Albert Barnes (December 1, 1798 – December 24, 1870) was an American

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, clergyman, abolitionist, temperance advocate, and

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. Barnes is best known for his extensive Bible commentary and notes on the

Old Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

and

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

s, published in a total of 14 volumes in the 1830s.

Biography

Barnes was born in

Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which l ...

. He graduated from Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, in 1820, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1823. Barnes was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

as a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

minister by the presbytery of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, in 1825, and was the pastor successively of the Presbyterian Church in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia (1830–1868). Albert Barnes (1798 – 1870)

Barnes held a prominent place in the New School branch of the Presbyterians during the Old School-New School Controversy, to which he adhered on the division of the denomination in 1837. He had been

tried In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

(but not convicted) for

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important relig ...

in 1836, mostly due to the views he expressed in ''Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Epistle to the Romans'' (1834) of the imputation of the sin of

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

, original sin and the atonement; the bitterness stirred up by this trial contributed towards widening the breach between the conservative and the progressive elements in the church. During the Old School-New School split in the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, Barnes allied himself with the New School Branch. He served as moderator of the General Assembly to the New School branch in 1851. According to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'': "He was an eloquent preacher, but his reputation rests chiefly on his expository works, which are said to have had a larger circulation both in Europe and America than any others of their class." Of the well-known ''Notes on the New Testament'', it is said that more than a million volumes had been issued by 1870. The Notes on Job, the Psalms, Isaiah and Daniel were also popularly distributed. The popularity of these works rested on how Barnes simplified

Biblical criticism Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...

so that new developments in the field were made accessible to the general public. Barnes was the author of several other works, including ''Scriptural Views of Slavery'' (1846) and ''The Way of Salvation'' (1863). A collection of his theological works was published in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

in 1875. Barnes was an abolitionist. In his book ''The Church and Slavery'' (1857), Barnes excoriates slavery as evil and immoral, and calls for it to be dealt with from the pulpit "as other sins and wrongs are" (most pointedly in chapter VII, "The Duty of the Church at Large on the Subject of Slavery"). In his famous 1852 oratory, "

What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" was a speech delivered by Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852, at Corinthian Hall in Rochester, New York, at a meeting organized by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society. In the address, Douglass ...

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

quoted Barnes as saying: "There is no power out of the church that could sustain

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

an hour, if it were not sustained in it." Barnes was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1855. While serving as pastor at the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, Barnes became the President of the Pennsylvania Bible Society (located at 7th and Walnut) in 1858 – a position he served until his death in 1870. He served at First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia until 1868. He was then granted the title Pastor Emeritus.

Death

Barnes died in Philadelphia on December 24, 1870, of natural causes, 23 days after his 72nd birthday. His widow wrote,

Bibliography

* Barnes, Albert. ''Essays on Intemperance''. Morristown, New Jersey: J. Mann, 1828. * Barnes, Albert. ''"The Way of Salvation": A Sermon, Delivered at Morristown, New Jersey, February 8. 1829, together with Mr. Barnes' Defence of the Sermon, Read before the Synod of Philadelphia, at Lancaster, October 29, 1830, and His "Defence" before the Second Presbytery of Philadelphia, in Reply to the Charges of the Rev. Dr.

George Junkin Reverend George Junkin D.D., LL.D (November 1, 1790 – May 20, 1868) was an American educator and Presbyterian minister who served as the first and third president of Lafayette College and later as president of Miami University and Washingt ...

''. 7th ed. New York: Leavitt, Lord, 1836. * Barnes, Albert. ''Albert Barnes on the Maine Liquor Law: The Throne of Iniquity, or, Sustaining Evil by Law: A Discourse in Behalf of a Law Prohibiting the Traffic in Intoxicating Drinks—Delivered in the First Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Feb. 1, 1852, and in the Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg, Feb. 29, 1852''. Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson, 1852. * Barnes, Albert. ''An Inquiry into the Scriptural Views of Slavery''. Philadelphia: Parry and McMillan, 1857. Reprint, New York: Negro Universities, 1969. * Barnes, Albert.
The Church and Slavery
'. Philadelphia: Parry and McMillan, 1857. Reprint, New York: Negro Universities, 1969. * Barnes, Albert. ''The Atonement in its Relations to Law and Moral Government''. Philadelphia: Parry & McMillan, 1859. * Selectable text: http://sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/barnes/mat.htm and http://sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/barnes/mar.htm * Selectable text: http://sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/barnes/luk.htm and http://sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/barnes/joh.htm * Selectable text: http://sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/barnes/act.htm * Selectable text: http://sacred-texts.com/bib/cmt/barnes/rom.htm * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the New Testament: Explanatory and Practical. Vol. V: I Corinthians'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the New Testament: Explanatory and Practical. Vol. VI: II Corinthians and Galatians'' * Barnes, Albert.

' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the New Testament: Explanatory and Practical. Vol. VIII: Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the New Testament: Explanatory and Practical. Vol. IX: Hebrews'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the New Testament: Explanatory and Practical. Vol. X: James, Peter, John, and Jude'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the New Testament: Explanatory and Practical. Vol. XI: Revelation'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the Old Testament: Explanatory and Practical: Job Vol. 1'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the Old Testament: Explanatory and Practical: Psalms Vol. 1'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the Old Testament: Explanatory and Practical: Psalms Vol. 2'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the Old Testament: Explanatory and Practical: Psalms Vol. 3'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the Old Testament: Explanatory and Practical: Isaiah Vol. 1'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the Old Testament: Explanatory and Practical: Isaiah Vol. 2'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the Old Testament: Explanatory and Practical: Daniel Vol. 1'' * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the Old Testament: Explanatory and Practical: Daniel vol. 2'' * * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the New Testament''. London, Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998. * Barnes, Albert. ''Notes on the Old Testament''. London, Blackie & Son, 1884. Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998. * Barnes, Albert. ''Scenes and Incidents in the Life of the Apostle Paul''.

Archival Collections

The Presbyterian Historical Society in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, has a collection of Barnes’ original manuscripts, notes, sermons and lectures. The Burke Library Archives of the Union Theological Seminary in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York also has a collection of Barnes' sermons.http://library.columbia.edu/content/dam/libraryweb/locations/burke/fa/uts/ldpd_6958378.pdf

References

Notes

Citations

External links

"The Way of Salvation," the published form of the 1829 sermon that precipitated heresy charges against Barnes by Old School Presbyterians

at the

Internet Sacred Text Archive The Internet Sacred Text Archive (ISTA) is a Santa Cruz, California-based website dedicated to the preservation of electronic public domain religious texts. History The website was first opened to the public on March 9, 1999 by John Bruno Har ...

Albert Barnes – New Testament Notes

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Albert 1798 births 1870 deaths 19th-century Presbyterian ministers American abolitionists American religious writers American theologians Bible commentators Hamilton College (New York) alumni Presbyterian abolitionists Princeton Theological Seminary alumni American temperance activists Writers from Philadelphia Writers from New York (state)