Benjamin Wallin: A Respectable Minister's Proclamation of the Gospel in Eighteenth-Century London

Abstract

This dissertation introduces the work of the eighteenth-century Particular Baptist London minister Benjamin Wallin. After providing an overview of Wallin's life and ministry, the dissertation turns to an examination of his teaching and preaching. Benjamin Wallin was a known close associate of John Gill and John Brine, who have traditionally been associated with the "high" Calvinist movement of the eighteenth century. Accordingly, Benjamin Wallin has also been linked to the movement by association. This dissertation examines the textual evidence of Wallin’s sermons to argue that Benjamin Wallin was not a "high" Calvinist. Furthermore, upon review of the sermons, the dissertation also establishes Benjamin Wallin as one who would affirm the thesis of the "modern question" and would readily preach the "offer" of the gospel to unbelievers. Through the use of form criticism, specifically genre criticism, Wallin’s sermons are compared to those of John Brine to identify the homiletical fidelity of each man's sermons with the established sermonic genres of the Protestant church.