INTRODUCTION
Among English Baptists of the eighteenth-century, Anne Dutton was known as “the most theologically capable and influential Baptist woman of her day.” Anne Dutton’s hymns, poems, letters, and writings have had a tremendous influence on Baptistic life in the eighteenth-century. In this paper, we will look at the life of Anne Dutton and answer three questions: First, who was Anne Dutton? Secondly, how did she contribute to Baptistic life in the eighteenth-century? Thirdly, what can we learn from her spirituality? To answer these questions, we will first look at a biographical sketch of Anne Dutton’s life. Then, we will look at her selected writings and letters. To conclude, we will then look at her spirituality and Baptistic piety.
WHO WAS ANNE DUTTON?
Throughout the centuries, female theologians have had no voice in society. As a result, they have often been unheard of. However, there is of great value to hear from the voices of woman in the eighteenth-century. A prominent name in eighteenth-century Baptistic circles was Anne Dutton. Dutton was a female theologian that had a tremendous influence on Baptist life and thinking in the eighteenth-century. In 1692, Anne Dutton neé Williams was born into a Christian home in Northampton, England. Her parents, being Congregationalists, raised her up in the knowledge of the Lord. From childhood, Anne remembers being “acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, and taking pleasure in reading the same, with other good books, especially hymn books,” which she delighted to learn and commit to memory. When Anne Dutton was thirteen, she was converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. Anne speaks of her conversion in this way: “There was a mighty impression made upon my heart, of the reality and consequence of a future state either of misery or of glory, of unspeakable happiness, or inconceivable torment.” At this moment, Anne had eternity before her eyes. As Anne was confronted with her sin, she saw her great need for the Saviour. In Anne’s words, “the blessed Spirit took me, as it were, by the hand, and led me to take a survey of Christ. He led me to take a view of Christ on the cross… I viewed all my sins meeting on Jesus! In the finished work of redemption.” When Anne was fifteen years old she joined the Church of Christ in Northampton. In this church, Mr. Hunt gave Anne training in Bible, religion, and musical hymnody. Eventually, Mr. Hunt was removed from his position and another minister took his place. The new pastor was John Moore, a Calvinistic Baptist, who came to Northampton in 1700. Under Mr. Moore’s ministry, Anne’s spiritual life grew in great lengths as Moore preached the doctrines of grace with much boldness. In his sermons, Dutton was “abundantly satisfied with the fatness of God’s house; made to drink of the river of his pleasures, and, in his light, I saw light.”
It is important to note that God providentially put trials and illnesses in Anne’s life to advance his gospel work in the eighteenth-century. A large portion of Dutton’s ministry would be done from bed, as she would write hymns, poems, and letters while bedridden. Her writings and letters had a tremendous influence on the Christian life in the 18th C. Additionally, though Dutton had no formal theological education, preachers would often come to hear her teach a Sunday school class. To many, Anne’s most important contribution to Baptistic life was her devotional study, Thoughts on the Lord’s Supper, Relating to the Nature, Subjects, and right Partaking of this Solemn Ordinance. In this work, Dutton revealed clear Calvinistic Baptist piety towards the Lord’s table, which strengthened and encouraged the Baptistic movement.
Later in her ministry, Dutton was marked as a ‘hyper-Calvinist,’ which argues that she deemed it wrong to preach salvation to the unconverted since God will save his elect. However, this argument is not strong. In her letters, it is seen that she supported the evangelistic efforts of Whitefield and Wesley, holding these men in high regard. Dutton also benefitted from the Wesleyan movement, which emphasized the practice of holiness in Christian sanctification. Therefore, it is not fair to mark Anne Dutton as a “hyper-Calvinist.” It is seen that she was a woman who knew of the responsibility of man in evangelistic efforts and Christian sanctification. Dutton’s warm Calvinism would eventually pave the way for succeeding generations.
THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ANNE DUTTON
Letters That Settled Debates
Now that we have had a brief overview of Anne Dutton’s life, we will now address the second question: how did Anne Dutton contribute to Baptistic life in the eighteenth-century? First, we will look at Anne Dutton’s influence amongst revivalists in the eighteenth-century, namely Charles Wesley and George Whitefield. Dutton played a tremendous role in the debate regarding sinless perfection between Whitefield and Wesley. The Wesley brothers argued that God bestowed a second blessing on the Christian after salvation, freeing them from all sin. Though Whitefield disagreed with the Wesley’s, he sought the consultation of Anne Dutton to reaffirm and strengthen his response. In a letter, Dutton gave Whitefield a detailed outline as to why sinless perfection is theologically wrong. Whitefield acknowledged that Dutton’s letters were often biblically saturated and weighty since she was firm in her convictions. Therefore, from Dutton’s letters, it’s clear that she influenced the thoughts and convictions of godly men in the eighteenth-century. Though she was bedridden for most of her life, Dutton’s letters influenced the leading ‘evangelicals’ of her day.
Works That Shaped Convictions
Though Dutton’s letters were extremely influential and encouraging to many Christians, the works on the Lord’s Supper was her most significant contribution to Baptistic life in the eighteenth-century. Dutton put together a devotional study called, Thoughts on the Lord’s Supper, Relating to the Nature, Subjects, and right Partaking of this Solemn Ordinance. In this work, Dutton showed clear Calvinistic Baptist piety towards the Lord’s table. This work would later be used by God to strengthen and encouraged Baptistic life throughout the centuries.
To begin, Dutton makes it clear that the Lord’s supper is only for baptized believers who have made a personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ for their everlasting Salvation. Additionally, Dutton notes that those who partake of the Lord’s Supper must be members who are in good standing and fellowship with their local church. Dutton makes it clear that the Lord’s Supper is a Church-Ordinance, therefore the subjects of the supper must be church members. Thus, Dutton saw it necessary for the table to be closed and restricted to only those who are baptized believers and in good standing with their local church in which they are members of.
Next, Dutton saw three purposes in the Lord’s Supper: representation, communication, and confirmation. To begin, Dutton saw the Lord’s Supper was first a representation. The bread and the wine are symbols of the blood and body of the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, the Lord’s body and blood are represented in the elements that are partaken of in the supper (Matt. 26:26; Luke 22:19; Matt. 28:20; 1 Cor. 11:23-27). Additionally, Dutton stated that the table communicates a message about the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Whenever the table is observed, the message of the gospel is being proclaimed (Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 10:10). Finally, Dutton argued that the table confirms our inheritance in Christ. In other words, it seals up the work of Christ and the benefits of his death upon the church. As the table is observed, it confirms what Christ has done (Matt. 26:26-29; Matt. 28:20; Heb. 9:16; Luke 22:20).
For Anne Dutton, the Lord’s Table was her favourite spiritual moment and greatest memory. In her works on this subject, Dutton sets forth the view that the Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of glory on earth. Dutton believed that when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are spiritually going into the presence of the King of Glory as he invites us into his royal banquet. In it, we “draw near obediently, reverently, and joyfully, with a view to him, a look of faith cast upon him as our great Redeemer.” Dutton illustrates the Lord’s Supper wonderfully. As we “by faith look to our Redeemer and partake of the elements, we get a foretaste of true communion with God.” Therefore, one of the greatest contributions to Baptistic life in the eighteenth-century was Dutton’s Thoughts on the Lord’s Supper, Relating to the Nature, Subjects, and right Partaking of this Solemn Ordinance.
