James Foster (6 September 1697 – 5 November 1753) was an
English
English usually refers to:
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* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
Baptist minister.
Early life
Foster was born and baptized at
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
, 6 September 1697. Most of our biographical knowledge of him comes from memoirs attached to a sermon preached at his funeral by his friend and colleague,
Caleb Fleming
Caleb Fleming, D.D. (4 November 1698 – 21 July 1779) was an English dissenting minister and Polemicist.
Life
Fleming was born at Nottinghamshire on 4 November 1698. His father was a hosier; his mother, whose maiden name was Buxton, was a daug ...
. His grandfather had been a conformist minister at
Kettering
Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...
in
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, and his father, James Foster, was a successful
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
shire dissenting businessman (a
fuller). James the younger went to Thorpe's free school in Exeter from 1702, where he learned his Latin grammar; he then attended the Presbyterian
Joseph Hallett II's academy for dissenting ministerial students, also in Exeter. There, he met other radicals, including
Hubert Stogdon, and achieved a reputation for rejecting human authority in matters of religious controversy, belief, and practical piety, privileging what he believed to be the indubitable consequences of reason and argument over passive faith and received wisdom.
Fall-out from the Exeter Controversy
In the late 1710s, a controversy over the nature of the Trinity broke out in Exeter, between Stogdon, Hallett and
James Peirce
James Peirce (1674?–1726) was an English dissenting minister, the catalyst for the Salter's Hall controversy.
Early life
The son of John Peirce, he was born at Wapping about 1674. His parents, who were in easy circumstances, were members of ...
on the one hand, and John Lavington, another Exeter minister, on the other. The Exeter Assembly of ministers, siding with Lavington and with the trustees of the Exeter dissenting meeting-houses, demanded that Peirce's supporters sign a declaration of faith and subscribe to a set of largely unambiguously orthodox doctrines. Foster, with Stogdon and other students at the Academy, was a non-subscriber. His decision contributed to his departure from Exeter. He moved shortly afterwards to
Milborne Port
Milborne Port is a village, electoral ward and civil parish in Somerset, England, east of Sherborne, and in the South Somerset district. It has a population of 2,802. The parish includes the hamlets of Milborne Wick and Kingsbury Regis.
The vill ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, where he preached to a sympathetic but still relatively orthodox congregation. Frustrated, he soon left Milborne to live in the Presbyterian minister Nicholas Billingsley's house, at
Ashwick
Ashwick is a village in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, about three miles north of Shepton Mallet and seven miles east from Wells. It has also been a civil parish since 1826. The parish had a population of 1,352 according to the 2011 ...
, near
Shepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based t ...
. Also a lodger with Billingsley was Hubert Stogdon; all three were considered heterodox. Foster and Stogdon then jointly served the chapels at Colesford and
Wookey
Wookey is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish west of Wells, Somerset, Wells, on the River Axe (Bristol Channel), River Axe in the Mendip District, Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the village of Henton ...
, near
Wells
Wells most commonly refers to:
* Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England
* Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground
* Wells (name)
Wells may also refer to:
Places Canada
*Wells, British Columbia
England
* Wells ...
, but both remained poor. Foster's combined salary amounted to only £15 a year and he considered learning a trade to supplement his income and enable him to continue his dissenting ministry. Apparently, his chief consideration was to become, like Billingsley, a
glove
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb.
If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless glov ...
r. But at about this time, a gentleman in the region called Robert Houlton took him on as chaplain in his house, relieving his financial pressures.
Other controversies
By this point, Foster was starting to publish controversial works on Christian doctrine. His ''Essay on Fundamentals'' showed the influence of
Samuel Clarke
Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675 – 17 May 1729) was an English philosopher and Anglican cleric. He is considered the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkeley.
Early life and studies
Clarke was born in Norwich, ...
's ''Scripture Doctrine'', the work which had triggered the Exeter Controversy, and which Hallett's students, most notably Stogdon, had encountered and read secretly several years earlier. Like Clarke, Foster hinted at the non-essentiality of the doctrine of the Trinity; he argued that the fundamentals of the Christian faith should operate in a marriage between reasonable interpretation of natural and revealed religion. He also came to denounce infant baptism after reading
John Gale's antipaedobaptist tracts; he believed it not to be sanctioned by scripture doctrine, and offered himself up to be re-baptized as an adult believer in London, perhaps by Gale himself. From 1724 Foster took over from Gale as co-minister with Joseph Burroughs at the General Baptist chapel in Paul's Alley, Barbican, London. By this point his Socinian leanings were well known; he and Burroughs were the only London ministers to invite the disgraced and formerly imprisoned Arian heretic
Thomas Emlyn
Thomas Emlyn (1663–1741) was an English nonconformist divine.
