WILLIAM CAREY

AND THE MISSIONARY VISION

Daniel Webber

A lecture first prepared
for
 The Carey Conference for Ministers
held at Swanwick
on
 8th - 10th January 1992

Copyright:	Daniel Webber (1993).

Typesetting
Tentmaker Publications
2 Anne Street.
Clonmel
Co. Tipperary
Republic of Ireland

Printing
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3

WILLIAM CAREY
AND THE MISSIONARY VISION

William Carey is often referred to as ‘the father of modem missions’, but not because he was the first. He was not even the first Protestant missionary, neither was his the first missionary endeavor of significance. More than a century earlier John Eliot (1604-1690) had conducted effective evangelistic work among the Algonquin Indians of North America, and there had been some notable work done by German Pietists supported by the Danish-Halle Mission. Indeed, by the time Carey had set sail, the Moravians had already completed valuable work in India.
He is given this title because he was largely responsible for turning the tide of Protestant thought in favour of foreign missions. Ruth Tucker, in her work on the history of missions, ‘From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya’, says of Carey that...
‘More than any other individual in modem history, he stirred the imagination of the Christian world and showed by his own humble example what could and should be done to bring a lost world to Christ. (1)
Similarly, Stephen Neill, in his ‘A History of Christian Missions’, speaks of Carey’s work as representing a turning point. He says:
‘It marks the entry of the English-speaking world on a large scale into the missionary enterprise.’ (2)
In order properly to understand this, certain background details need to be borne in mind. First, for all its spiritual power and vitality, the Reformation had had little time to devote to missions. For some time it still represented a small and fragile minority with battles to fight on many fronts. Second, the eighteenth century was ‘the ace of reason’; the age of the Enlightenment. Many of its clergymen believed that the Great Commission was only given to the apostles, that its work had been fulfilled in previous ages, and that it is therefore to be assumed that the heathen world had rejected the Gospel and must now await its fate on the Day of Judgment. Moreover, for some, any form of enthusiasm was anathema. It should also be remembered that even as late as 1796 the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland - albeit not without protest - passed by a majority the motion that,...
‘to spread abroad the knowledge of the gospel among the
barbarous and heathen nations seems to be highly preposterous.’(3)
As we shall have occasion to see, the brand of Calvinism advocated by some Particular Baptists of the time was very often little better in its missionary outlook.

4	William Carey				

Fortunately, there was a third and highly significant influence on the life of eighteenth century Britain which not only made Carey’s vision for the evangelisation of the world a possibility, but a reality. This was the influence of the Great Awakening that had swept through the English-speaking world in the earlier part of the century, associated with the preaching of George Whitefield and John Wesley. Nevertheless, the predominant view with respect to mission was still the one described above. Essentially, it was not part of the Church’s current or continuing responsibility.
The story of how William Carey fundamentally altered that outlook is to be the main subject of this investigation. We shall not, except incidentally, be examining his theology, which was of the best Calvinistic sort. Neither is it our intention to concentrate on biography; except in so far as it sets the scene for our main interest. It is our intention to focus attention on a pamphlet written by Carey and first published some two hundred years ago in 1792. Although not a best-seller at the time, Carey’s faith in its content went on to contribute to the formation of the Particular Baptist Missionary Society in the same year and much of the missionary endeavour of the following century. It is the story of the birth and implementation of the concern of this remarkable statement that we shall consider. And. having done so, we shall seek to draw lessons from its content, convinced that such remain of importance to this day. Some believe that this work is still the most convincing missionary appeal ever written, and J. Herbert Kane goes as far as to assert that...
‘Carey’s Enquiry’ was...a landmark in Christian history and deserves
a place alongside Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses in its influence
on subsequent church history. .’(4) 
It certainly expresses a mighty vision; one that is as needy today as it has ever been. We need such a vision again.

5

THE PREPARATION OF THE MAN

Before we can consider Carey’s missionary vision, we must give some general consideration to the man. Particularly, we must give consideration to the preparation of the man. It is God’s normal way to take people where they are, and with what they are, in making them the servants they are subsequently to be. He moulds and matures them and their character through grace and their particular circumstances.
With the advantage of living some two hundred years after the publication of his ‘Enquiry’, and with the heroic story of his missionary labours completed, it is easy to recognise in the early Carey signs of the man he was to become. But if we had been present at his birth, or only witnessed the circumstances of his upbringing, how different our outlook and expectation might have been. Why even his own father thought him mad when in his early thirties he announced that he was to be a missionary in India.

