RICHARD FURMAN'S ADDRESS TRIENNIAL CONVENTION 1814...

ADDRESS OF THE BAPTIST DELEGATES AT PHILADELPHIA, 1814

[ed. We publish this address due to the impact it had on Baptists to become involved in the mission movement of the 19th century.  We obviously, do not approve of a lot that Mr. Furman says,]



The General Convention Carey and the three American missionaries mobilized Baptists in America to support the Judsons' planned mission trip to Burma. Their efforts led to the creation in 1814 of the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions. The Convention was tasked with collecting funds from Baptist groups and individuals to support foreign missions. The Convention was called "Triennial" because the national convention met every three years. Members of the denomination were called American Baptists or Triennial Baptists. At its first meeting, the American Baptist Missionary Union for foreign missions was created, and the denomination sent missionaries to China, Africa, and South America. In addition, state Baptist conventions were formed along with other societies, such as the Baptist General Tract Society (later renamed the American Baptist Publication Society) in 1824 and the Home Mission Society in 1832. The various societies held their own conventions during sessions of the Triennial Convention. of the Baptist Delegates for Missionary purposes, assembled in the meeting-house of the first Baptist FROM THEIR WEBSITE: Church life suffered during the War of Independence when membership declined and it was noted that, “the church and society here (are) in a broken state”. Its most notable member at this time was DEACON SAMUEL MILES who in 1790 was elected Mayor of Philadelphia. (A Memorial tablet to him is in the stairwell.) In 1804 the church’s FIRST CHOIR was formed and was accompanied by ‘violin, clarionette , violincello and bassoon’. There was no ORGAN until 1829 and for several years this was pumped by men and boys. It was moved to the new church at Broad and Arch in 1856 and was subsequently electrified. And during the rest of the 19th. Century at least 7 other daughter churches came into being. In 1806 DR. WILLIAM STAUGHTON became pastor and his fiery preaching and indefatigable labors drew such crowds that it became necessary for the LaGRANGE CHURCH to be enlarged again and during the process the congregation worshipped in the State House now called Independence Hall. Staughton went on to spearhead the Baptist drive for Foreign Missions and Higher Education and in 1823 became President of Columbian College now George Washington University.  Beloved Brethren and Friends,

Richard Furman (1755-1825)

In what manner, and to what extent, it has pleased the blessed God, of late, to direct the attention of many among us, to the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, some of you are already sensible, and others will learn from the preceding pages. Under the smiles of a propitious Providence, a convention has assembled, at Philadelphia; consisting of Delegates¹ from parts of our Union, various and remote, to devise a plan, and enter into measures, for combining the efforts of our whole denomination, in behalf of the millions, upon whom the light of evangelical truth has never shone.² The result of their serious and affectionate consultations, you have an opportunity of perusing.  

Unpromising and disastrous as the present state of our world may appear, the period is surely approaching, and we trust is not distant, when the scene shall be reversed. - "The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain; and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it," "The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." "The glory of the Lord" shall arise upon Zion, "Mountains and hills shall break forth, into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." Our God will "create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and his people a joy." "The seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give her fruit, the ground shall give its increase, and the heavens shall give their dew." [ed. Isa. 40:4-5; Matthew 5:5; Isa. 55:12; Isa. 65:18; Zech. 8:12]

For this glorious period the Church has long and anxiously been waiting. For this, thousands of the petitions of the saints have already been presented by the great Mediator before the eternal throne, and thousands, more are continually ascending. It is a day of glory, embraced in the tenor of the covenant of promise, and which, as the reward of his conflict and suffering, the Redeemer is expecting: a result, to which the revolutions of empire, and the silent progress of time perpetually verge.³

The agency by which whole nations shall be regenerated⁴ hereafter, is the same which takes one of a city and two of a family, and brings them to Zion now. The universal, moral change,⁵ like the erection of the second temple,⁶ shall be effected, "not by might nor by power," [ed. Zechariah 4:6] but by the Spirit of the Lord. The promise is recorded, "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thy offspring." [ed. Isaiah 44:3] 

But assurances of divine assistance were never designed to discourage human endeavors. They diminished not the zeal, and the labors of Zerubbabel. Paul and Apollos well knew that the "increase" must be of God, but this animated, not retarded them - in the services of planting and watering. In many of his mighty works, it is the pleasure of Jehovah to act alone. Alone he planted the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth. He asks the aid of no created arms when he balances the clouds, directs the thunder, or arranges the stars; day and night, summer and winter, seed time and harvest, obey no voice but his. 

