Copyright © 2018 Timothy Warren Scott 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. THOMAS SCOTT AND EVANGELICAL MISSIONS 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 Timothy Warren Scott December 2018 APPROVAL SHEET THOMAS SCOTT AND EVANGELICAL MISSIONS Timothy Warren Scott Read and Approved by: __________________________________________ Michael A. G. Haykin (Chair) __________________________________________ David L. Puckett __________________________________________ George H. Martin Date______________________________ I dedicate this dissertation to my wife, Jennifer, and our three children, Ryan, Zachary, and Adam, who have lovingly supported me throughout the completion of this project. May the Lord reward you greatly for your sacrifice, patience, and love. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . vii PREFACE . viii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 The Tension of Being an Evangelical Anglican . 4 The Evangelical Anglican Tension and Missions . 18 Purpose and Methodology of This Dissertation . 21 Statement of the Thesis . 23 The Importance of the Study . 23 2. THOMAS SCOTT’S LIFE AND LEGACY . 25 The Life of Thomas Scott . 27 The Legacy of Thomas Scott . 55 3. THOMAS SCOTT’S EVANGELICAL IDENTITY: GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS . 62 The Quest for an Evangelical Identity . 65 The Importance of the Bible . 69 The Message of the Gospel . 73 An Emphasis on a Genuine Conversion . 88 The Nature and Meaning of Baptism . 97 The Modern Question . 112 An Eschatological Hope . 124 Summary . 129 iv Chapter Page 4. THOMAS SCOTT’S EVANGELICAL IDENTITY: ECCLESIASTICAL CHARACTERISTICS . 132 The Nature of the English Establishment . 132 Ecclesiastical Irregularity . 145 Scott’s View of Episcopal Ordination . .148 Evangelicalism and Christendom . 154 A Summary of Scott’s Evangelical Ecclesiology and His Solution to the Evangelical Anglican Tension . 173 5. THOMAS SCOTT AND THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY: FORMATION AND PRINCIPLES . 177 Early Evangelical Anglican Missionary Conversations . 178 Thomas Scott as an Advocate for Evangelical Missions . 181 The Eclectic Society and the Founding of the CMS . 185 Thomas Scott’s Commitment to the CMS . 202 6. THOMAS SCOTT AND THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY: THE SECRETARY YEARS . 205 Small Beginnings: Efforts at Making Friends . 206 The Struggle for Existence: Ecclesiastical Tension and the Search for Missionary Candidates . 213 Thomas Scott’s Anniversary Sermon . 233 A New Quest for Missionaries . 251 Resignation and Promise . 263 7. THOMAS SCOTT AND THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY: PASTORAL ADVOCATE AND MISSIONARY INSTRUCTOR . 267 Thomas Scott as a Pastoral Advocate for the CMS . 268 Thomas Scott as Missionary Trainer for the CMS . .276 The Legacy of the Aston Sandford Seminary . 325 8. THOMAS SCOTT AND EVANGELICAL MISSIONS: NON-ANGLICAN MISSIONARY SOCIETIES . 328 v Chapter Page The Baptist Missionary Society . 329 The London Missionary Society . 333 The British and Foreign Bible Society . 337 The London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews. 355 An Analysis of Scott’s Participation in Non-Anglican Missions . 367 9. CONCLUSION . 370 Appendix A TRIBUTE TO THOMAS SCOTT IN THE CMS ANNUAL REPORT OF 1821 . 376 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 378 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BDCM Gerald H. Anderson, ed., Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions BFBS British and Foreign Bible Society BMS Baptist Missionary Society CH Church History CMS Church Missionary Society DCC F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, eds., Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. LMS London Missionary Society LSPCJ London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews SPCK Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge SPG Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts VE Vox Evangelica vii PREFACE Mark Twain once said that “all good things arrive unto them that wait—and don’t die in the meantime.” I am well aware that the sloth-like pace with which I have progressed in my writing has caused a great number of my friends and family to wonder whether or not they would live to see the completion of this dissertation. This was particularly the case with my uncle, Allen Scott, who has reminded me several times over the past few years that he would like to see me graduate and that he was not getting any younger. To all those who have continued their support of this project, through more years than would normally be expected, I wish to express my immense gratitude. Additionally, I would like to thank several people for their contributions to the completion of this dissertation. First, I would like to thank my initial advisor, Dr. David Puckett. It was a great priviledge to have worked under him as a Garrett Fellow and student. I enjoyed the conversations we had