1.	From birth to rebirth
Born in the village of Paulerspury, some ten miles south of Northampton in 1761, William Carey’s upbringing was hard. In addition, he had little formal education and was largely self-taught. And yet, the persistence for which he was later known was evident in measure even in those formative years. His brother, Thomas, was later to make the following observation concerning his character:
‘l...recollect that he was, from a boy...always resolutely determined never to give up any point or particle of any thing on which his mind was set, till he had arrived at a clear knowledge and sense of his subject. He was neither diverted from his object by allurements, nor driven from the search of it by threats or ridicule...’.(5)
He was interested in all forms of life: plants and flowers, birds and insects. Species both alive and dead filled his bedroom. As a youth he took great delight in his father’s garden and here, no doubt, he acquired some of the patience and learned to absorb the disappointment inevitably involved in such interests. The lesson that there are few worthwhile quick returns in life was to prove a valuable one.
For all its hardships, however, his home life seems to have been a happy one. He was the eldest of five and his father became the village schoolmaster and parish clerk. One of the great advantages that this brought the young Carey was access to books, which he read assiduously. Strangely enough, in view of the climate for which he was destined, a skin disease made it too painful for him to be exposed to the sun’s full glare and necessitated that an indoor trade be found for him. Northampton being an important centre for shoemaking, he became apprenticed to a Clarke Nichols in Piddington. Apart from the trade that was
6	William Carey				

subsequently to enable him to earn something of a living, this move was to have two additional benefits. The first was to find himself working alongside another apprentice three years his senior. Unlike Carey, John Wan was a Dissenter. Having only known attendance at an Anglican church, Carey was later to make the following comments about his contribution to the liv ely discussions that ensued:
‘I had a share of pride sufficient for a thousand times my
knowledge...1also made up in positive assertion what was wanting
in argument, and generally came off with triumph.’(6)
Despite this boast Warr’s testimony clearly had an effect on him. Not only did the position of the Dissenters seem more reasonable than lie had previously supposed, but also his own conduct gave him cause for concern about his own eternal position. The incident that seemed most to have affected him in this respect took place during the period leading up to Christmas. It was the custom in those days for apprentices to receive Christmas-boxes from their masters customers. As Carey was collecting his he was surprised by the question of an ironmonger who asked if he would prefer to receive a shilling or a sixpence. A shilling was a lot of money in those days and he naturally chose it. Later, however, having decided on a number of articles he wished to buy, Carey was dismayed to discover that he had been deceived. The shilling he had been given was a counterfeit. And so, he decided to exchange the counterfeit coin for a shilling he had collected on his master’s behalf. In a letter later written to Andrew Fuller, in which he speaks of the episode, he confesses:
‘I...therefore came to the resolution to declare strenuously that
 the bad money was his. I well remember the struggles of mind
 which I had on this occasion, and that I made this deliberate sin a
 matter of prayer to God as I passed over the fields home. I there
 promised, that if God would but get me clearly over this, or, in
 other words, help me through with the theft, I would certainly for
 the future leave off all evil practices; but this theft and consequent
 lying appeared to me so necessary, that they could not be dispensed
 with. A gracious God did not get me safe through.’(7)
Mr Nichols sent another apprentice to the trader in order to be reimbursed and, of course, Carey’s guilt was established. Such was the young man’s shame and remorse that for some time he would neither go out or attend any place of worship. Once he did venture outdoors, he began attending prayer meetings more regularly. Although still nominally a member of the Anglican Church, on 10th February, 1779 he made the decision to cease attending what he described as ‘a lifeless, carnal ministry’ in preference for one that was ‘more evangelical’.

			        The Preparation of the Man		         7

The occasion was a Sunday that had been set apart by King George III as a national day of prayer and fasting on account of the war that was going badly against the American colonies. Along with John Wan, Carey found himself listening to a powerful sermon at the Meeting House at Hackleton. The sermon, based on Hebrews 13:13, called for a complete commitment to Christ and it seems to have spoken directly to Carey. He came from the meeting convinced that he should leave the Church of England and identify himself with the Dissenters where he...
‘would find guidance along the way of the cross.’(8)

2.	Early growth and responsibilities
Another far-reaching consequence of this apprenticeship was that his master allowed him access to his books. This, in turn, led him to seek out a certain Tom Jones - a university drop-out - in order to gain an understanding of New Testament Greek. When, in 1769, Nichols died, Carey’s apprenticeship was transferred to a relative of his former master, Mr Thomas Old of Hackleton. He used to receive visits from Thomas Scott of Olney who expressed the following remark about
Carey:
‘I from the first thought young Carey an extraordinary person.’(9)
Before the age of2O, on 10th June, 1781, he had married his master’s sister-in-law, Dorothy Plackett. She was nearly six years older than he and her father was the leader of the Hackleton Meeting. There is no good reason to suspect that in these early years, at least, theirs was anything other than a happy marriage. Indeed, even later on, when Dorothy’s mental condition was so poor and the relationship under strain, Carey seems to have been a most considerate husband. Their first sorrow, however, came with the death of their first-born child. Ann died of a fever which troubled the entire family and almost proved fatal to Carey himself.
Despite such difficulties and great sorrows, Carey continued his studies and was preaching regularly. His views were still maturing but, among other books, he readily testified to the help he received from Robert Hall’s, ‘Help to Zion’s Travellers’. At about the same time his thoughts began to turn to believers’ baptism and he was eventually baptised in the River Nene at Northampton by John Ryland on 5th October, 1783.
On 31st December, 1783 Thomas Old died and Carey took over the business and the responsibility of caring for his master’s widow and four children. There could hardly have been a more inopportune time to do so. Trade was bad after Britain’s humiliating defeat in America, the winter of 1783/84 was one of the coldest on record and, on top of it all, Carey was seriously cheated by one of his customers.

