John T. Christian
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John Tyler Christian (1854–1925) was a
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
preacher, author and educator. He was born December 14, 1854, near Lexington, Kentucky. His family moved to
Henry County, Kentucky Henry County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky bordering the Kentucky River. Its county seat is New Castle, but its largest city is Eminence. The county was founded in 1798 from portions of Shelby ...
, when he was six years old. He professed faith in Christ and joined the Campbellsburg Baptist Church at the age of sixteen. Christian earned his Bachelor's (1876) and Master of Arts (1880) degrees at Bethel College in
Russellville, Kentucky Russellville is a home rule-class city in Logan County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 6,960 at the time of the 2010 census. History Local historian Alex C. Finley has claimed the area was fir ...
. In 1888 the college conferred on him the honorary title of Doctor of Divinity, and in 1898, Keachie College, Louisiana, honored him with the title LL.D. He became pastor in Tupelo, Mississippi, beginning in 1877, and served that church two years. He was afterward pastor of Sardis Church, and from there he moved to the First Baptist Church of
Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...
, beginning in March, 1883. After pastoring there for three years, he next became Secretary of Missions for Mississippi Baptists. In 1893, he became pastor of the historic East Baptist Church in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
. Later he pastored churches in Arkansas. In 1919, he became Professor of Church History at the Baptist Bible Institute,
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
(renamed the
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Missions and evangelism are core focuses of the seminary. NOBTS offers doctoral ...
in 1946). He played a major role in the controversies surrounding the restorationist views of Baptist history taught by William Heth Whitsitt (see The Whitsitt Controversy) in the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary of Louisville, Kentucky. He wrote extensive rebuttals to Whitsitt's works and eventually published a history of the Baptists written from a successionist's perspective. The John T. Christian Library of the
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Missions and evangelism are core focuses of the seminary. NOBTS offers doctoral ...
is named in his honor. According to the seminary, "The basic collection came from the library of the outstanding church historian, John T. Christian, who was the first librarian of the seminary. He gave the school his personal library of 18,000 volumes when he joined the faculty in 1919."About John T. Christian Library
His personal papers are housed in the Archives at the John T. Christian Library, on campus at the
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Missions and evangelism are core focuses of the seminary. NOBTS offers doctoral ...
.


References


External links


A History of the Baptists


* 1854 births 1925 deaths 19th-century Baptist ministers from the United States 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States American historians of religion Historians of Christianity New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary faculty Bethel College (Kentucky) alumni Writers from Lexington, Kentucky People from Henry County, Kentucky Baptists from Kentucky {{christianity-historian-stub