Life
Emlyn was born at Stamford, Lincolnshire. He served as chaplain to the presbyterian Letitia, countess of Donegal, the daughter of Sir William Hicks, 1st Baronet who married (1 ...
to preach. From 1728 Foster supplemented his ministry with the newly established Sunday evening lecture at the
Old Jewry
Old Jewry is a one-way street in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It is located within Coleman Street ward and links Poultry to Gresham Street.
The street now contains mainly offices for financial companies. The ...
. By 1744 he succeeded
Jeremiah Hunt
Jeremiah Hunt, D.D. (London, 11 June 1678– 5 September 1744) was an independent minister.
Life
Jeremiah Hunt was born as the only son of Thomas Hunt, a London merchant, on 11 June 1678. His father died in 1680, and his mother secured for him a l ...
as pastor of the Independent congregation at Pinner's Hall.
Christ and Controversy: The Person of Christ in Nonconformist Thought and Ecclesial Experience, 1600-2000
by Alan P.F. Sell; Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2012 p. 43 Emlyn was not the only radical with which he had known sympathies. The rebellious Earl of Kilmarnock
Earl of Kilmarnock was a title created twice in the Peerage of Scotland for the Boyd family. It was first created in 1454 for Robert Boyd, Great Chamberlain of Scotland. It was created a second time in 1661 for William Boyd, 10th Lord Boyd. ...
declared himself a presbyterian, and was given the sacrament whilst he was imprisoned in the Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
by Foster, who also attended his execution. Foster published an ''Account'' of Kilmarnock's behaviour in 1746, after which he was viciously attacked for Jacobitism
Jacobitism (; gd, Seumasachas, ; ga, Seacaibíteachas, ) was a political movement that supported the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. The name derives from the first name ...
, a claim which was far from the truth. Under the pressure of the sustained criticisms, his health began to fail.
Support for Foster
Despite criticism from many orthodox Calvinists
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
, Foster was becoming a celebrated preacher and academic, winning increasing recognition from many moderates within Protestant and Roman Catholic dissent, as well as from within the radical Deist
Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...
wing of the Church of England. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity (DD) from the Marischal College
Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...
in Aberdeen in December 1748 and was on several occasions offered livings in the conformist Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...
by Bishop Thomas Rundle
Thomas Rundle (c.1688–1743) was an English cleric suspected of unorthodox views. He became Anglican bishop of Derry not long after a high-profile controversy had prevented his becoming bishop of Gloucester in 1733.
Early life
He was born at Milt ...
. Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
wrote in one of his ''Satires'':
:''Let modest Foster, if he will, excel''
:''Ten Metropolitans in preaching well.''
He also attracted freethinkers and London wits to his Old Jewry meetings and was respected - though disliked - by the orthodox Congregationalist Philip Doddridge
Philip Doddridge D.D. (26 June 1702 – 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist (specifically, Congregationalist) minister, educator, and hymnwriter.
Early life
Philip Doddridge was born in London the last of the twenty children of D ...
of Northampton. In the last part of his life, he probably lived with the mother of his friend Nehemiah Stokes in St Stephen, Coleman Street
Coleman Street is one of the 25 ancient wards of the City of London and lies on the City's northern boundary with the London Borough of Islington.
The ward, which includes land lying on either side of the former city wall, takes its name from ...
. He began to suffer a series of debilitating strokes between April 1750 and July 1753, but maintained his preaching as often as his health permitted. He died at Pinners' Hall, Middlesex, on 5 November 1753, and was buried in Bunhill Fields
Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...
.
Works
*''The resurrection of Christ prov'd'', 1720
*''An essay on fundamentals'', 1720, 1754, 1761
*''The usefulness, truth, and excellency of the Christian revelation'', 1731, 1734
*''A sermon occasion'd by the death of Mrs. Mary Wilks'', 1732
*''Sermons on the following subjects'', 1732, 1733, 1735, 1736, 1737, 1738, 1743, 1744, 1745, 1755
*''An answer to Dr. Stebbing's letter on the subject of heresy'', 1735, 1736, 1737
*''An answer to Dr. Stebbing's True state of the controversy with Mr. Foster'', 1737
*''A sermon, preached at Barbican, on Sunday, August 16, 1741'', 1741
*''A sermon preached at White'-Alley'', 1742
*''An account of the behaviour of the late Earl of Kilmarnock'', 1746 din, London, Dublin, Belfast 1747 oston*''An account of the apparition of the late Lord Kilmarnock'', 1747
*''Discourses on all the principal branches of natural religion and social virtue'', 1749–52, 1754
*''Offices of devotion, suited to the principal branches of natural religion'', 1754
References
Other sources
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, James
Burials at Bunhill Fields
18th-century English Baptist ministers
Clergy from Exeter
1697 births
1753 deaths