8

THE MISSIONARY VISION

Nevertheless, during his years at Piddington, though undernourished and constantly struggling against persistent cough and fever, Carey endeavoured to scrape a living for seven. Then, in 1785, he had an opportunity to move to Moulton as preacher of a small Baptist community there. The church had been without a minister for ten years, services had become infrequent and the building had fallen into disrepair. His stipend was £10 per annum, supplemented by £5 from a London fund. He was no better off than he had been before, but he was initially able to supplement his income by teaching.

1.	The birth of his missionary vision
The origin of his interest in missions began at this time as he himself was later to disclose. He wrote:
‘My attention to Missions was first awakened after I was at Moulton,
 by reading the Last Voyage of Captain Cook’.(10)
Actually, his interest in Cook had first been aroused whilst still a schoolboy and he had followed the accounts of Cook’s voyages as they were published in the ‘Northampton Mercury’. However, in his new state of heart and mind this book became a revelation of human need. These ‘savages’ were God’s creatures in need of a Sovereign’s mercies. From that time he began reading and collecting all the information that he could about the peoples of those lands that knew nothing of the love of God in Jesus Christ. A large home-made map of the world was fixed to the schoolroom wall and on it he kept records of all the information that he had gathered from his studies. The church to which he was ministering prospered, but the school did not. Alas, the children deserted him and he had to return to shoemaking in order to supplement his income. Although a preacher at Moulton. he became a member of the Baptist Church in Olney on 14th July, 1785. The pastor was John Sutcliff Carey intimated that he wished to enter the ministry but. after hearing him preach, the members decided he needed a period of probation before ordination. This came on Wednesday, 1st August, 1787. In addition to Sutcliff, John Ryland and Andrew Fuller officiated.
He continued to devour every book on missions that he could. He read what he could of the exploits of pioneer missionaries, making careful notes on everything as he went along. Another important influence on his life at this time was Andrew Fuller’s, ‘The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation’. Published in 1784, on its title page stood the great missionary text: ‘Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.’ As a result of reading this work, it became immediately clear to him that if it was the duty of all men to believe the gospel, then it was also

	The Missionary Vision	9

the duty of those who had been entrusted with the gospel to seek to make it known to all nations. But this was still the eighteenth century. Prejudice, even within the circles among which he moved, was largely against such an exercise. What was he to do? It was just as clear. He must seek to arouse people to the need for mission, and the place to start was with the ministers.
In 1786 Carey was present at a ministers’ meeting at Northampton. Toward evening, when the public services were over and some were sitting in discussion, Mr Ryland Senr. invited one of the younger men to propose a subject for discussion. Carey suggested the following:
‘Whether the command given to the apostles to teach all nations was not obligatory on all succeeding ministers to the end of the world, seeing that the accompanying promise was of equal extent.’
The reply from the older man came like a thunderbolt:
‘Young man, sit down: when God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid or mine.’(11)
At least, this is how the matter was later reported by Mr Morris, minister of Clipstone, who was present at the meeting. It serves to provide some idea of the difficulties facing Carey even within his own constituency. The hyper-Calvinism of the day was more than capable of turning the sovereignty of God into a pretext for doing nothing.

2.	An advocate of world mission
Carey sat down discouraged, but not dissuaded. Instead, he embarked upon the task of educating all with whom he came into contact about the great need of missions. He preached about it to his little flock and echoes of the same concern were to be found in his public prayers. At several ministers’ meetings between 1787-90 this was his chief topic of conversation. Some of the older men in particular thought his was a wild and impracticable scheme, but he continued undaunted. Mary Drewery writes:
‘….he set down on paper a detailed analysis of the state of the world as he saw it, the need for missionary enterprise and the methods by which it should be carried out. In addition, he took in turn each of the arguments advanced against missionary endeavour and proceeded to demolish it.’(12)
This proved to be the first draft of the ‘Enquiry’. In it, the map on his wall became a weapon; its details became arrows. George Smith says of it:
‘The Enquiry has a literary interest of its own, as a contribution to the statistics and geography of the world, written in a cultured and almost finished style, such as few, if any, University men of that

10					William Carey			

day could have produced, for none were impelled by such a motive as Carey had.
In an obscure village, toiling save when he slept, and finding rest on Sunday only by a change of toil, far from the libraries and the society of men with more advantages than his own, this shoemaker, still under thirty, surveys the whole world, continent by continent, island by island race by race, faith by faith, kingdom by kingdom, tabulating his results with an accuracy, and following them up with a logical power of generalization, which would extort the admiration of the learned men even of the present day.’(13)
But we shall come to its content later.
While on a tour in Birmingham collecting funds for his little chapel at Moulton. he met a Mr Thomas Potts. A wealthy man, he promised to put up £10 towards the publication of the ‘Enquiry’. On his return he called in on John Ryland, Jnr. in Northampton. Fuller and Sutcliff were also present. They knew nothing of the pamphlet he had written. He earnestly sought them to write a book on the subject and in the warmth of his enthusiasm confessed that Mr Potts had promised £10 if he would publish such a work. They urged him to write, but not to be in too much of a hurry to publish. When, in a short while, he produced it for their examination and correction, they found little to alter, but still advised delay.
At approximately the same time
‘a wave of prayer was sweeping over the Baptist churches of the Midlands’ (14) 
Some ministers had been influenced by the writings of Jonathan Edwards. As a result of reading his ‘Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of God’s People in Extraordinary Prayer for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom on Earth’, a resolution had been formed at the annual meeting of the Ministers’ Association at Nottingham in 1784, to establish regular meetings to pray for ‘the revival of our churches and the spread of the gospel’. Such meetings were actually being held in many of the churches of the Northamptonshire and Leicestershire Association on the first Monday evening in every calendar month and, from 1786, the Midland Baptist Association followed their example; then Yorkshire joined in.
In February 1789 Carey received a call from Harvey Lane Chapel, Leicester. Many trials awaited him there, but...
‘firmness and tact, patience and faith, triumphed.’(15)
Radical surgery was employed and blessing followed. If anything, his workload
increased. An idea of Carey’s regular activity is inadvertently recorded for us in a letter written by him to his father and dated 12th November, 1790:

