John Taylor (1694–1761) was an English

dissenting Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...

preacher,

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

scholar, and theologian.

Early life

The son of a timber merchant at Lancaster, he was born at

Scotforth Scotforth is a suburb in the south of the city of Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster in Lancashire, England. It is home to Scotforth St Paul's Church of England Primary School and St Paul's Church, Scotforth, St Paul's Church. The civil parish, ...

, Lancashire. His father, John was an Anglican, his mother, Susannah a dissenter. Taylor began his education for the dissenting ministry in 1709 under Thomas Dixon at

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...

, where he drew up for himself a Hebrew grammar (1712). From Whitehaven he went to study under the tutor Thomas Hill, son of the

ejected minister The Great Ejection followed the Act of Uniformity 1662 in England. Several thousand Puritan ministers were forced out of their positions in the Church of England, following Stuart Restoration, The Restoration of Charles II of England, Charles I ...

Thomas Hill, near

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. Leaving Hill on 25 March 1715, he took charge on 7 April of an extra-parochial chapel at

Kirkstead Kirkstead is an ancient village and former civil parish on the River Witham in Lincolnshire, England. It was merged with the civil parish of Woodhall Spa in 1987. History Kirkstead has its origins in a Cistercian monastery, Kirkstead Abbey (t ...

, Lincolnshire, then used for nonconformist worship by the Disney family. He was ordained (11 April 1716) by dissenting ministers in Derbyshire. In 1726 he declined a call to

Pudsey Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds, City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford, Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of ...

, Yorkshire.

In Norwich

In 1733 he moved to

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, as colleague to Peter Finch, son of Henry Finch. So far Taylor had not deviated from dissenting orthodoxy, though hesitating about subscription. According to a family tradition, given by William Turner, on settling at Norwich he went through

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 of the Trinity'' (1712) with his congregation, adopted its view, and came forward (1737) in defence of a dissenting layman excommunicated for heterodoxy on this topic by James Sloss (1698–1772) of Nottingham, a pupil of

John Simson John Simson (1667–1740) was a Scottish "New Licht" theologian, involved in a long investigation of alleged heresy. He was suspended from teaching as Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow for his later life. Life He was born ...

. On 25 February 1754 Taylor laid the first stone of the

Octagon Chapel, Norwich The Octagon Chapel is a Unitarian Chapel located in Colegate in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The congregation is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. History The chapel is a grade II* listed building. Comple ...

, opened 12 May 1756, and described by

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

(23 December 1757) as 'perhaps the most elegant one in all Europe,' and too fine for 'the old coarse gospel.' In his opening sermon, Taylor, who had received (6 April) the diploma (dated 20 January) of D.D. from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, disowned all names such as Presbyterian and the like, claiming that of Christian only; a claim attacked by a local critic, probably Grantham Killingworth, writing as a Quaker, under the name of 'M. Adamson.’

Warrington Academy tutor

Around the end of 1757 Taylor returned to Lancashire as divinity tutor (including moral philosophy) in

Warrington Academy Warrington Academy, active as a teaching establishment from 1756 to 1782, was a prominent dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by those who dissented from the established Church of England. It was located in Warrington (then p ...

, opened 20 October 1757. The appointment was a tribute to his reputation, but at the age of sixty-three the change turned out unhappily for him. He had troubles in class teaching, on doctrinal matters with

John Seddon John Seddon is a British occupational psychologist and author, specialising in change in the service industry. He is the managing director of Vanguard, a consultancy company he formed in 1985 and the inventor of ' The Vanguard Method'. Vangua ...

, and was convinced that he was denied due deference. Rheumatism settled in his knees, and he could not walk without crutches. Rousing his powers, he wrote, but did not live to publish, a fervent tract on prayer.

Death

Taylor died in his sleep on 5 March 1761, and was buried in the chapel-yard at Chowbent, Lancashire. His funeral sermon was preached by

Edward Harwood Edward Harwood (1729–1794) was a prolific English classical scholar and biblical critic. Life Harwood was born at Darwen, Lancashire, in 1729. After attending a school at Darwen, he went in 1745 to the Blackburn grammar school under Thomas Hu ...

. A tablet to his memory is in Chowbent Chapel; another in the Octagon Chapel, Norwich, bearing a Latin inscription by

Samuel Parr Samuel Parr (26 January 1747 – 6 March 1825), was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and (flatteringly) as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well ...