But for effecting the conversion of sinners, sanctifying their hearts, and preparing them for everlasting enjoyment of his presence in heaven, he usually acts through the medium of instruments, he has commissioned his ministers to "go, into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."⁷ Treasures of grace are introduced into "earthen vessels." [ed. II Cor. 4:7]  Even the private christian, as well as the pastor or the teacher, is permitted to enjoy the honor of being a "fellow worker with God!"⁸ [ed. I Cor. 3:9] The preaching of the everlasting gospel "unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people,"⁹ [ed. Rev. 14:6] combined with the prayers and liberality¹⁰ of the churches, will usher in the day of Babylon's destruction, and the general triumphs of holiness and truth.

To considerations such as these, professors of the gospel have surely attached too little importance. They have looked for a harvest without a seed-time: or, where the necessity of the labors of the spring has been admitted, content with seeing others in the field, they have themselves stood "all the day idle." [ed. Matthew 20:6] The industry, the privations, the successes of the Missionaries of Christ, may have excited a languid and transient admiration, but ah! how few have ventured on their labors, or imbibed their spirit? Who will pretend that the zeal of a Swartz, or a Van der Kemp, of Marshman, Ward, or the Careys has been excessive, beyond what the state of the heathen, the honor of Christ, or the duty of the Christian demands?¹¹ 

But brethren, if theirs be correct, ours has been deplorably deficient. Shall their fervors for the divine honor exhibit a steady and sacred flame, and ours slumber in ashes? Rather let us profit by their examples, and aspire to their usefulness and honor. The gospel of Christ, above every other system, originates and sustains a public spirit. "None of us liveth to himself, and none of us dieth unto himself." [ed. Rom. 14:7-9] The design of the obedience and sufferings of Jesus recognizes none of those inferior distinctions which divide man from man. The gospel secures the salvation of a multitude "which no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues." [ed. Rev. 7:9]  It presents a sovereign remedy for all the diseases which awakened sinners of every rank, and of every clime, feel and deplore. 

The apostle of the Gentiles longed and prayed for the salvation of his country men, but he also travelled from province to province, from Jerusalem to Illyricum, publishing salvation through a Mediator's name. What advantages soever particular fields for missionary efforts may exhibit, the disciple of Jesus will contemplate the whole world as a scene demanding his sympathy and his prayers, his zeal and his contributions. 

Four hundred millions of our fellow creatures spread over the countries of Hindustan, Siam, Tartary, China, and its neighboring islands, various parts of Africa, America, and the isles of the Pacific Ocean, are involved in the darkness of Paganism. Their idolatry is associated with customs, absurd, sanguinary, and obscene. The female character is sunk in servility and wretchedness. Millions in Europe, Africa, and Asia, are revering the Arabian impostor Muhammad as a messenger from God, and the Koran as their guide to paradise. Ten millions of our race are Jews, scattered throughout every nation, and are everywhere resting in their law, and rejecting the Messiah. 

In many sections of our globe, where Christianity is publicly professed, it has been so mixed with vain superstitions, its doctrines so misrepresented, its duties so mistaken, and the means by which it has been propagated and maintained, so repugnant to its pure and gentle spirit, that even Christendom¹² itself presents scenes for pious exertions, which for ignorance and misery, are in heathen regions scarcely exceeded.