				The Missionary Vision		       11

‘On Monday I confine myself to the study of the learned languages, and oblige myself to translate something. On Tuesday to the study of science, history, composition, etc. On Wednesday I preach a lecture, and have been for more than twelve months on the Book of Revelation. On Thursday I visit my friends. Friday and Saturday are spent in preparing for the Lord’s Day, and the Lord’s Day in preaching the Word of God. Once a fortnight I preach three times at home; and once a fortnight 1 go to a neighbouring village in the evening. Once a month I go to another village on the Tuesday evening. My school begins at nine o’clock in the morning, and continues till four o’clock in winter and five in summer I have acted for this twelve month as secretary to the committee of dissenters; and am now to be regularly appointed to that office, with a salary. Add to this occasional journeys, ministers’ meetings, etc., and you will rather wonder that I have any time, than that I have so little.’
Then, this most telling comment which explains so much of Carey’s outlook:
‘I am not my own, nor would I choose for myself. Let God employ me where He thinks fit.’(16)
Yet, despite pastoral problems, domestic difficulties and a telling workload, his burden for the evangelisation of the world was not lessened. Fuller writes:
‘The other ministers...had been compelled to think of the subject by his repeatedly advancing it, and they became desirous of it, if it could be accomplished; but feeling the difficulty of setting out in an unbeaten path, their minds revolted at the idea of attempting it. It seemed to them something too great, and too much like grasping at an object utterly beyond their reach.’(17)
But this actually represented a considerable advance on the prejudice that had first greeted his concern in 1786. Now, at least, there was a company of men no longer opposed in principle to the notion. They just thought it impossible for the time being.
It was, in fact, Andrew Fuller who gave the decisive answer to this objection and fresh impetus to Carey’s vision. On 27th April, 1791 there was a meeting of the Northamptonshire and Leicestershire ministers at Clipstone at which Sutcliff and Fuller were preachers. No doubt both sermons were intended to bring the issue to a head. Sutcliff spoke of the ‘Zeal for the Lord of Hosts’ and Fuller’s text was Haggai 1:2. ‘Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.’ The title of his sermon was, The Instances, Evil Nature, and the Dangerous Tendency of Delay

12					William Carey				

in the Concerns of Religion’. In his introduction he points out that:
‘There is something of this procrastinating spirit running through a great part of life, and it is of great detriment to the work of God. We know of many things that should be done, and cannot in conscience directly oppose them; but still we find excuses for our inactivity.. ..We quiet ourselves with the thought that they need not be done just now.
This plea.. .prevents us from undertaking any great or good work for the cause of Christ or the good of mankind.... There are difficulties in the way, and we wait for their removal. We are very apt to indulge in a kind of prudent caution (as we call it) which foresees and magnifies difficulties beyond what they really are.... It becomes us to beware lest we account that impossible which only requires such a degree of exertion as we are not inclined to give it.... Perhaps the work requires expense.... Perhaps it requires concurrence, and we wait for everybody to be of one mind, which is never to be expected... Instead of waiting for the removal of difficulties, we ought, in many cases to consider them as purposely laid in our way in order to try the sincerity of our religion.’(18)
Later he goes on:
Let it be considered whether it is not owing to this principle that so few, and so feeble efforts have been made for the propagation of the Gospel in the world....Are the souls of men of less value than heretofore? No. Is Christianity less true or less important than in former ages? This will not be pretended. Are there no opportunities.. .to convey the Gospel to the heathen? This cannot be pleaded so long as opportunities are found to trade with them, yea, and (what is a disgrace to the name of Christianity!) to buy them and sell them, and treat them with worse than savage barbarity. We have opportunities in abundance: the improvement of navigation and the maritime and commercial turn of this country furnish us with these; and it deserves to be considered whether this is not a circumstance that renders it a duty particularly binding on us.
The truth is, we wait for we know not what: we seem to think ‘the time is not come, the time for the spirit to be poured down from on high’....We pray for the conversion of the world and yet we neglect the ordinary means by which it can be brought about... how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent?’(19)

				The Missionary Vision		       13

At the sermon’s close, Carey at once urged that the ministers present resolve to form a missionary society. But they still hesitated. Several adjourned to the manse to discuss Carey’s proposal. They sat up late into the night; so late as to require a second supper! Eventually, and partly to humour their enthusiastic brother, they recommended a revision of his book and its printing ‘for the consideration of the religious public’. He revised the manuscript.

