Samuel Worcester (theologian)

Last updated February 20, 2019

Samuel Worcester (1 November 1770, Hollis, New Hampshire – 7 June 1821, Brainerd, Tennessee) was a United States clergyman noted for his participation in a controversy over Unitarianism.

Hollis, New Hampshire Town in New Hampshire, United States

Hollis is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,684 at the 2010 census. The town center village is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Hollis Village Historic District.

East Brainerd is an unincorporated community and former census-designated place (CDP) in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 14,132 at the 2000 census and was not recorded at the 2010 census. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country composed of 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.

Biography

Against his father's wishes, he decided to educate himself for a profession rather than become a farmer.^[1] After attending and then teaching in local schools, he went to New Ipswitch Academy,^[1] and then entered Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1795. He was licensed to preach in 1796.^[2]

Dartmouth College is a private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is the ninth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded as a school to educate Native Americans in Christian theology and the English way of life, Dartmouth primarily trained Congregationalist ministers throughout its early history. The university gradually secularized, and by the turn of the 20th century it had risen from relative obscurity into national prominence as one of the top centers of higher education.

From 1797 until 1802, he was pastor of the Congregational Church in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.^[2] Worcester subscribed to Hopkinsian Calvinism, and his views brought him into conflict with some in his parish who favored Universalism and others of liberal views. He was finally forced to resign from his charge.^[1]

Fitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.

Universalism is a philosophical and theological concept that some ideas have universal application or applicability. A community that calls itself universalist may emphasize the universal principles of most religions, and accept others in an inclusive manner. It is centered on the belief in a universal reconciliation between humanity and the divine. For example, some forms of Abrahamic religions claim the universal value of their doctrine and moral principles, and "feel inclusive"

He became pastor of the Tabernacle Church, Salem, in 1803, which charge he held until his death. He declined the professorship of theology in Dartmouth in 1804, and became corresponding secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1810.^[2] He became occupied enough with his missionary work, that in 1819 an associate pastor was appointed at the Tabernacle Church.^[1]

Salem is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located in the North Shore region. It is a New England bedrock of history and is considered one of the most significant seaports in Puritan American history.

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most important of American missionary organizations and consisted of participants from Reformed traditions such as Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and German Reformed churches.

In 1815, he engaged in a noted controversy on Unitarianism with William E. Channing.^[2] A review, attributed to Jeremiah Evarts, had been published in The Panoplist in June 1815 of a pamphlet on American Unitarianism (American Unitarianism; or a Brief History of the Progress and Present State of the Unitarian Churches of America). Channing objected to the way Unitarians in the United States were portrayed in the review, Worcester replied to this objection, and an exchange of pamphlets followed.^[1]

Jeremiah F. Evarts, also known by the pen name William Penn, was a Christian missionary, reformer, and activist for the rights of American Indians in the United States, and a leading opponent of the Indian removal policy of the United States government.

The Panoplist was a religious monthly magazine printed from 1805 until 1820 edited by Jeremiah Evarts.

At the time of his death, Worcester was traveling for the benefit of his health.^[2]

Publications

Discourses on the Covenant with Abraham (Salem, 1805)
Three Letters to the Rev. William E. Channing on Unitarianism (Boston, 1815)
Watts's Entire and Select Hymns (1818)

He also published single sermons and pamphlets, and reviews and essays in religious periodicals. After his death, a collection of his sermons was published (1823).

Family

Samuel's brother Noah was a pioneer of the peace movement in the United States. Another brother Thomas (1768–1831) was also a clergyman. Samuel's son Samuel Melancthon Worcester (4 September 1801, Fitchburg, Massachusetts - 16 August 1866, Boston) graduated from Harvard in 1822, studied for a year at Andover, was a tutor in Amherst from 1823 to 1825, and professor of rhetoric and oratory there from 1825 to 1834. He was pastor of the Tabernacle Church, Salem, from 1834 to 1860, when impaired health caused him to resign. He was a member of the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives. He published Essays on Slavery, by Vigorinus (1826), The Memorial of the Old and New Tabernacle (Boston, 1855), Life and Labors of Rev. Samuel Worcester (2 vols., Boston, 1852), and single sermons and discourses, and articles in religious periodicals.^[2]

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References

1 2 3 4 5 Harris Elwood Starr (1936). "Worcester, Samuel". Dictionary of American Biography . New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
1 2 3 4 5 6 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John, eds. (1889). "Worcester, Noah, clergyman". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography . New York: D. Appleton.

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[dab-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Harris Elwood Starr (1936). "Worcester, Samuel". Dictionary of American Biography . New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

[acab-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John, eds. (1889). "Worcester, Noah, clergyman". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography . New York: D. Appleton.