Who can contemplate the prospect our world presents without exclaiming, "mine eye affects my heart?" [ed. Lam. 3:51]  The soul of a Tartar, or a Hindu, of an Indian, or a Muslim, is as wonderful a faculty, as immaterial and immortal, as the soul of a Christian. It is as susceptible as his, of hope and fear, of ecstasy and anguish, but alas! it is dead in trespasses and sins, destitute of the light of revelation, and in danger of eternal fire. "For as many as have sinned without the law, shall perish also without the law." [ed. Rom 2:12]  

Were circumstances reversed; were we in a moral darkness,¹³ and the pagan world enjoying the light of life, self-love would instantly suggest to us the benevolent duties which it would become them to discharge. Those very duties are our own. The holy men who saw our forefathers prostrating themselves before the shrines of a Woden, or a Tuor, and who exhorted them to turn from idols to serve the living and the true God, have left us, in their toils, an example of duty, and in their successes encouragement for our liveliest hopes.

Within the last few years, it has pleased the good Spirit of our God to awaken in his churches, a serious concern for the diffusion of the Savior's cause.¹⁴ Numerous, and, in some instances, large associations of christians have been formed for the purpose. Considerable sums of money have been collected; Bibles and Religious tracts are extensively and gratuitously circulating, and the hope which thousands cherish, that the glory of the latter day is at hand, is as operative as it is joyous.¹⁵ The blessing which has succeeded the efforts of our denomination in India demands our gratitude. In a few years, the word of life will probably be translated into all the languages of the East. 

The change of sentiment, relative to the subject of baptism, that has lately occurred in the minds of two respectable William Carey and William Ward, characters, who were sent out Missionaries, by another denomination of our christian brethren, appears to have been of the Lord, and designed as a means of exciting the attention of our Churches to foreign missions. The engagedness of these worthy brethren in the work of the Lord continues. They look to us for aid, are actually under our care,¹⁶ and have an undoubted claim to our united and firm support. One of them Luther Rice is about to travel through different parts of the Union, with a view of increasing the number of missionary establishments. We anticipate with pleasure your zealous co-operation. The brevity of life, the value of immortal souls, the obligations under which divine mercy has laid us,¹⁷ our past inactivity, the facility with which the great work may be effected, the excellent tendency of the spirit for foreign Missions in multiplying Missions at home, the examples of other christian persuasions, and the incalculable blessings that may follow our endeavors, form a body of motive, which we hope will kindle in many of our youth, an ardent desire to enter on Missionary services, and in you, the the holy resolution to minister of your abundance, to all who shall go forth in the name of the Lord. 

But, while we call your attention to the spread of Evangelical truth, we would impress on your minds, that many other, and most imports if advantages may arise to the interests of Christ among us, from our acting as societies, and on the more extended scale of a Convention, in delightful union. The independence of the Churches, we trust, will ever among us be steadfastly maintained; but with this, as they are entirely voluntary, the holy combinations we wish for can never interfere.¹⁸ Is it not a fact, that our Churches are ignorant of each other to a lamentable degree? But for the labors of one or two individuals, it is probable that whole associations might have assembled, in different parts of our Union, without being known, or knowing that others existed. We have "One Lord; one faith, one baptism," [ed. Eph. 4:5] why should our ignorance of each other continue? Why prevent us from uniting in one common effort, for the glory of the Son of God? At the present convention, the sight of brethren, who had never met each other before, and who, a few months ago, had never expected to meet on earth, afforded mutual and unutterable pleasure. It was as if the first interviews of heaven had been anticipated.¹⁹

The efforts of the present Convention have been directed chiefly to the establishment of a foreign Mission; but, it is expected that when the general concert of their brethren, and sufficient contributions to a common fund, shall furnish them with proper instruction, and adequate means, the promotion of the interests of the Churches at home, will enter into the deliberations of future meetings.²⁰