3.	The content of the ‘Enquiry’
On the 24th May, 1791, less than a month after Fuller’s searching sermon at Clipstone, a company of ministers gathered at Carey’s chapel in Leicester to ordain him officially to the pastorate upon which he had entered almost two years before. At their request that evening Carey read to Fuller, Ryland, Sutcliff, Pearce (of Birmingham) and Hopper (of Nottingham) a good deal of his revised manuscript. It won their approval and within a year it was published under the title of, ‘An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use means for the Conversion of the Heathens, in which the religious state of the different nations of the world, the success of former undertakings, and the practicability of further undertakings, are considered.’ It is to the content of this pamphlet that we shall now turn.
This remarkable pamphlet was unique in every way. It was, says Walker,...
‘a reasoned statement of Christian obligation, of world needs, of existing opportunities, and practical proposals for the formation of a Missionary Society.’(20)
This reference to a reasoned statement is important. It is exactly this. Although Carey had a great passion for the cause he advocated it was not, as we shall see, a case of all heart, no head. This was not only a matter of seeing a need and trying to meet it, but essentially one of obedience to God and that which he had revealed in his Word.
A brief introduction explains the purpose and scope of the book. It begins irresistibly:
‘As our blessed Lord has required us to pray that his kingdom may come and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, it becomes us not only to express our desire of that event by words, but to use every lawful method to spread the knowledge of his name. In order to do this, it is necessary that we should become in some measure acquainted with the religious state of the world; and as this is an object we should be prompted to pursue not only by the gospel of the Redeemer, but even by the feelings of humanity.. conscientious activity therein would form one of the strongest proofs that we are the subjects of grace. (21)

14				William Carey				           

Here are Carey’s missionary motives: love for, and obedience to, the God who had redeemed him, and the state of the world without Christ. It is because of this twofold consideration that the people of God are obligated ‘to use every lawful method to spread the knowledge of his name’. He then succinctly outlines the scope of his work’s concern.
‘In order that the subject may be taken into more serious consideration, I shall enquire whether the commission given by our Lord to his disciples be not still binding on us - take a short view of former undertakings - give some account of the present state of the world - consider the practicability of doing something more than is done - and the duty of Christians in general in this matter.’(22)
His first section is headed, ‘An Enquiry whether the Commission given by our Lord to His disciples be not still binding on us’. Here in a few short sharp sentences, he answers the excuses that people were making in his day. His initial answer to those who suggest that ‘if God intends the salvation of the heathen, he will some way or other bring them to the Gospel, or the Gospel to them’ is with his own suggestion that this is really an excuse for the love of ease and the absence of compassion for their plight. Carey was supposed to have told the younger Ryland that this question was suggested by his father’s famous rebuke at the Northampton meeting more than five years earlier.
As for the argument that the command ‘to teach the nations’ was only intended for the apostles, then presumably so too was the command to baptise and the promise, ‘Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the world’. As for the difficulties, these had already been overcome by others. Roman Catholics had done so; and the Moravians were currently seeking to do so. Moreover, traders were not being put off from seeking their gain by the difficulties involved. And, if it really was bad to preach to them [remember that there were those in Britain who believed that upsetting the natives with religion was against their vested interests], then it must also be bad to pray for them. He even joins issue with those who speak about saving the ‘home heathen’ first!
Having argued that the commission given by our Lord to his original disciples was still binding on the Church, he moves on in the second section to survey missionary effort from the time of Pentecost to his own day. Beginning with the book of Acts, he takes in the traditional journeys of the apostles, the early fathers, and pioneer works carried on in England and Northern Europe. Even the Portuguese Jesuits get a mention. The sheer volume of information that he brings together in this section is simply breathtaking. When Carey turns to modern missions, he gives greater length to the works of John Eliot, David Brainerd and others among the North American Indians. He then takes in the Danish and Dutch missions,

				The Missionary Vision		        15

before closing with two short paragraphs on the Moravians and John Wesley.
In many ways the third section is the most remarkable of all. It is a careful survey of the whole world as then known. It contains 23 pages of statistical tables; a monument to his prodigious industry and indefatigable patience. Every table consists of five columns covering details such as the name of the country or island, its length and breadth, the number of inhabitants and details of each nation’s religion. His plodding is clearly in evidence. He covers even the tiniest islands. He then proceeds to analyse each in turn. This compilation is certainly not the result of guesswork. The whole section provides evidence of wide and painstaking research.
The fourth section takes up the question of ‘the practicability of something being done for the conversion of the heathen’. He recognises the seriousness of some of the difficulties involved. He is very much aware of the fact that to many he and his concerns are simply those of a wild enthusiast. Nevertheless, not only does he provide cogent reasons for not allowing some of these difficulties to deter, but also he is not slow in drawing attention to some of the truer motives residing in the hearts of many against the work.
The first difficulty envisaged is simply the distance of some of these peoples that he would have evangelised from his own countrymen. He readily acknowledges that this would have been a problem but for the invention of the mariner’s compass that now allows men to...
‘sail with as much certainty through the great South Sea as they can through the Mediterranean or any lesser sea’.(23)
Moreover, he urges them to recognise the beckoning hand of Providence in the fact that commercial traders have been sent on ahead, blazing a trial before them. Ships had already been sent to explore places of recent discovery and parts unknown. And, he argues,...
‘every fresh account of their ignorance, or cruelty, should call forth our pity, and excite us to concur with providence in seeking their eternal good’(24)
Drawing on Isaiah 60:9 he argues that Scripture itself seems to point to this as a method by which God carries on his work. He sends the traders out in order that others with far better wares may follow.
The second difficulty has to do with the people to whom they were being exhorted to go and, in particular, ‘their uncivilised and barbarous way of living’. This, he thought, was a poor argument for not going to them with the gospel. Indeed, according to Carey, this should be seen as a positive incentive to go. This excuse, he argues, can really only be an objection for those...
‘whose love of ease renders them unwilling to expose themselves to

