British Evangelical Layman - Article Example

John Thornton, 18thc. British Evangelical Layman – An Exploration of His Religious Identity. Introduction. The Church of England saw the rise of the Evangelical Movement from the first half of the 18th century. This vigorous activity had its plus points but nevertheless resulted in conflicts and sectarianism. Friction arose between the Church and the dissenters, Anglicans and Methodists, all resulting in the eroding of the vitality of religion. John Thornton (1720-90), a British evangelical layman was a unique personage who lived in that era and was very active on the religious and commercial scene. This essay explores his religious identity against the backdrop of the age that he lived in. Thornton background. Milton M. Klein, Emeritus History Professor at the University of Tennessee, in his biography of John Thornton points out that the evangelical layman was the richest person in Britain, and the second richest in Europe during the 18th century. He was an only son and inherited £100,000 and valuable partnerships from his father, Robert Thornton, a merchant who was with the Russia Company. When he died, John’s estate was valued at £600,000. Klein is of the opinion that during John’s lifetime his wealth was likely to have been considerably more but the man donated a great deal of it for various good causes, earning the reputation of having been the leading philanthropist of his time. Klein laments that John Thornton has been forgotten and that there is hardly any mention of him in the plethora of books about the Evangelical Movement. It is surprising that the references about such an important person like Thornton are scanty in the written coverage of the Church history of Britain. Abbey & Overton have this to say of the Thornton family: “Of the two Thorntons [John and Henry] little need be said, except that they were wealthy merchants who in very truth looked upon their riches not as their own, but as talents entrusted to them for their Master's use. The princely liberality of these two good men was literally unbounded. It has been seen that the Evangelical clergy were almost to a man debarred from the emoluments of their profession, and lived in very straitened circumstances. The extent to which their lack was supplied by John and Henry Thornton is almost incredible” (395). Henry was the son of John. Character and activities. We know from the meager sources available that John Thornton lived a frugal life in spite of his immense wealth. He wrote in his journal: “Better than wealth is personal frugality and wide generosity” (Thornton MSS). It would appear that half his annual profits were contributed to worthy causes. Part of it went to religious activities, which we shall deal with later on in this essay. Some people considered him as eccentric and impulsive. According to a paper presented at the Church History Seminar, Cambridge University (anonymous. Hereinafter referred to as Church Seminar Paper), Thornton belonged to 18 societies. One of them was the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. He was the Treasurer of the Marine Society, which persuaded many unemployed youth of London to join the Royal Navy by offering inducements. In 1759 Thornton was active along with the Troop Society to raise funds for the wounded in the Minden and Quebec wars and supporting the dependents of the soldiers who took part in them. Dr. Wheelock’s Indian schools in the United States, which later became the Dartmouth College, benefited considerably from a fund that had Thornton as co-trustee. The evangelist also collected over L8, 000 and two fire engines for Montreal after that city was devastated by a fire. Among those who gained from his generosity were the chimney sweep boys of London. John Thornton also personally purchased and distributed through his commercial channels hundreds of Bibles. He funded the publication of several books on religious subjects. These included most of the works of John Newton. Incidentally, the title of Klein’s biography of Thornton was inspired by Newton’s famous hymn Amazing Grace. John Newton, an English slave ship master who turned clergyman and achieved considerable fame, was curator at Olney with the patronage of John Thornton when his benefactor persuaded him to take over as Rector of St Mary Woolnoth, Lombard Street, London in 1779, a post that he kept till his death in 1807. An indication of the support Newton received from John Thornton is brought out by the following quote from Bull: “Be hospitable, he [Thornton] says [to Newton], and keep an open house for such as are worthy of entertainment—help the poor and needy:  I will statedly allow you 200l. an year, and readily send whenever you have occasion to draw for more (144).” A letter of Newton after the death of Thornton on November 7, 1790 establishes his high esteem for the evangelist layman: “You know something of my peculiar obligations to him. . . To him, under the Lord, I owe all my consideration and comfort as a minister.  