Works and views

Scholar

His classical knowledge, according to Edward Harwood, was 'almost unrivalled,' but Samuel Parr found fault with his latinity. His ''Hebrew Concordance'' of 1754–7 was both a concordance (based on earlier works) and a

lexicon A lexicon is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Koine Greek language, Greek word (), neuter of () ...

of Hebrew, and was his unaided work. In 1751 he issued proposals for its publication, after more than thirteen years' work. The subscription list to the first volume (1754) contains the names of twenty-two English and fifteen Irish bishops, and the work is dedicated to the hierarchy. Based on

Johann Buxtorf the Elder Johannes Buxtorf ( la, Johannes Buxtorfius) (December 25, 1564September 13, 1629) was a celebrated Hebraist, member of a family of Orientalists; professor of Hebrew for thirty-nine years at Basel and was known by the title, "Master of the Rabbis" ...

and Noldius (Christian Nolde), the concordance is arranged to serve the purposes of a Hebrew-English and English-Hebrew lexicon, and also attempt to fix the primitive meaning of Hebrew roots.

Theologian

In 1757 Wesley described Taylor's views as ‘old deism in a new dress.’

Job Orton Job Orton (4 September 1717 – 1783) was an English dissenting minister. Life He was born at Shrewsbury, Shropshire. He entered the academy of Dr Philip Doddridge at Northampton, became minister of a congregation formed by a fusion of Presbyteri ...

remarked (1778) that 'he had to the last a great deal of the puritan in him.' Orton's earlier guess (1771), adopted by Walter Wilson, that Taylor had become a

Socinian Socinianism () is a nontrinitarian belief system deemed heretical by the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions. Named after the Italian theologians Lelio Sozzini (Latin: Laelius Socinus) and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Faustus Socinus), uncle ...

, is dismissed as groundless by

Alexander Gordon Alexander Gordon may refer to: * Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly (died 1470), Scottish magnate * Alexander Gordon (bishop of Aberdeen) (died 1518), Precentor of Moray and Bishop-elect of Aberdeen * Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly (died ...

in the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

''. Gordon in his ''Dictionary of National Biography'' article also wrote that the ethical core interested Taylor more than speculative theology. His work on

original sin Original sin is the Christian doctrine that holds that humans, through the fact of birth, inherit a tainted nature in need of regeneration and a proclivity to sinful conduct. The biblical basis for the belief is generally found in Genesis 3 (t ...

(''Scripture Doctrine of Original Sin'', 1740, written 1735) was against the

Calvinistic 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 Calv ...

view of human nature, and was influential: witnessed in Scotland by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

(''Epistle to John Goudie''), and in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, according to Jonathan Edwards. It was answered first by David Jennings in ''A Vindication of the Scripture Doctrine of Original Sin'' (anonymous, 1740).

Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include "When I Survey the ...

replied to Taylor in ''The Ruin and Recovery of Man'' (1740).

James Hervey James Hervey (26 February 1714 – 25 December 1758) was an English clergyman and writer. Life He was born at Hardingstone, near Northampton, and was educated at the grammar school of Northampton, and at Lincoln College, Oxford. Here he came ...

's ''Theron and Aspasio'' is partly aimed at Taylor, if not explicitly.

's ''Doctrine of Original Sin'' (1757) is a detailed answer to Taylor, drawing on Jennings, Hervey and Watts.Eddy, Chapter 11. ''Scripture Doctrine of Original Sin'' laid a basis for the later Unitarian movement and the American

Congregationalists Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

. His study of Pauline theology, partly on the lines of

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

, produced (1745) a 'Key' to the apostolic writings with an application of this 'Key' to the interpretation of the ''

Epistle to the Romans The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, and the longest of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by Paul the Apostle to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of J ...

''. Here, rather than in his treatise on the topic (1751), his view of

atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ex ...

is clearly defined.