It is deeply to be regretted, that no more attention is paid to the improvement of the minds of pious youth, who are called to the Gospel Ministry. While this is neglected the Cause of God must suffer.²¹ Within the last fifty years, by the diffusion of knowledge, and attention to liberal science At that time, this term was a general reference to a college education, consisting of philosophy, history and languages., the state of society has become considerably elevated. It is certainly desirable, that the information of the Minister of the sanctuary should increase in an equal proportion. Other denominations are directing their attention, with signal ardor to the instruction of their youth for this purpose. They are assisting them to peruse the sacred writings in their original languages, and supplying other aids for pulpit services, which, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, may become eminently sanctified for the general good.²² While we avow our belief that a refined or liberal education is not an indispensable qualification for ministerial service, let us never lose sight of its real importance,²³ but labour to help our young men, by our contributions, by the organization of Education societies, and, if possible, by a general Theological Seminary, where some, at least, may obtain all the advantages which learning and mature studies can afford, to qualify for acting the part of men, who are set for the defense of the Gospel. Improvement of this nature will contribute to roll away from the Churches, the reproach of neglecting to support the ministry of the word. They will be unwilling to receive for nothing that which has cost their ministers much.²⁴

Finally, brethren, "be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."

RICHARD FURMAN
President. 


[From The Baptist Magazine, January, 1815, pp. 21-25.  Scanned by Jim Duvall. ]

[ed. ¹A convention has assembled consisting of delegates.  Sounds simple?  What does this mean?  The complexity of this bureaucratic machine should not lost on the casual reader.  Here is a passage from the Missionary Register Magazine of 1822, Vol 10:

The Baptist Board of Foreign Missions was appointed in May of 1814, at a meeting in Philadelphia of Delegates from various parts of the Union.  These Delegates organized an Institution entitled the "General Missionary Convention of The Baptist Denomination in the United States of America for Foreign Missions."  The Constitution then adopted requires that a Triennial Convention should thereafter, be held, consisting of Delegates, not exceeding two in number from each of such Missionary Societies and other Religious bodies of the Baptist Denomination in the States as should regularly contribute to the general Missionary Fund, the sum of one hundred dollars, or upward, per annum.  It also provides for the triennial appointment of Twenty-one Commissioners, who are styled the "Baptist Board of Foreign Mission for the United States," and whose duty it is, to manage the concerns of the Institution, during the recess of the Triennial Convention.

These "commissioners" are the ones who really rule the organization, deciding which of their missionary employees should go where and what they shall get paid.]

[ed. ²Arrogance or ignorance is on display here.  William Carey was NOT the first Christian missionary to India.  There were at least two others.  Thomas was one of them.  We read in a wikipedia article on Thomas the following: 

Thomas is traditionally believed to have sailed to India in AD 50 (but there is evidence of his being in Taxila in AD 43, where he did not have success) to spread the Christian faith, and is believed to have landed at the port of Muziris, (modern-day North Paravur and Kodungalloor in modern-day Kerala state) where there was a Jewish community at the time.  The port was destroyed in 1341 by a massive flood that realigned the coasts. He is believed by the Saint Thomas Christian tradition to have established seven churches (communities) in Kerala. These churches are at Kodungallur, Palayoor, Kottakkavu (Paravur), Kokkamangalam, Niranam, Nilackal (Chayal), Kollam and Thiruvithamcode (half church).  Thomas baptized several families, namely Pakalomattom, Sankarapuri, Kalli, Kaliyankal, Nedumpilly, Panakkamattom, Kunnappilly, Vazhappilly, Payyappilly, Maliakal, Pattamukku and Thaiyil.  Other families claim to have origins almost as far back as these and the religious historian Robert Eric Frykenberg notes that "Whatever dubious historicity may be attached to such local traditions, there can be little doubt as to their great antiquity or to their great appeal in popular imagination."