It was a pleasure to me if I only saw him passing by.  I believe I shall see his face no more here; but, hereafter, oh what a hope! what a prospect!  But what is my private loss, compared with that of the public!  I think it probable that no one man in Europe, in private life, will be so much missed at first; but I trust his place will be well supplied, even by those of his own family” (Bull 300-301). John Newton’s wish proved true as John’s son Henry also followed the father’s example and extended total support to the cause. As a matter of fact, it is said that he kept aside a major portion of his wealth for social, charitable and religious purposes. We see another son, Samuel Thornton purchasing an advowson and presenting it to John Venn son of Henry Venn ('Parishes: Clapham'). In one year alone, John Thornton contributed 6,680 pounds to charities! He also funded a number of literary enterprises and the Christian Observer, a prominent monthly review, which propagated the Christian way of life that the Evangelists preached. He was associated with the Foundling Hospital as an active governor. He also contributed to establishing the Magdalen Hospital for Penitent Prostitutes in 1758. When John Thornton died, a quarter of his estate was bequeathed to his heirs. The balance went to charities and his trust for buying livings. Concern with illness and death. Thornton’s assistance to hospitals and the afflicted was possibly connected to his preoccupation with sickness and death that is so clearly visible in his journal (Thornton MSS). This concern could have been because of the many incidences of illness within his family. We often see in the Thornton journals instances of his family members becoming unwell and the dependence on doctors. There are also frequent mentions about the passing away of his friends and acquaintances. In this context, the entries in the Thornton journals of 1768, dated 28th February, 13th March, 20th March, 27th March, 1st May, 8th May and 22nd May are particularly illuminating for this topic. Two of the entries in the journal are quoted below: “Clapham Sunday 1st May 1768 Month after month elapses & many are no longer seen upon the Earth & by them the Lord yet speaketh. Clapham Sunday 8th May 1768 I and mine have still to sing of praise Our sick are restored to health Bob, Harry & George while Miss Hopkins who I saw at church Sunday afternoon is gone to the awful scene of Judgment Lord prepare me for my turn cast out the evil spirits of pride lust & manifold corruptions. Clapham Sunday 22nd May 1768 Mr. Acton & many others are gone to their silent home & I & mine are still preserved” (Thornton MSS). Thornton’s approach to illness and the final call seems to have been one of total acceptance of God’s will. This was in line with the shift in thinking towards the end of the 17th century. The concept prevailing in the 16th century that suffering was an avenue for spiritual growth, a kind of quasi sacrament, had yielded to the notion of Divine Will to which man had to resign. Second Coming. Most of the Evangelists believed in Second Coming and the end of the world (Back to the Old Religion). John Thornton was no exception. It would appear that he assumed that Second Coming was imminent (Thornton MSS). He was convinced that the evil times, and the general chaos and corrosion on every front, were indicators of the end of the world. In his vision there was the need to build a New Jerusalem and that it was possible. Friends. Apart from his relations and business associates, John Thornton had a large network of friends and contacts in different fields that covered the religious as well as the politicians. We have already seen his friendship with John Newton. The long list of his comrades includes William Richardson, Lady Huntington, Lord Dartmouth, Pitt, Dr. Wheelock, Henry Venn, William Cooper, the poet whose poems are included in the ‘Olney Hymns’ along with those of Newton, and Edward Parry among others. William Wilberforce, MP, who was to play an important role in the Clapham Sect (of which we shall deal with detail elsewhere in this presentation) and the campaign to abolish slave trade, was almost son-like to John Thornton. In fact, Wilberforce who stayed in the Thornton house for five years, was a close friend of John’s son Henry who was also an MP and very active in the Clapham Sect. Marriage. In 1753, at the age of 33, John Thornton married Lucy, the daughter of his elder partner Watson [Thornton Watson & Company]. Lucy was an active dissenter. Church matters & Thornton’s involvement. John Thornton’s life was inextricably linked with the history of the Church of England during the eighteenth century. Many an evangelic had difficulty with entering the parishes in England. Eventually, the patronage trusts took care of the problem. John Thornton established the first of these trusts. In a way this was a new avatar of the Puritan Feoffees of the seventeenth century but there were vital differences between the two (Church Seminar Paper). The