AS PART of his customary preaching efforts, Dr Thomas went further afield than usual in the fall of 1846, going to New York City for the first time in 14 years. The visit was prompted by a friend in Richmond, who persuaded the doctor to go by promising an audience for his message and offering to pay his expenses. Dr Thomas made the three-day journey, and there presented for the first time the essentials of his beliefs in a series of ten lectures. These were later abstracted in his magazine as “thirty points.”
Such information is widely available, but we will expand on this bare account a little, also focusing on the sources of Dr Thomas’ unique beliefs. Recent Christadelphian commentators have tended to look at some 18th and 19th century “conditionalists” and, on the basis of some coincidence in beliefs, assume Dr Thomas was influenced by them. I will look at the evidence, partly in Dr Thomas’ own writings, which leads me strongly to believe there was no significant influence in the initial stages of the most important of his doctrines where they differ from mainstream “Christianity.” His “rediscovery of Bible Truth,” as it is often termed, can be demonstrated to be exactly that — a rediscovery.
Dr. Thomas’ reception in New York
As we have already seen, by the summer of 1846, Dr. Thomas had been shut out of Campbellite churches in Virginia, except for the few that decided to follow him. Thus the prospect of a new audience among the Campbellites in New York would have seemed very appealing. When he got there, however, it is clear that he and his disputes with the churches in Virginia were known in New York. It is true Dr. Thomas still looked for his audience mainly among the Campbellites (although this was about to change, as we shall see, God willing, next month). It is also apparent that, although Dr. Thomas had not been officially excommunicated, this was because he was still officially a member of the Paineville church. He had been denounced by most of the leaders of the Campbellites, and the pages of the main magazine, the Millennial Harbinger, were closed to him.
When he got to New York, he applied to use the Campbellite’s meeting house, but before permission was granted, he was interviewed by three of the five elders of the church. Whether he had actually been excommunicated was the only item of concern: when Dr. Thomas assured them he had not, the way was cleared for the lectures. As his friend vouched for him, and this friend had formerly been a member of the New York Church, only actual excommunication would have inhibited the granting of permission. Dr. Thomas then presented his talks on the “Deep Things of God.”
Apparently he was very well received, which must have helped in his decision to relocate to New York when he had to leave Richmond some five years later. At least one of the New York Campbellite elders thought highly enough of Dr. Thomas to ask if he might, under certain circumstances, propose Dr. Thomas as minister. To this Dr. Thomas wrote “No. We cannot afford to sell our independence for a mess of pottage…We object not to receive contributions in the aid of the cause we advocate: but they must be spontaneous, not extorted. We cannot preach for hire.”
“Things Elaborated from the Word during Ten discourses in New York in 1846”
This is the title of the first systematic account of the beliefs of Dr. Thomas, published in December, 1846. It covers, among others, the topics of immortality, the Kingdom of God on earth, the Millennium, and the necessity of baptism. It might be mentioned at this time Dr. Thomas was writing extensively on the topic of baptism in The Bible Messenger, as we will describe in another article.
The thirty themes were printed in the Herald of the Future Age, and Robert Roberts reprints them in his Dr Thomas, Life and Works. Six of the points cover the nature of man, and his inherent mortality. Another set deals with the kingdom of the Jews, the Kingdom of God, and the only way to attain the hope is through belief and baptism. Another six of the themes deal with the genealogy of Jesus, with the conclusion that
Jesus was the hereditary king of the Jews. The last few cover the Millennium, and define fairly closely who is responsible to judgment. So even before he was rebaptized, the topic of responsibility was of great interest to Dr. Thomas — as it has been in one form or another in America for the last 150 years.
Origin of the great divider — immortality of the soul
In the Advocate, December 1, 1835, Dr. Thomas published a set of 34 questions, under the title “information wanted.” Basically, the propositions differed from Campbellite ideas of the time as Dr.Thomas rejected the idea of man’s continued existence after death. Only by resurrection, he contended, can mankind hope for a future existence — and that excludes “pagans who have never heard the message of God, infants…” from any hope of eternal life.
The storm of controversy that arose resulted in Dr. Thomas refining and further defining his views — and, as we shall later see, perhaps making Dr. Thomas certain of his beliefs. He was subsequently labeled a “materialist,” as the doctrine of the sleep of the righteous was not unique with Dr. Thomas in the nineteenth century, and indeed can be found promulgated by others in almost any age. In this regard, Dr. Thomas commented “I have never read a single page of a book, except the Bible, on the subject called Materialism.”
Dr. Thomas’ own account of the origin of his beliefs
The great division between Dr. Thomas and the Campbellites was over the doctrine of the immortal soul.
He gives in several places the account of the origin of his beliefs, perhaps the most interesting in The Herald for 1859. It is as follows:
“…In 1834, we started two questions in this country, which may be presented in the form of the following propositions, namely that:
- “No person destitute of the ‘One Faith’ previous to his immersion is the subject of the ‘One Baptism.’
- “The animal man is in no sense immortal.