An ancient poem by Ephrem the Syrian states:

It was to a land of dark people he was sent, to clothe them by Baptism in white robes. His grateful dawn dispelled India's painful darkness. It was his mission to espouse India to the One-Begotten. The merchant is blessed for having so great a treasure. Edessa thus became the blessed city by possessing the greatest pearl India could yield. Thomas works miracles in India, and at Edessa Thomas is destined to baptize peoples perverse and steeped in darkness, and that in the land of India. — Hymns of Saint Ephrem, edited by Lamy (Ephr. Hymni et Sermones, IV)

According to the Acts of Thomas, which does not have to be canonical to be valuable, the Lord appears in a vision to Thomas who was reluctant to go:

Fear not, Thomas. Go away to India and proclaim the Word, for my grace shall be with you." But the Apostle still demurred, so the Lord overruled the stubborn disciple by ordering circumstances so compelling that he was forced to accompany an 'Indian' merchant, Abbanes, as a slave to his native place in northwest 'India', where he found himself in the service of the Indo-Parthian king, Gondophares. According to the Acts of Thomas, the apostle's ministry resulted in many conversions throughout the kingdom, including the king and his brother.

The reader may continue investigating with the links supplied.  Yet Thomas was not the only one who went to India.  There was Panteanus, who Eusebius wrote about in his Historia Ecclesiastica (5:10-11)

About that time, Pantænus, a man highly distinguished for his learning, had charge of the school of the faithful in Alexandria. A school of sacred learning, which continues to our day, was established there in ancient times, and as we have been informed, was managed by men of great ability and zeal for divine things. Among these it is reported that Pantænus was at that time especially conspicuous, as he had been educated in the philosophical system of those called Stoics. They say that he displayed such zeal for the divine Word, that he was appointed as a herald of the Gospel of Christ to the nations in the East, and was sent as far as India. For indeed there were still many evangelists of the Word who sought earnestly to use their inspired zeal, after the examples of the apostles, for the increase and building up of the Divine Word. Pantænus was one of these, and is said to have gone to India. It is reported that among persons there who knew of Christ, he found the Gospel according to Matthew, which had anticipated his own arrival. For Bartholomew, one of the apostles, had preached to them, and left with them the writing of Matthew in the Hebrew language, which they had preserved till that time.

What conditions those churches were in by the time Furman spoke cannot be accurately ascertained, but the Gospel had been preached and people baptized.]

[ed. ³What happened to all the assurances by Furman that this missionary endeavor was the beginning of the Christ's conquest of the Earth?  Has Christianity taken over India?  Have all the heathen been converted?  Have even the majority of them been converted?  Hardly.  But this view of the coming triumph of "the church" came from his admiration of Jonathan Edwards.  This view that the millenium would be brought in by the evangelization of the Heathen by "the church" was mostly developed by a man named Daniel Whitby, an Arminian anglican priest soon-to-become a Unitarian.  Clarence Darkin, a Dispensationalist who we do not agree with did manage to explain the great growth of postmillennialism in the 1700s:

The times were favorable for the "New Theory." A reaction had set in from the open infidelity of those days. All England was in a religious fervor. The "Great Awakening" followed under Whitefield and Wesley, and it looked, as Whitby claimed, that the Millennium was about to be ushered in. That he was mistaken the events of history since that time have shown. It is evident that we are not in the Millennium now.
Nevertheless his "Theory" was favorably received everywhere, and spread with great rapidity and became an established doctrine of the Church, and is what is known today as the "Post-Millennial" view of the Second Coming of Christ, and supposed to be the orthodox faith of the Church. In short, "Post-Millennialism, " as advocated in our day, is barely 200 years old...

Jonathan Edwards who influenced many christians  from the 1740s up to the 1850s, was in turn influenced by Daniel Whitby as explained by Mark Jones & Michael Haykin, in their book titled, A New Divinity: Transatlantic Reformed Evangelical Debates During the Long Eighteenth Century: 

Though not everyone embraced Whitby and Lowman's perspective, Jonathan Edwards eagerly incorporated their understanding into his overall eschatological studies.

