Isaac Backus
Encyclopedia
Isaac Backus was a leading Baptist
preacher
during the era of the American Revolution
who campaigned against state-established churches in New England
.
Born in the village of Yantic, near the town of Norwich, Connecticut
, Backus was influenced by the Great Awakening
and the works of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield
. He was converted in 1741. For five years, he was a member of a Separatist Congregationalist
church. In 1746, he became a preacher
. He was ordained in 1748. Backus became a Baptist in 1751 when he became pastor
of the Middleborough Baptist Church in Middleborough, Massachusetts
.
In 1764, Isaac Backus joined John Brown
, Nicholas Brown
, William Ellery, Stephen Hopkins
, the Reverend James Manning, the Reverend Ezra Stiles
, the Reverend Samuel Stillman
, the Reverend Morgan Edwards
and several others as an original fellow or trustee for the chartering of the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
(the original name for Brown University
), the first Baptist school of higher learning.http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Corporation/downloads/charter-of-brown-university.pdf
. Called An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty, Against the Oppressions of the Present Day, in it Backus stated: "Now who can hear Christ
declare, that his kingdom is, not of this world, and yet believe that this blending of church and state together can be pleasing to him?"http://classicliberal.tripod.com/misc/appeal.html
In 1778, he authored a historically important work entitled Government and Liberty Described and Ecclesiastical Tyranny Exposed of which a copy is held by the John Carter Brown Library
at Brown.http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel05.html
Backus served as a delegate from Middleborough to the Massachusetts ratifying convention, which ratified the United States Constitution
in 1788. He voted in favor of ratification.
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
during the era of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
who campaigned against state-established churches in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
Born in the village of Yantic, near the town of Norwich, Connecticut
Norwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
, Backus was influenced by the Great Awakening
First Great Awakening
The First Awakening was a Christian revitalization movement that swept Protestant Europe and British America, and especially the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion. It resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of personal...
and the works of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...
. He was converted in 1741. For five years, he was a member of a Separatist Congregationalist
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
church. In 1746, he became a preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
. He was ordained in 1748. Backus became a Baptist in 1751 when he became pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of the Middleborough Baptist Church in Middleborough, Massachusetts
Middleborough, Massachusetts
Middleborough is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,117 as of 2008.For geographic and demographic information on the village of Middleborough Center, please see the article Middleborough Center, Massachusetts....
.
In 1764, Isaac Backus joined John Brown
John Brown (Rhode Island)
John Brown I was an American merchant, slave trader, and statesman from Providence, Rhode Island. In 1764, John Brown joined his brothers Nicholas Brown and Moses Brown as well as William Ellery, the Baptist Reverend James Manning, the Baptist Reverend Isaac Backus, the Congregationalist Reverend...
, Nicholas Brown
Nicholas Brown (Brown University)
Nicholas Brown, Sr. was a Providence, Rhode Island merchant who co-founded the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which was renamed Brown University after Brown's son Nicholas Brown, Jr. in 1804...
, William Ellery, Stephen Hopkins
Stephen Hopkins (politician)
Stephen Hopkins was an American political leader from Rhode Island who signed the Declaration of Independence. He served as the Chief Justice and Governor of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and was a Delegate to the Colonial Congress in Albany in 1754 and to the...
, the Reverend James Manning, the Reverend Ezra Stiles
Ezra Stiles
Ezra Stiles was an American academic and educator, a Congregationalist minister, theologian and author. He was president of Yale College .-Early life:...
, the Reverend Samuel Stillman
Samuel Stillman
Dr. Samuel Stillman was an American Baptist minister. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in South Carolina, he married Hannah Morgan and took a pastorate in South Carolina for several years....
, the Reverend Morgan Edwards
Morgan Edwards
Morgan Edwards was a Welsh historian of religion, Baptist pastor, and notable for his teaching on the 'rapture' before its popularization by John Nelson Darby ....
and several others as an original fellow or trustee for the chartering of the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
(the original name for Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
), the first Baptist school of higher learning.http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Corporation/downloads/charter-of-brown-university.pdf
American Revolutionary Period
Considered a leading orator of the "pulpit of the American Revolution", Backus published a sermon in 1773 that articulated his desire for religious liberty and a separation of church and stateSeparation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
. Called An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty, Against the Oppressions of the Present Day, in it Backus stated: "Now who can hear Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
declare, that his kingdom is, not of this world, and yet believe that this blending of church and state together can be pleasing to him?"http://classicliberal.tripod.com/misc/appeal.html
In 1778, he authored a historically important work entitled Government and Liberty Described and Ecclesiastical Tyranny Exposed of which a copy is held by the John Carter Brown Library
John Carter Brown Library
The John Carter Brown Library is an independently funded research library of history and the humanities located on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island...
at Brown.http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel05.html
Backus served as a delegate from Middleborough to the Massachusetts ratifying convention, which ratified the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
in 1788. He voted in favor of ratification.
Further reading
- Allison, William Henry. "Isaac Backus." Dictionary of American Biography. Vol I., p. 471. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928, 1943.
- Backus, Isaac. A History of New England with Particular Reference to the Denomination of Christians Called Baptists. 2nd ed, with notes by David Weston. 2 vols. Newton, Massachusetts: Backus Historical Society, 1871.
- The Diary of Isaac Backus. William G. McLoughlin, ed. 3 vol. Providence: Brown University Press, 1979.
- Grenz, Stanley J. "Church and State: The Legacy of Isaac Backus." Center Journal 2 (Spring 1983): 73-94.
- "Isaac Backus: Eighteenth Century Light on the Contemporary School Prayer Issue." Perspectives in Religious Studies 13 (Winter, 1986): 35-45.
- "Isaac Backus and Religious Liberty." Foundations 22 (October/December 1979): 352-360.
- Isaac Backus, Puritan and Baptist: His Place in History, His Thought, and Their Implications for Modern Baptist Theology. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1983.
- Hovey, Alvah. A Memoir of the Life and Times of the Rev. Isaac Backus, A.M. Boston: Gould and Lincoln, 1859.
- Little, David. "American Civil Religion and the Rise of Pluralism." Union Seminary Quarterly Review 38 (3-4, 1984): 401-413.
- Maston, T.B. Isaac Backus: Pioneer of Religious Liberty. London: James Clarke & Co. Ltd., 1962.
- McLoughlin, William G.William G. McLoughlinWilliam Gerald McLoughlin was an historian and prominent member of the history department at Brown University from 1954 to 1992. His subject areas were the history of religion in the United States, revivalism, the Cherokee, missionaries to Native Americans, abolitionism, and Rhode Island.Born in...
"Isaac Backus and the Separation of Church and State in America." American Historical Review 73 (June, 1968): 1392-1413. - The Papers of Isaac Backus, 1630-1806. Leigh Johnsen, ed. 15 microfilm reels. Ann Arbor, Mich.: ProQuest Information and Learning, 2003.
- Isaac Backus on Church, State, and Calvinism: Pamphlets, 1754-1789. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1968.
- Isaac Backus and the American Pietistic Tradition. (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1967.
External links
- Furman University's Special Collection on Baptists
- Baptist Identity and Christian Higher Education, monograph by Donald D. Schmeltekopf and Dianna M. Vitanza
- Isaac Backus at the Baptist Page
- Isaac Backus biography at Acton Institute
- An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty Against the Oppressions of the Present Day
- First Baptist Church of North Middleboro The church Isaac Backus started