16				William Carey					

inconvenience for the good of others’(25)
Certainly, he goes on to say, such...
‘was no objection to the apostles and their successors, who went among the barbarous Germans and Gauls, and still more barbarous Britons’!(26)
And what’s more, it had not stopped traders, whose only interest was for temporal profit. There is an understandable degree of sarcasm here from a man who has struggled at starvation level in order to be of service to God. But there is an even greater reason for not being hindered by such things: compassion. It will also serve, as it had done among those to whom Eliot and Brainerd had ministered, to ennoble these very people. He writes:
‘Can we as men or as Christians, hear that a great part of our fellow- creatures, whose souls are as immortal as ours, and who are as capable as ourselves of adorning the gospel and contributing by their preachings, writings, or practices to the glory of our Redeemer’s name and the good of his church, are enveloped in ignorance and barbarism? Can we hear that they are without the gospel, without government, without laws, and without arts, and sciences; and not exert ourselves to introduce among them the sentiments of men, and of Christians? Would not the spread of the gospel be the most effectual means of their civilisation? Would not that make them useful members of society?’ (27)
The third difficulty was, of course, the very real possibility of being killed by the people to whom he was proposing they should go. It will be remembered that Captain Cook had been killed in 1779. His response was that,...
‘it is true that whoever does go must put his life in his hand, and not consult with flesh and blood; but do not the goodness of the cause the duties incumbent on us as the creatures of God and Christians, and the perishing state of our fellow-men, loudly call upon us to venture all, and use every warrantable exertion for their benefit?’(28)
And, in any case, the thought of being killed had not deterred the apostles. Had not Paul and Barnabas hazarded their lives for the sake of the gospel? Had not Eliot, Brainerd and the Moravians done the very same thing?
He also questioned whether these people to whom they were going were really as bad as they had been painted. He believed that it was quite likely that much of the barbarities practised upon those who had visited the so-called savages were more often than not acts of self-defence rather than proofs of a ferocious disposition. Many of the missionaries he had already mentioned had seldom been molested and therefore he seriously wondered whether the problems encountered or

				The Missionary Vision		      17

anticipated were not more the result of the peoples coming into contact with the vices of nominal Christians.
The fourth difficulty was that of providing for the necessities of life. It was true, he replied that it may prove difficult to eat European food, but they could, after all, procure and subsist on that which satisfies the natives. Even in this, he says,...
‘A Christian minister is a person who in a peculiar sense is not his own; he is the servant of God, and therefore ought to be wholly devoted to him. By entering on that sacred office he solemnly undertakes to be always engaged, as much as possible, in the Lord’s work, and not to choose his own pleasure, or employment, or pursue the ministry as a something that is to subserve his own ends, or interests, or as a kind of bye-work. He engages to go where God pleases, and to do or endure what he sees fit to command, or call him to, in the exercise of his function. He virtually bids farewell to friends, pleasures, and comforts, and stands in readiness to endure the greatest sufferings in the work of his Lord, and Master. It is inconsistent for ministers to please themselves with thoughts of a numerous auditory, cordial friends, a civilised country, legal protection, affluence, splendour, or even a competency. The slights, and hatred of men, and even pretended friends, gloomy prisons, and tortures, the society of barbarians of uncouth speech, miserable accommodations in wretched wildernesses, hunger, and thirst, nakedness, weariness, and painfulness, hard work, and but little worldly encouragement, should rather be the objects of their expectation. (29)
And with this in mind, he seriously questions whether all ministers are justified in staying in this country while so many are perishing without means of grace in other lands. He continues:
‘Sure I am that it is entirely contrary to the spirit of the gospel for its ministers to enter upon it from interested motives, or with great expectations. On the contrary, the commission is a sufficient call to them to venture all, and, like the primitive Christians, go everywhere preaching the gospel.’(30)
When we remember his poverty, it is easy to see how this could not be regarded as too serious a problem. Nevertheless, he does provide this further practical suggestion:
‘It might be necessary...for two, at least, to go together, and in general I should think it best that they should be married men, and