In a work by Jonathan Edwards titled, An Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement And Visible Union Of God's People in Extraordinary Prayer, speaking of the recent revivals of religion in Europe and America Edwards states:

...yet, that the Spirit of God has been of late so wonderfully awakening and striving with such multitudes, in so many different parts of the world, and even to this day, in one place or other, continues to awaken men, is what I should take great encouragement from, that God was about to do something; more glorious, and would, before he finishes, bring things to a greater ripeness, and not finally suffer this work of his to be frustrated and rendered abortive by Satan's crafty management ; and that these unusual commotions are the forerunners of something; exceeding glorious approaching ;as the wind, earthquake and fire, at Mount Sinai, were forerunners of that voice, wherein God was, in a more eminent manner; although they also were caused by a divine power, as it is represented that these things were caused by the Lord passing by, 1 Kings 19:11-12.

Again we ask, what has happened to these hopes now?  Perhaps the kingdom of God already exists within believers and has since Christ came. Luke17:20-21]

[ed. ⁴How can a nation be regenerated?  Where is this kind of language be found in scripture?  Indeed, where can it be found that any individual is said to be regenerated?  We refer to Elder Lackey's article on this subject.  But, if Mr. Furman means to equate regeneration with the new birth, then again we ask, how is it possible that a nation can be born again?]

[ed. ⁵Again, we are confused.  What does Dr. Furman mean by "universal moral change"?  Since when is a moral change equate with the new birth?  And even if we admitted this, how can it be universal?  Is he asserting that all will go to heaven?  Surely not. I suppose, he might mean by universal, as happening in all the different places of the Earth, but again it is very confusing language and certainly not the apostolic language found in the Bible.]

[ed. ⁶How does the rebuilding of the temple equate with any kind of moral change?  Is any kind of "universal moral change" mentioned in the context of the passage (Zech. 4:6)?]

[ed. ⁷It is true. Christ did give a commission to his apostles to preach the Gospel to every living creature.  But where in scripture, did he give this order to man-made societies?  We cannot express our thoughts on this subject any better than Gilbert Beebe did in 1839.  Even today, the issues are the same:

...we differ from the new order in regard to the formation of Missionary Societies, not only because they are unauthorized in the scriptures, but because they are in direct hostility to the laws of the kingdom of Christ, and especially in the following particulars, viz:

1st. In amalgamating the church and world in a religious society, contrary to the word which commands the disciples of Christ to come out and be separate; and the prophet says, “Wo unto them that go down into Egypt for help,” &c.2nd. They violate that order which forbids that they should preach for filthy lucre’s sake.3rd. Because by the missionary operations and arrangement, the missionary is to look for his direction and his reward from his society, each one for his gain from his quarter; and thus they pervert that order which requires the ministers of Christ to trust exclusively in God.And last, but not least, because they do not preach the gospel of Christ, but another, which is not another gospel, but a perversion of the gospel.

We leave the issue explained.]

[ed. ⁸This is a correct quote of the passage (I Cor. 3:9) in the King James Version. But, we submit to our readers that this part of the verse is better translated "we are God's fellow workers", which makes more sense with the entire verse "For we are God's fellow laborers, ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building."  We note that Mr. Furman turns this plural fellow workers into a singular implying that men can assist God in the work of salvation.  This we deny.]

[ed. ⁹Dr. Furman again takes liberty with the passage Rev. 14:6 which explicitly states that it was the angel or heavenly messenger who had the everlasting gospel to preach and not a man.  If Dr. Furman wishes to find a passage authorizing believers to preach the gospel to all, we suggest he look elsewhere.]

[ed. ¹⁰Where in the Bible does it say that money is on an equal footing to prayer to bring about God's purpose for his Kingdom?  Where does it even suggest that money is at all a factor in this?  Did Jesus not tell his disciples not to carry a purse when he sent the seventy out? Luke 10:4-6]

[ed. ¹¹WE will say that their exertions have been excessive, due to the fact that they were sent not by God, but by a mission society.  Dr. Furman would like to conflate the command given to the disciples with a supposed commission given to Missionary Societies and other extra-church organizations.]