in his office or over the phone, and I greatly missed his presence on campus after his retirement. Dr. Puckett, more than anyone else, instilled in me a love for the history of British Christianity, and this dissertation is a testimony to the mark he left on my life. I regret only that I was not a diligent enough student to have completed my dissertation before he retired. Second, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Michael Haykin. Upon Dr. Puckett’s retirement, Dr. Haykin graciously agreed to take me on as his student. He has been invaluable in spurring me on to complete my writing, and he has been extraordinarily patient with me as I have unsuccessfully tried to balance my time between school, church, and family. Third, I would like to thank the two church families of which I have been a part during my studies—Kosmosdale Baptist Church (Louisville, Kentucky) and Salem Baptist Church (Florissant, Missouri). Both churches have graciously dealt with a pastor who was constantly distracted by school. It was also a joy to have Dr. George Martin, a former pastor at Kosmosdale Baptist Church, as a member of my dissertation committee. viii Several others deserve special mention as well. I would like to thank Fergus Pearson, the Vicar of St. John’s Church, Hensingham, who is probably the only other person in the world who cares about Thomas Scott as much as I do. In 2015, Fergus graciously took me on a tour of Thomas Scott’s parish churches in Buckinghamshire and hosted me in his home while I was in England. He has also provided me with many helpful suggestions about matters in this dissertation, and his photographs of Thomas Scott’s letters to John Ryland, Jr. provided the material for many portions of my work. I would also like to mention David Peck, the churchwarden at St. Michael and All Angels in Aston Sandford, who hosted me in his home in Haddenham and showed me around the village. Credit is also due to the librarians at the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the British Library, and the Cadbury Research Library in Birmingham, who have helped me procure numerous rare sources. Furthermore, I want to express my love and appreciation for my family, including my mom and dad, James and Jerri Scott, and my inlaws, Bob and Jeanie Henderson. Finally, my wife, Jennifer, deserves as many accolades as I can squeeze into this preface for being my superhero. For nine years, she has run our household, mothered and schooled our children, served in our church, and lovingly cared for her husband. She made Ph.D. work possible, and I simply could not have done it without her. Timothy Warren Scott Florissant, Missouri December 2018 ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Thomas Carlyle once famously remarked that “Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here.”1 While the present author hesitates to endorse fully Carlyle’s view of history, an element of truth is found in what he said, which can be applied to the history of the Evangelical Party in the Church of England.2 After all, the Evangelical Party became prominent in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries through the work of a number of individuals who set out to transform the Church of England and England itself into a realm of fervent Christian devotion.3 Charles Smyth sounded very 1Thomas Carlye, On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History, ed. Archibald MacMechan (Boston: Ginn & Company, 1901), 1. 2Unless otherwise noted, the phrases “Church of England,” “National Church,” and “English Establishment” will be used synonymously throughout this dissertation to refer to the official, state- established Christian church in England. Similarly, the term Anglican throughout this dissertation will be used as shorthand for persons, churches, or organizations associated with the Church of England. As Cross and Livingstone say, the Anglican Communion is “the Church in communion with, and recognizing the leadership of, the see of Canterbury, whether in Britain or abroad” (DCC, s.v. “Anglican Communion”). 3It should be noted that the term “evangelical” will be used in two senses in this work. On one hand, the term will be used as a reference to someone who is a member of the world-wide movement that bears the same name, that is, the evangelical movement. Throughout the course of this dissertation, when reference is made to members of the larger evangelical movement, the words evangelical and evangelicalism will not be capitalized. However, when speaking about the Church of England, historicans commonly talk about the “Evangelical Party” as a subset of the National Church. Not every member of the Church of England was sympathetic to evangelical principles; and consequently, clergyman in the Church of England can be divided into Evangelical and non-Evangelical parties. The “Evangelical Party” consisted of those in the Church of England who were sympathetic with the revivals that took place in the early 1700s.