focus of the trusts was to manage spiritualities and not temporal aspects, and to achieve pastoral ends. Even 150 years after it’s founding, it was considered that the existence of evangelical ministry in parishes might have been in jeopardy but for such a system (McQueen 36). The trusts purchased preferments and advowsons; in fact this became a major trade in the 18th century. This process naturally came under criticism, starting with an article in the first issue of the Churchman’s Magazine in 1801. The main contention against the practice was that it would lead to division, friction and politics, and nullify the capability of Protestantism in the Church of England to survive on its own merit. The arguments spilled over into the 20th century. One of the reasons for the objections was that the original intent became corrupted and financial interests pushed the pastoral aspects into background as the trading in preferment and advowsons gained momentum. Agents came on to the scene to arrange the traffic. John Thornton’s views on patronage are clear from the correspondence that Lady Huntingdon had with him and Lord Dartmouth. The Church Seminar Paper states: “All three perceived that the clergy required wise and influential friends to obtain preferment and to protect them from the potential misadventures of patronage. In short, evangelicals needed patrons, in the best sense of that word, if they were ever to gain a foothold in the Church of England”. As the system of patronage evolved, distinctive segments emerged. The Church Seminar Paper has neatly presented the details related to this. There were instances of advowsons being purchased by fathers on behalf of sons to ensure them beneficial positions. Some, like Lady Huntingdon, used peer rights to appoint chaplains at will; this, however, ran into legal problems later. Another method was lectureships. Proprietary chapels and daughter chapels, though run by trustees, were often commercial ventures. Some churches were parishioner built and chose their own clergy. In certain cases, the affluent clergymen put up places of worship to obtain their own captive platforms. A few others like William Romaine (1714-95) carried on even in the absence of preferment. There were also ministers who were elected by the parishioners but they faced the risk of forfeiting a substantial chunk of their remuneration if the respective congregations were dissatisfied with the performance. John Thornton had no meaningful place on the political stage directly; in fact he seems to have accepted was he was unsuited for that field. He made up for this deficiency with his wealth and large circle of influential friends. He was constantly alert to the situation in the Anglican Church and readily ventured into patronage. His parameters were clear. Once he wrote to Venn “my determination of Simony would be getting a Church for gain without regard to the people” (Venn MSS). He helped many aspiring clergymen whom he knew personally. Dartmouth, Wilberforce and Pitt, among others, appear to have been of assistance to him in this matter. One interesting factor about Thornton’s operations in this field is that he lacked long term planning and a strategic approach. Also, he did not have to dig very deep into his considerable coffers for parish patronage; even half of his profits were sufficient to cover the expenses. He perhaps yielded “to every honest impulse.” According to his son Henry, he “bought numerous livings and filled many of them with truly pious characters tho’ in some and perhaps not in a very few of the persons whom he patronized he was deceived.” John Thornton was apparently pleased with what he achieved in the sphere of patronage. On 22 April 1777 he wrote to William Richardson that fourteen years previously: “…there was not a single Gospel Minister of the Establishment in any large town in the kingdom, except London, and only two there…. since that time the number is greatly increased and several large and very considerable places enjoy the blessing of their... ministration”. When John Thornton died in 1790, nine advowsons and one next presentation were left to the care of three trustees, namely, Roger Bentley of Camberwell (d.1795), Henry Foster (1745-1844), and John Venn (1759-1813) (Church Seminar Paper). According to one of his sons, Samuel Thornton, Henry Venn was named as trustee originally, but Venn Junior was subsequently nominated in place of his father for “a younger life”. Spiritual life and religious affiliations. Now we shall deal with John Thornton’s spiritual life. Gibson & Ingram state: “…we know a great deal of the practical workings of religious organizations and groups in the eighteenth century. In particular, we have a solid appreciation of the nexus between religion, politics, and government and of the pastoral performance of both the established Church of England and its confessional rivals. What we lack though, … is a sense of what religion meant to the individuals involved. Addressing that neglect requires us to ask