (London: Hodder and
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