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Wallis C Baxter Iii Biography & Facts

Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Nonconformist church leader and theologian from Rowton, Shropshire, who has been described as "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". He made his reputation in the late 1630s by his ministry at Kidderminster in Worcestershire, when he also began a long and prolific career as theological writer. Following the Act of Uniformity 1662, Baxter refused an appointment as Bishop of Hereford and was expelled from the Church of England. He became one of the most influential leaders of the Nonconformist movement, spending time in prison. His views remain controversial within the Calvinist tradition of Predestination because he taught that Christians are placed under a type of faith-law. Personal details Baxter was born on 12 November 1615 at Rowton, Shropshire, in the home of his maternal grandfather, and baptised at its then parish church at High Ercall, before moving in February 1626 to his parents' home in Eaton Constantine. On 10 September 1662, Baxter married Margaret Charlton, who died in 1681. Early life Richard's early education was poor, being mainly in the hands of the local clergy, themselves virtually illiterate. He was helped by John Owen, master of the free school at Wroxeter, where he studied from about 1629 to 1632, and made fair progress in Latin. On Owen's advice he did not proceed to Oxford (a step which he afterwards regretted), but went to Ludlow Castle to read with Richard Wickstead, chaplain to the Council of Wales and the Marches. He was reluctantly persuaded to go to court, and he went to London under the patronage of Sir Henry Herbert, Master of the Revels, with the intention of doing so, but soon returned home, resolved to study divinity. He was confirmed in the decision by the death of his mother. After three months spent working for the dying Owen as a teacher at Wroxeter, Baxter read theology with Francis Garbet, the local clergyman, adding to his reading (initially in devotional writings, of Richard Sibbes, William Perkins and Ezekiel Culverwell, as well as the Calvinist Edmund Bunny at age 14, and then in the scholastic philosophers) orthodox Church of England theology in Richard Hooker and George Downham, and arguments from conforming puritans in John Sprint and John Burges. In about 1634, he met Joseph Symonds (assistant to Thomas Gataker) and Walter Cradock, two Nonconformists. Early ministry, 1638–1660 With the help of James Berry, who later became a colonel in the New Model Army, in 1638 Baxter became master of the free grammar school at Dudley. He commenced his ministry after being ordained by John Thornborough, Bishop of Worcester and was soon transferred to Bridgnorth, in Shropshire. Baxter remained at Bridgnorth for nearly two years, during which time he took a special interest in the controversy relating to Nonconformity and the Church of England. He soon became alienated from the Church on several matters; and after the requirement of the "et cetera oath", he rejected episcopacy in its English form. Although generally regarded as a Presbyterian, he was prepared to accept a modified Episcopalianism, but regarded all forms of church government as secondary to religious practice. Kidderminster One of the first measures of the Long Parliament was to reform the clergy; with this view, a committee was appointed to receive complaints against them. Among the complainants were the inhabitants of Kidderminster. The vicar George Dance agreed that he would give £60 a year, out of his income of £200, to a preacher who should be chosen by certain trustees. Baxter was invited to deliver a sermon before the people, and was unanimously elected as the minister of St Mary and All Saints' Church, Kidderminster. This happened in April 1641, when he was twenty-six. His ministry continued, with many interruptions, for about 19 years; and during that time he accomplished many reforms in Kidderminster and the neighbourhood. He formed the ministers in the country around him into an association, uniting them irrespective of their differences as Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Independents. The Reformed Pastor was a book which Baxter published in relation to the general ministerial efforts he promoted. The English Civil War and Commonwealth When the First English Civil War began in August 1642, like many Baxter tried to avoid taking sides, but Worcestershire was a Royalist stronghold, and he was temporarily retired to the Parliamentarian town of Gloucester. He returned to Worcestershire late in 1642 only to be driven out again, and moved to Coventry, another Parliamentarian stronghold. There he found himself with no fewer than 30 fugitive ministers, among whom were Richard Vines, Anthony Burges, John Bryan and Obadiah Grew. He officiated each Sunday as chaplain to the garrison, preaching a sermon each to the soldiery, and the townspeople and strangers. Included among the congregants were Sir Richard Skeffington, Colonel Godfrey Bosvile, George Abbot the layman scholar, and others. After the Battle of Naseby he took the situation of chaplain to Colonel Edward Whalley's regiment, and continued to hold it till February 1647. During these stormy years he wrote his Aphorisms of Justification, which on its appearance in 1649, excited great controversy. There were numerous critics Anthony Burges, John Crandon, William Eyre, George Lawson, John Tombes, Thomas Tully, and John Wallis, although Baxter was closest to Christopher Cartwright. Baxter's connexion with the Parliamentary army was a very characteristic one. He joined it that he might, if possible, contract the growth of sectaries in that field, and maintain the cause of constitutional government in opposition to republican tendencies of the time. He regretted that he had not previously accepted Oliver Cromwell's offer to become chaplain to the Ironsides. Cromwell avoided him; but Baxter, having to preach before him after he had assumed the Protectorship, chose for his subject the old topic of the divisions of the church, and in subsequent interviews argued with him about liberty of conscience, and even defended the monarchy he had subverted. This contact with Cromwell occurred when Baxter was summoned to London to assist in settling "the fundamentals of religion". In 1647, Baxter was staying at the home of Lady Rouse, wife of Sir Thomas Rouse, 1st Baronet, of Rous Lench, Worcestershire. There, though debilitated by illness, he wrote the most of a major work, The Saints' Everlasting Rest (1650). On his recovery he returned to Kidderminster, where he also became a prominent political leader. His sensitive conscience led him into conflict with almost all the contending parties in state and church. An all-day debate on 1 January 1650, with John Tombes at Bewdley was attended by about 1500 people on each side and ended in confused disorder. During this period he campaigned for the establishment of a new university in Shrewsbury to ser.... Discover the Wallis C Baxter Iii popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Wallis C Baxter Iii books.