One of the greatest Baptist theologians of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Andrew Fuller has not had justice done to him. There is little doubt that Fuller's theology lay behind the revitalization of the Baptists in the late eighteenth century and the first few decades of the nineteenth. This collection of essays fills a much-needed gap by examining the major area of Fuller's thought: his work as an apologist. The book argues that the New Testament exegesis, which is at the heart of this reformulation, is fundamentally accurate and that the resulting system is theologically coherent. The book also argues that this view is not a Baptist novelty, but is rather a recovery of the foundational Baptist thought of the seventeenth century.

The English Baptist Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) is well-known today for his nuanced Evangelical answer to the "Modern Question" against hyper-Calvinism, founding and leading the Baptist Missionary Society, and his exemplary pastoral ministry. In his day, however, he was also esteemed as a formidable apologist for Christian orthodoxy, especially in the area of moral reasoning. Following in the footsteps of his theological mentor, Jonathan Edwards, Fuller labored to defend the moral goodness and salutary nature of Christian doctrine against the new moral philosophy of the Enlightenment. As optimism in the moral potential of human nature waxed, reliance on God for truth and virtue waned. Echoing a long tradition of classical theologians, Fuller wished to declare afresh that the love of God, as manifested in the gospel, furnished humankind's only hope for virtue, excellence, and happiness. In this concise study, Hoselton looks to recover the importance of ethical reasoning in Fuller's theology and ministry and reflect on its merit for today.

Explorations of the English Baptist reception of the Evangelical Revival often--and rightfully--focus on the work of the Spirit, prayer, Bible study, preaching, and mission, while other key means are often overlooked. Useful Learning examines the period from c. 1689 to c. 1825, and combines history in the form of the stories of Baptist pastors, their churches, and various societies, and theology as found in sermons, pamphlets, personal confessions of faith, constitutions, covenants, and theological treatises. In the process, it identifies four equally important means of grace. The first was the theological renewal that saw moderate Calvinism answer "The Modern Question," develop into evangelical Calvinism, and revive the denomination. Second were close groups of ministers whose friendship, mutual support, and close theological collaboration culminated in the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society, and local itinerant mission work across much of Britain. Third was their commitment to reviving stagnating Associations, or founding new ones, convinced of the vital importance of the corporate Christian life and witness for the support and strengthening of the local churches, and furthering the spread of the gospel to all people. Finally was the conviction of the churches and their pastors that those with gifts for preaching and ministry should be theologically educated. At first local ministers taught students in their homes, and then at the Bristol Academy. In the early nineteenth century, a further three Baptist academies were founded at Horton, Abergavenny, and Stepney, and these were soon followed by colleges in America, India, and Jamaica.

Dan Taylor was a leading English eighteenth-century General Baptist minister and founder of the New Connexion of General Baptists--a revival movement. This book provides considerable new light on the theological thinking of this important evangelical figure. The major themes examined are Taylor's spiritual formation; soteriology; understanding of the atonement; beliefs regarding the means and process of conversion; ecclesiology; approach to baptism, the Lord's Supper, and worship; and missiology. The nature of Taylor's evangelicalism--its central characteristics, underlying tendencies, evidence of the shaping influence of certain Enlightenment values, and ways that it was outworked--reflect that which was distinct about evangelicalism as a movement emerging from the eighteenth-century Evangelical Revival. It is thus especially relevant to recent debates regarding the origins of evangelicalism. Taylor's evangelicalism was particularly marked by its pioneering nature. His propensity for innovation serves as a unifying theme throughout the book, with many of its accompanying patterns of thinking and practical expressions demonstrating that which was distinct about evangelicalism in the eighteenth century.

Despite his prominent role during the last quarter of the eighteenth century in promoting evangelical Calvinism among British Particular Baptists, only portions of the diary of Andrew Fuller (1754-1815), one of the most important surviving manuscripts from that century, have appeared in print in various volumes published between 1816 and 1882, portions usually inaccurately transcribed and highly editorialized. The current edition is the first complete and accurate transcription of Fuller’s diary based on the sole surviving volume now residing at Bristol Baptist College. This edition, with exhaustive identifications, notes, and valuable appendices for students of Baptist history, provides a fascinating glimpse into Fuller’s ministry at Soham and Kettering during a period (1780-1801) when he became the titular head of the Particular Baptists as a result of his preaching throughout Northamptonshire and surrounding counties; his writing, such as his influential work, The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation (1785); and his multi-national work as founding secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society (1792), a position he diligently maintained until his death in 1815, having left a legacy unequalled by any other minister of his generation.