questions about personal religious identity…” (4). John Thornton was a man of intense religious conviction and lived by the Bible. Perhaps this was the reason why his son once accused him of antinomian tendencies. Here, the word ‘antinomian’ is taken to mean the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition: one who holds that under the gospel dispensation of grace the moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation. There does not seem to be any evidence to cast John Thornton to this category. In fact, in a letter written to Venn he mentioned that the spirit of Law is regarded if not the letter (Venn MSS). It is useful here to understand the way of life of the Evangelical laymen and its similarity to the Methodist pattern. Hardman clarifies this: “Like the Methodists, these Evangelical laymen of the Church of England lived strictly according to rule. They had a fixed time for rising, and a definite part of each day was apportioned to prayer, to reading, and to work. Sunday was wholly the Lord's Day. Their possessions were held in trust from God; and as good stewards they kept faithful account of all their expenditure and were nobly generous towards others” (4). Religious identity. What is said in the foregoing paragraph was the pattern that John Thornton apparently followed. Nevertheless, a doubt could arise whether he had Methodist leanings. At least two factors may contribute to this. In Church Seminar Paper it is stated: “In 1787, he [John Thornton] complained that his name would be a ‘bar’ if included in a recommendation to Lord Galway. Thornton suspected that the Lord Chancellor “would smell what he calls Methodism was I to recommend anyone”. This comment by John Thornton could be attributed to the fact that some people like Galway did not clearly understand his precise position on the matters of religion. Methodism & Calvinism. Here, a brief look at Methodism and Calvinism would be appropriate. The origin of Methodism was in 18th century Britain and it spread almost all over the British Empire, and the United States. Initially, the movement appealed to the poor farmers, workers and slaves. The basic theology of the Methodists is Arminian and emphasizes that all people can attain salvation. A fanatic trait is evident in the Methodist sermons. John Wesley was the leading figure in the movement. According to Wikipedia, Calvinism is “a system of Christian theology and an approach to Christian way of life and thought within the Protestant tradition”. This was propagated by John Calvin and is sometimes broadly referred to as Reformed Tradition. A second possibility of an allegation about John Thornton’s Methodist leanings is connected to William Wilberforce. After William’s father died, the boy was in the care of his uncle and aunt. The mother was worried that the aunt, who was John Thornton’s sister, was corrupting the boy in Methodist ways and brought the young William back home to Hull. This is an apparently minor matter and there is no reason to suspect that John Thornton had any sympathy to his sister’s religious views. William Wilberforce was converted to Evangelic faith in 1785 when he was about twenty-six years old. Thereafter he stayed for five years with the Thornton’s and was an active player in their church-related and charitable activities. The following quote from the Church Seminar Paper is relevant to the topic, and illuminative: “As for Thornton’s religion, he was, like most 18th-century evangelicals, a Calvinist. Although he believed the gospel ministers he supported should preach for conversion, he ultimately saw it as the fruit of election. In a letter of advice to a young minister dated 1770, he writes, “ I have no desire to proselyte right spirited Arminians to Calvinist doctrines. Not because I think them mere opinions or of little importance to a believer -- I think the contrary; but because I believe these doctrines will do no one any good till he is taught them of God. For this reason I seldom insist expressly upon these points, unless they fairly and necessarily lie in my way”. Quite evidently, John Thornton was a broadminded person and ecumenical in his approach to the different religious sects. To confirm this view, we depend again on the Church Seminar Paper: Thornton had no prejudices in his range of personal relationships and in choosing the people who would benefit from his largesse. On one occasion he offered financial support to William Jay, a dissenter, and left L200 pounds in his will to the dissenting preacher William Bull. In 1765 he advised a correspondent to be “… thankful for the grace that caused him to differ from Arminians but to beware of needless disputes, which ate the life out of religion and made the soul barren. We shall neither be Dissenters, Moravians, nor Methodists; neither Calvinists nor Arminians; but followers of the Lamb, and children of the kingdom”. This is somewhat akin to the views of John Thornton’s friend John Newton. This is evident from the quote below: “In a letter to Mr. Stillingfleet on the 26th, Mr. Newton makes the following judicious observation on the subject of Calvinism: ‘I am an avowed Calvinist; the points which are usually comprised in that term seem to me so consonant to Scripture, reason (when enlightened), and experience, that I have not the shadow of a doubt about them.  