“…When we started the questions, it was more in the spirit of inquiry than of perfect conviction; and it is also probable that, if we had not been bitterly opposed, and bitterly persecuted, the matter would have been dropped and we, and many others would have, unhappily, been Campbellites to this day. But it was ordered otherwise, and we are now rejoicing in the truth, …”
It can be assumed that the propositions came from true inquiry: that the resultant firestorm of controversy caused Dr. Thomas to study the Bible, and other writers, to substantiate and firm up his beliefs, for which we can be eternally thankful!
“The Apostasy Unveiled”
This is the title under which Robert Roberts published in 1872 the account of a debate, which Dr. Thomas had previously printed and published in 1838 under the long title: “A testimony against ‘The Apostasy’ being a report of certain matters set forth in a DEBATE between John S. Watt, a Presbyterian Clergyman, and John Thomas, M.D., Editor of the Advocate.” The debate itself had taken place in August of 1837. The two books differ considerably, mainly in that Robert Roberts removed almost all the preliminaries and also the reply of John Watt to the account. I recently enjoyed examining an original copy of the 175 page book, possibly personally printed by Dr. Thomas nearly 160 years ago! However, the heart of the two accounts agree, and in it Dr. Thomas quoted Mosheim’s Ecclesiastical History, noting with approval the tenets of the “General Baptists, or English Mennonites.” They believed, according to Mosheim, that the soul, from the moment it dies until its resurrection at the last day, remains in a state of perfect insensibility. Dr. Thomas said he would rather state it thus: “Man, from the moment he dies, until his resurrection, remains insensible to all animal, intellectual, or moral impressions, from within or without.”
Elias Smith
This early nineteenth century cleric has often been identified as a source of inspiration of Dr. Thomas in the field of the doctrine of the immortal soul, sometimes by implication, sometimes directly. It is interesting that this same accusation was made over 150 years ago by Alexander Campbell! Before dealing with this, and Dr. Thomas’ comments, a brief account of the character and beliefs of Elias Smith is interesting.
Born in 1769, Elias Smith was first schoolteacher, then Baptist minister. He developed his views in Immortality and denied the popular views on hell in a series of books issued around 1808. He, in turn, credits the English writers Taylor, Bourn, and Marsom who had earlier developed similar views. He is often credited as being one of the founders of the Christian Connection, a Baptist group that rejected traditional teachings on “innate immortality” and “eternal torment.” He also wrote extensively on prophecy, arguing for an interpretation of the book of Revelation quite close to that of Dr. Thomas.
It is of passing interest Smith later abandoned these views, which is perhaps why he made no open converts at the time.
Smith then took up an interest in alternative medicine, and wrote books on the subject such as Medical Pocket Book, Family Physician, and Sick Man’s Guide to Health in 1822. In it he laid out Samuel Thomson’s medical system, which was the foremost example of botanic medicine, closely related to eclectic medicine. For almost all ailments he recommended a six-step procedure, with steam baths combined with emetics, purgatives, enemas and sweat producing herbs. If the illness didn’t kill you, the cure likely would! (You might remember Dr. Thomas received his M.D. in 1838 and taught at an Eclectic Medical College.)
In the Apostolic Advocate for 1837, Alexander Campbell is quoted as accusing Dr. Thomas of getting his beliefs from Elias Smith. As the circulation of Elias Smith’s writings were very small, at only around 200 copies of many of his works, it is not surprising Dr. Thomas had never heard of him prior to the accusation! As Dr. Thomas said, “I am acquitted of plagiarizing the writings of Elias Smith on immortality to those only who obey the truth.” He had, in March of 1837, only read Elias Smith’s works a few days before — well after he had developed his own views on the immortality of the soul.
Conclusion
It is my firm conviction that Dr. Thomas was unique among his contemporaries in truly trying to discover for himself what the Bible teaches. My admiration for the man is being strengthened more and more as I read not only our old familiar works about Dr. Thomas, but newly discovered material. Although John Thomas was a Campbellite by association, he was not bound by their doctrines; he sought out the truth from the scriptures, and proclaimed it fearlessly. It is undoubtedly true others had come to similar conclusions in many areas in the years and centuries prior to Dr. Thomas, and he was quick to quote and use articles from those with whom he agreed. But to look to these as influencing Dr. Thomas seems, from the record we have, to be incorrect. (I will deal with some of our other doctrines, and their origin, in future articles, God willing.)
We, too, can learn from this history: to always for ourselves search out the truth from the Bible, and only base our discussions on that solid ground. It is only too easy to quote from our forebears as if this proves a point — when the only point it proves is that one has read our forebears!
Notes on Sources: Robert Roberts’ Life and Works of Dr. Thomas was used, along with the Apostolic Advocates (particularly vol’s 3 and 4) and the easily available Herald of the Kingdom. The works of Elias Smith can be found (in microfiche) in most major libraries. The account of Elias Smith and eclectic medicine can be found in Medical Protestants: The Eclectics in American Medicine by J.S. Haller.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One