Works

He published, besides single sermons and tracts: *‘A Narrative of Mr. Joseph Rawson's Case ... with a Prefatory Discourse in Defence of the Common Rights of Christians,’ 1737, (anon.; the ‘Narrative’ is by Rawson; Sloss replied in ‘A True Narrative,’ 1737); 2nd edit. with author's name, 1742. *‘A Further Defence of the Common Rights,’ 1738; 2nd edit. 1742; reprinted, 1829. *‘The Scripture Doctrine of Original Sin,’ 1740 (three parts); 2nd edit. 1741. ‘A Supplement,’ 1741, (reply to David Jennings) *'Remarks on such additions to the second Edition of the Ruin and Recovery of the Arguments Advanced in the Supplement to the Scripture Doctrine of Original Sin,' London: printed and sold by M Fenner at Turk's Head, Gracechurch Street, 1742, (reply to

) opy in Dr William's Library all included in 3rd edit. Belfast, 1746; 4th edit. 1767, (with reply to Wesley). * 'A Paraphrase with Notes on the Epistle to the Romans ... Prefix'd, A Key to the Apostolic Writings,' 1745; Dublin, 1746. * 'A Scripture Catechism,' 1745. * 'A Collection of Tunes in Various Airs,' 1750. * 'The Scripture Doctrine of Atonement,' 1751. * 'The Hebrew Concordance adapted to the English Bible ... after ... Buxtorf,' 1754–7, 2 vols. * 'The Lord's Supper Explained,' 1754, 8vo; 1756. * 'The Covenant of Grace and Baptism the token of it, explained upon scripture principles', John Taylor, D.D. of Norwich 1755; Printed for J Waugh, at the Turk's Head, in Lombard Street, and M Fenner, at the Angel and Bible in Paternoster Row. 757 copy in Dr Williams Library * 'An Examination of the Scheme of Morality advanced by Dr. Hutcheson,' 1759. * 12. 'A Sketch of Moral Philosophy,' 1760. Posthumous works were: *‘The Scripture Account of Prayer,’ 1761; the 2nd edit. 1762, has appended ‘Remarks’ on the liturgy edited by Seddon. * ‘A Scheme of Scripture Divinity,’ 1763; part was printed (1760?) for class use; reprinted, with the ‘Key,’ in Bishop Watson's ‘Collection of Theological Tracts,’ 1785, vols. i. and iii. He left in manuscript a paraphrase on ''Ephesians'', and four volumes of an unfinished abridgment (1721–22) of

Matthew Henry Matthew Henry (18 October 166222 June 1714) was a Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist minister and author, who was born in Wales but spent much of his life in England. He is best known for the six-volume biblical commentary ''Exposition ...

's 'Exposition' of the Old Testament, of which specimens are given in the 'Universal Theological Magazine,' December 1804, pp. 314 sq. A selection from his works was published with title, 'The Principles and Pursuits of an English Presbyterian,' 1843.

Family

He married (13 August 1717) Elizabeth Jenkinson (died 2 June 1761), a widow, of

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. Boston is north of London, north-east of Peterborough, east of Nottingham, south-east of Lincoln, south-southeast of Hull ...

. His surviving children were: * Richard (died 1762), married Margaret Meadows; his eldest son, Philip Taylor (1747–1831), was presbyterian minister at Kay Street, Liverpool (1767), and at

Eustace Street Eustace Street is a street in the Temple Bar area of Dublin, Ireland. Location Eustace Street runs from Wellington Quay (near Millennium Bridge) to Dame Street, with junctions with Essex Street East and Curved Street. At the halfway point of ...

, Dublin (1771), and grandfather of

Meadows Taylor Colonel Philip Meadows Taylor, (25 September 1808 – 13 May 1876), an administrator in British India and a novelist, made notable contributions to public knowledge of South India. Though largely self-taught, he was a polymath, working alternat ...

; his second son, John Taylor, the hymn-writer. * Sarah (died 1773), married to John Rigby of Chowbent, was mother of

Edward Rigby Edward Coke MC (5 February 1879 – 5 April 1951), known professionally as Edward Rigby, was a British character actor. Early life Rigby was born at Ashford, Kent, England, the second son of Dr William Harriott Coke and his wife, Mary Elizab ...

References

*Cross, F.L. and E. A. Livingstone, eds. "John Taylor." ''The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. *''Journals of John Wesley'' vol.3, p. 315, 21 December 1757. *Geoffrey Thackray Eddy (2003), ''Dr Taylor of Norwich: Wesley's Arch-Heretic''

Notes

External links

Story of Protestant Dissent and English Presbyterianism
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John English Dissenters Dissenting academy tutors 18th-century English theologians Christian Hebraists 1694 births 1761 deaths English male non-fiction writers 18th-century English male writers 18th-century English non-fiction writers