[ed. ¹²We are not aware of any thing called Christendom.  We see no reason why a Baptist should be using this term.  Nations cannot be Christian anymore than washing machines or cars.  Only a person can be a Christian.  We know that the term can be used in several different ways but we see no reason why to use a term that relates to Christianity that is not endorsed by scripture usage.]

[ed. ¹³How presumptuous of Dr. Furman to believe that America is not also in a moral darkness.  Just because America had more gospel churches within its borders says nothing about its state as a nation.  Besides, Dr. Furman likes to use vague phrases which sound good but are very hard to define.  Do heathens love their children, do they believe honest fair play?  Did America show moral light in its treatment of the Native Americans it found when the first settlers arrived?  We suppose "moral darkness" is a matter of perspective.]

[ed. ¹⁴What is a "diffusion of the Savior's cause"?  How is this "cause" spread by the mere teaching to natural men gospel facts?  Will this produce Christians?  No.  Only the Spirit of God can produce them through the new birth.]

[ed. ¹⁵Obviously a hope that was not based on Christ, since it did not come to pass. And how could it, being based on unscriptural practices and organizations?  See note 3.]

[ed. ¹⁶We completely agree with Dr. Furman that these missionaries were dependent on these societies for aid and care.  Again we quote from Gilbert Beebe who states:

It evidently did not occur to our Lord at this time that a Missionary Society, made up of members who had bought their membership at a stipulated price, would be useful, either for the comfort or support of his little band of missionaries, the promotion of the glory of God, or the salvation of some millions that his Father had not given him, and which otherwise must be damned for want of missionary labor; for while ample provisions were made to secure the support of the apostles, and the accomplishment of all that he designed, independently of societies, purse, scrip, coats or staves, the organization of moneyed institutions for the support of what should be called the gospel was reserved, with which to fill up the measure of the iniquities of a future generation.

]

[ed. ¹⁷Indeed, Christ did impose an obligation for his disciples and by extension ministers of the Gospel to preach the Gospel to all living creatures, but he did not impose an obligation to support all the machinery invented by man to hire, send out and "equip" missionaries with all the man-made tools to produce converts that support their bureaucratic, money-run enterprises.]

[ed. ¹⁸Is this really true?  There was controversy over it.  Apparently the Boston Missionary Society refused to join the Triennial Convention precisely because they called the churches "auxiliaries" to the society! When that sentence was dropped the society eventually joined the Triennial Convention.]

[ed. ¹⁹These assurances that churches would be independent, depends on what is meant by this term.  Let us look at the Southern Baptist Convention, or the American Baptist Churches USA, or any other organization.  Who sends the missionaries?  They do.  When people think of these missionaries they most of the time, describe them as  representing "Southern Baptists", or "American Baptists" not any individual church.  So as it happens despite all the talk of the independence of churches, they were swallowed up in the conventions.]

[ed. ²⁰This is an odd order.  Should not giving  BEGIN at home?  Although, I Tim 5:8 is speaking about a person's family, it logically works outward from there - from the home to the community and then to the world.  But if you are building a missionary empire, you reverse the order and make your "home"your last priority.  This is true for empires of all types.]

[ed. ²¹So the sovereign God who made the worlds from nothing, is dependent on the efforts of men to improve the mind of men?  What a weak God he appears to be according to these statements.]

[ed. ²²This is very imprecise language.  What does it mean that these "pulpit aids" will become "sanctified"?  Sanctification means to be devoted to God, set apart for God's use.  We see how people can be sanctified.  In the Old Testament certain places were set apart for God's use only.  But how is a translation "set apart" for God's use only make sense here?]

[ed. ²³Of course, Furman had to give lip service to a theological education not being essential, seeing that men like Peter were not educated men, but he really reveals his colors when he states that education "will obtain all the advantages" in spiritual matters.  We thought only the Holy Spirit was necessary.]

[ed. ²⁴We are aghast at this reproach that Dr. Furman abhors.  So the way for ministers to be paid more and be good hirelings, is for them to have an education, dress in fancy clothes which will make the members of the church feel guilty and give more money?  Now we understand the value of an education in Dr. Furman's mind.]