But I cannot dispute; I dare not speculate.  What is by some called High Calvinism [or Hyper-Calvinism] I dread.  I feel much more union of spirit with some Arminians than I could with some Calvinists; and if I thought a person feared sin, loved the word of God, and was seeking after Jesus, I would not walk the length of my study to proselyte him to the Calvinist doctrines.  Not because I think them mere opinions, or of little importance to a believer—I think the contrary; but because I believe these doctrines will do no one any good till he is taught them of God.  I believe a too hasty assent to Calvinistic principles, before a person is duly acquainted with the plague of his own heart, is one principal cause of that lightness of profession which so lamentably abounds in this day, a chief reason why many professors [those professing salvation] are rash, heady, high-minded, contentious about words, and sadly remiss as to the means of Divine appointment.  For this reason, I suppose, though I never preached a sermon in which the tincture of Calvinism” (Bull 212). Incidentally, Newton was quite friendly with Mrs. Wilberforce, William’s aunt and sister of John Thornton. The lady was a strong supporter of John Wesley. The Clapham Sect. No narrative of John Thornton’s life would be complete without an account of the Clapham Sect, which, those days, was also known as ‘The Saints”. It was, in a way, a neighborhood club, consisting of wealthy and influential people living in Clapham, which is a part of London now. John Thornton was the inspiration behind the formation of the Clapham Sect. He could even be called the group’s father or godfather. The impressive list of members of the Clapham Sect included William Wilberforce, Henry Thornton (son of John), Zachary Macaulay, sometime Governor of Sierra Leone, Lord Teignmouth, formerly Governor-General of India, and Charles Grant, Chairman of the East India Company. These busy men found the time and the money for the service of their fellow Christians. The most notable contributions of the Sect were widespread promotion of missionary work at home and abroad including the formation of the Church Missionary Society (CMS), which sent missionaries to several other countries, the successful fight for the abolition of slavery, and the reform of the penal system. Other activities of the Sect included helping the poor and teaching children to read. They also brought out publications to create public awareness of current affairs. The Clapham Sect maintained fidelity to the Church of England though the coterie’s detractors sometimes challenged this. Hardman has this to say about the Clapham Sect: “Sydney Smith gave them their name, when he permitted himself to sneer at “the patent Christianity of Clapham” in the pages of the Edinburgh Review. Like many other term of reproach, it stuck, and was transformed into a title of honour… That part of it [The Evangelical Movement] which is specially associated with the name of Wesley broke through the ordered system of the Church… The other part remained steadfastly within the borders of the ancient Church [Church of England] of this land; and it was to that part that the so-called Clapham Sect belonged. The Sect stands in the tradition of convinced and devoted Churchmen…” (8). Conclusion. To sum up, whichever way one looks at the religious identity of John Thornton – his personal life, his involvement in preferments, trusts and Church matters, his peer patronage to the Clapham Sect, opinions of his friends, and the assessments by the few who have written about him – the conclusion is clear. The man was a Calvinist within the discipline of the Church of England. Works Cited. Abbey, Charles J. and Overton, John H. The English Church in the Eighteenth Century. Longmans, Green and Company, London, New York, Bombay. 1896. Anonymous. Paper Presented at Church History Seminar. Cambridge U. 1992. (Church Seminar Paper. Copy available incomplete and not page numbered.) “Back to that Old Religion”. Cover Story. TIME Magazine Dec. 26, 1977. Bull, Josiah. But Now I See, The Life of John Newton. The Banner of Truth Trust. Carlisle.1868, 1998. Gibson, William and Ingram, Robert G. eds. Religious Identities in Britain 1660-1832. Aldershot: Ashgate. 2005. Hardman, O. The Clapham Sect. London. SPCK. n.d. Klein, Milton M. An Amazing Grace. U.P. South. New Orleans. 2004. McQueen. Parson, Parishand Patron. Parishes: Clapham. A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4. 1912. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=43028. Date accessed: 07 November 2006. Thornton. MSS. E.M. Forster Papers, Cambridge University Library. Venn MSS. Church Missionary Society Archives. Read More