18	William Carey				

to prevent their time from being employed in procuring necessaries, two or more other persons, with their wives and families, might also accompany them, who should be wholly employed in providing for them.’(31)
He then goes on to outline his plans for a small community of men, accompanied by their wives and children, all working for the common good. They could cultivate a small plot of land as a resource when supplies failed and, of course, they would be company for each other. It is also more likely that they would become self- supporting far more quickly; an important issue as far as Carey was concerned. It was with this end in mind that they should possess practical skills and the implements for carrying them out. Much of this strategy was to become a reality at Serampore.
The final difficulty was ‘the unintelligibleness of their languages’. Remember, that by this time the shoemaker/pastor had already mastered six languages [Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, French and Dutch]! His response to this was that in the early stages at least they should employ the same methods as do nations in similar circumstances seeking to engage in trade with each other: they should use interpreters. But missionaries are to be patient and mingle with the population with a view to learning the language as quickly as possible. In his view, this should not be too difficult to accomplish. He writes:
‘It is well known to require no very extraordinary talents to learn, in the space of a year, or two at most, the language of any people upon earth, so much of it at least as to be able to convey any sentiments we wish to their understandings. (32)
Carey then closes this section with one and a half pages on personal qualifications for missionary service. As this is so important to matters to which we shall later return, we shall quote a larger section of it:
‘The missionaries must be men of great piety, prudence, courage, and forbearance; of undoubted orthodoxy in their sentiments, and must enter with all their hearts into the spirit of their mission; they must be willing to leave all the comforts of life behind them, and to encounter all the hardships of a torrid or a frigid climate, an uncomfortable manner of living, and every other inconvenience that can attend this undertaking... .They must be very careful not to resent injuries which may be offered to them, nor to think highly of themselves, so as to despise the poor heathens, and by those means lay a foundation for their resentment or rejection of the gospel. They must take every opportunity of doing them good, and labouring and travelling night and day, they must instruct, exhort, and rebuke,

	The Missionary Vision	19

with all long suffering and anxious desire for them, and, above all, must be instant in prayer for the effusion of the Holy Spirit upon the people of their charge. Let but missionaries of the above description engage in the work, and we shall see that it is not impracticable.
It might likewise be of importance, if God should bless their labours, for them to encourage any appearances of gifts amongst the people of their charge; if such should be raised up many advantages would be derived from their knowledge of the language and customs of their countrymen; and their change of conduct would give great weight to their ministrations.’(33)
One might imagine that Carey would have been content to conclude at this point, but he is not quite finished. He knows that it is one thing to demonstrate the obligation and answer objections to its implementation, but it requires more if this vision is to become a reality. Therefore, the fifth and final section of his pamphlet goes on to make a practical application of his theme. How is the work to be done? How is it to be set in place and carried on? Essentially his answer is twofold: prayer and effort. There must be fervent, definite and united prayer. This is how absolute dependence on God is expressed and the only real hope of the success of any venture, let alone this one. Much had already been learned in this respect in getting thus far; it was not to be forgotten now, nor in the years that lie ahead.
But prayer was not to stand alone. He continues:
‘We must not be contented however with praying, without exerting ourselves in the use of means for the obtaining of those things we pray for.’ (34)
Once again he draws on the analogy of the trading company:
‘When a trading company have obtained their charter they usually go to its utmost limits; and their stocks, their ships, their officers, and men are so chosen and regulated as to be likely to answer their purpose; but they do not stop here, for encouraged by the prospects of success, they use every effort, cast their bread upon the waters, cultivate friendship with every one from whose information they expect the least advantage. They cross the widest seas and encounter the most unfavourable climates., and sometimes undergo the most affecting hardships....
Christians are a body whose truest interest lies in the exaltation of the Messiah’s Kingdom. Their charter is very extensive, their encouragements exceedingly great... .Let then every one in his station consider himself as bound to act with all his might, and in every possible way for God.’ (35)
20	William Carey				

But how? Through the establishment of a missionary society that would have responsibility for planning and directing the work, collecting funds and sending forth the missionaries. He proposed that the Particular Baptists should proceed to form a society of their own and make a start. His choice of this body of believers was not suggested by any narrowness of outlook, but rather because he recognised the reality of things as they were. He says:
‘...in the present divided state of Christendom, it would be more likely for good to be done by each denomination engaging separately in the work....There is room enough for us all….’. (36)
Even though he wanted works established to be self-supporting as quickly as possible he knew, in view of the vastness of the task and the immediate needs, that money would have to be raised. He proposed that this should be done by rich Christians devoting a portion of their wealth to the work and that people in moderate circumstances should give a tenth of their income to it. Those who were poor should contribute...
‘one penny or more per week according to their circumstances’. (37)
Ever with a social conscience, he was aware that some Christians were protesting against the slave trade by not using sugar which was being obtained through this means. This, he estimated, was saving some families between sixpence and a shilling each week. Why not devote such savings to missionary work?
Then comes the final appeal: ‘Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.’
‘What treasure, what an harvest must await such characters as Paul, and Eliot, and Brainerd. . ..What a heaven will it be to see the many myriads of poor heathens, of Britons among the rest, who by their labours have been brought to the knowledge of God. Surely a crown of rejoicing like this is worth aspiring to. Surely it is worth while to lay ourselves out with all our might in promoting the cause and kingdom of Christ.’ (38)
And with this he finishes. Well, not quite.