LESSONS FROM ANNE DUTTON’S SPIRITUALITY
To conclude this paper, we will draw two lessons from the spirituality of Anne Dutton. To begin, the first lesson that we can draw from Anne Dutton’s life is her Baptistic convictions. Today, many churches shy away from certain convictions. As a result, they eventually slide into a ‘mere Christianity’ category. In Anne Dutton, we see a leader who stood up for Baptistic convictions. Dutton never wavered, even if the popular vote was against her. As addressed earlier, Dutton’s greatest work was in the Lord’s Supper. In this work, Dutton argued for a purely Baptistic view. This Baptistic view was scandalous in eighteenth-century Britain, and it surely wasn’t the most popular view. Regardless, Dutton was convinced that this was the Biblical view. Therefore, she did not waver on the subject. Instead of going with the popular opinion, Dutton, with many others, stood against the tide to maintain their biblical convictions and preserve Baptistic life. Today, in the twenty-first century, we will have to follow this pattern so that we maintain our biblical convictions. It is essential that we learn from these leaders in the past so that we can stand up for Baptistic convictions in the future.
Secondly, not only can we learn from Dutton’s commitment to Baptistic convictions, but we can also learn from her Baptistic piety. As we look at the life of Anne Dutton, we see a woman who truly walked with God all the days of her life. Anne knew the weight of her sin, but she also knew the glories of her Saviour. The highlight of her life was communing with the Triune God, especially at the Lord’s Table. The overarching theme of Dutton’s life was to be in the presence of the Lord. Her communion with God led to her spiritual advice and ministry to others. To those who are down, she would remind them of the love of God. In one of her letters she stated that the love of God is a “bottomless, boundless, endless ocean, that swallows up their innumerable and mountainous sins in its infinite depths.” To those who were starving spiritually, Dutton would remind them to always “make room within our souls for enjoying the grandeur of God.” Therefore, we can learn that if we are going to minister to others, we must first have a true experiential relationship with God. Our ministry must be an outflow of our relationship with God. For Anne Dutton, her ministry was just an extension of her walk and communion with God. Thus, as one looks at the life of Anne Dutton, they can see a woman who loved the Lord and desired to be obedient to His Word. Anne sets the example for future generations.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we are reminded in Hebrews 13:7 to remember our leaders who spoke to us the word of God, and to consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. A Baptist leader from eighteenth-century Britain that must be remembered and imitated is Anne Dutton. Though unknown today by many, Anne Dutton’s hymns, poems, letters, and writings shaped Baptistic life in the eighteenth-century. In this paper, we first looked at a brief biographical sketch of Anne Dutton’s life. Though she suffered greatly, the providential hand of God used it for her good and his glory. After this, we then looked at Dutton’s major contributions to the Christian faith, namely her letters to Whitefield and her thoughts on the Lord’s Supper. To conclude this paper, we then drew two lessons from Anne Dutton’s spirituality. Today there remains a great need for the recovery of Baptist piety and spirituality amongst our Baptist circles. The church today can learn a great deal from studying the life of Anne Dutton.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dutton, Anne. “His sovereign love,” Grace Gems. http://www.gracegems.org/Dutton/his_sovereign_love.htm. (Accessed March 31, 2018).
Dutton, Anne. Thoughts on the Lord’s Supper, Relating to the Nature, Subjects, and right Partaking of this Solemn Ordinance. London: J. Hart, 1748.
Haykin, Michael A. G. “Writing to George Whitefield: A letter from Anne Dutton on Sinless Perfection,” Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (2014). http://equip.sbts.edu/publications/journals/journal-of-theology/writing-to-george- whitefield-a-letter-from-anne-dutton-on-sinless-perfection/#footnote_0_17868. (Accessed March 31, 2018).
Haykin, Michael. “The celebrated Mrs Anne Dutton.” Miscellenea Edintone (2001). http://www.edintone.com/baptists/anne-dutton/. (Accessed March 31, 2018).
Sciretti, Michael. “Anne Dutton as a Spiritual Director.” The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University (2009).
Watson, Joann Ford. Discourses, Poetry, Hymns, Memoir. Vol. 2 of Selected Spiritual Writings of Anne Dutton: Eighteenth-Century, British-Baptist, Woman Theologian. Macon, GA: Mercer University, 2004.
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