4.	The formation of the missionary society
The publication of the ‘Enquiry’ was, of course, but a means to an end. Unless he could press home its message, and secure the formation of the society it advocated, all would still be lost. And so, in the spring of 1792 there was a meeting of the Baptist Ministers’ Association at Nottingham and Carey was appointed its preacher. In the Baptist Chapel in Park Street, Nottingham he announced his text as Isaiah 54:2,3:
‘Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains

				The Missionary Vision		        21

of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; for thou shalt break forth on thy right Ii and and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.’
After a brief introduction, he took up what he regarded as the spirit of the passage in two memorable exhortations: ‘Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.’ It drew from the younger Ryland the following comment:
‘It was as if the sluices of his soul were thrown fully open and the flood that had been accumulating for years rushed forth in full volume and irresistible power... If all the people had lifted up their voices and wept.. .1 should not have wondered at the effect, it would have only seemed proportionate to the cause; so clearly did he prove the criminality of our supineness in the cause of God.’(39)
The following morning the ministers met alone for their usual conference and Carey’s proposal that they form a society came up for discussion. However, the enthusiasm of the day before had already passed and, once again, the practical difficulties seemed everything. They felt that the whole venture was beyond their ability. They again concluded that the proposal was impossible. In distress, Carey seized Fuller’s arm and, with obvious emotion, enquired whether they were to part once again without doing anything definite. A sudden change came over the whole meeting. After further discussion, and passionate pleading from Carey, it was decided to place on their minutes the following resolution:
‘A plan be prepared against the next ministers’ meeting for forming a Baptist Society for propagating the gospel among the heathens.’(40)
On 2nd October, 1792 the autumn meeting of the Association was held in Fuller’s chapel in Kettering, Northamptonshire. In the evening twelve ministers, a student and a layman met to discuss the missionary scheme. Still they wavered. It was not that they were unsympathetic to Carey’s vision, but most still felt that the time was not right. A long series of wars, culminating in the loss of the American colonies, had impoverished the country. France had descended into anarchy and even England was somewhat restless. The project itself would cost a great deal of money and they only represented the Particular Baptists in Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire, and their congregations were mainly made up of peasants. But, as this small gathering was again on the brink of hesitation, Carey made another opportune appeal. He pulled from his pocket a little volume entitled, ‘Periodical Account of Moravian Missions’ and, pointing to it, declared:
‘If only you had read this and knew how these men overcame all obstacles for Christ’s sake, you would go forward in faith!’ (41)

22	William Carey				

The effect was immediate and overwhelming. The Minute Book for that day contains the following resolutions:
‘1. Desirous of making an effort for the propagation of the gospel among the heathen, agreeably to what is recommended in brother Carey’s late publication on that subject, we, whose names appear to the subsequent subscription, do solemnly agree to act in society together for that purpose.
2. As in the present divided state of Christendom it seems that each denomination, by exerting itself separately, is most likely to accomplish the great ends of a mission, it is agreed that this society be called The Particular Baptist Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen.
3. As such an undertaking must needs be attended with expense, we agree immediately to open a subscription for the above purpose, and to recommend it to others. [There then follows a list containing the names of twelve ministers and one layman and the initial sum contributed to the enterprise. John Ryland and Reynold Hogg lead the way with two guineas; five others and Mr Joseph Timms donate one guinea; and the rest subscribe ten shillings and sixpence. A total of £13.2s.6d].
4. Every person who shall subscribe ten pounds at once or ten shillings and sixpence annually, shall be considered a member of the society.
5. That the Revs. John Ryland, Reynold Hogg, William Carey, John Sutcliff, and Andrew Fuller be appointed a Committee, three of whom shall be empowered to act in carrying into effect the purposes of this society.
6. That the Rev. Reynold Hogg be appointed treasurer, and the Rev. Andrew Fuller, secretary.
7. That the subscriptions be paid in at the Northampton ministers’ meeting, October 3 1st, 1792, at which time the subject shall be considered more particularly by the Committee, and other subscribers who may be present.’ (42)
No money was actually collected at the meeting just described. Instead, promises were collected on slips of paper and placed in Andrew Fuller’s tobacco box. Incidently, this box had a relief picture of the conversion of Paul, the missionary to Gentiles on its lid! Some might think that appropriate! One of the interesting features of the subscribers list is the absence of Carey’s name on it. It may simply have been that he was too poor to do so. Alternatively, it is to be remembered that

				The Missionary Vision		       23

he had already donated the proceeds from his pamphlet. Whatever the reason, he was soon to ‘give himself away’

5.	Turning resolutions into action
We are nearly at the end of our story. Nevertheless, as everyone who has ever been involved in such meetings and passed resolutions knows, such activities alone do not get anything done. The great feature of the resolution was that it was a resolution to act. As we know, William Carey was at the forefront of this action too. Up until this point his task had been to convince ministers of their obligation and bring them to a determination to act. Now sufficient money must be raised in order that the enterprise may proceed. The great difference now, of course, was that he had colleagues who were willing to throw themselves unsparingly into it. Ryland, Fuller, Sutcliff, Pearce and Carey were to meet to discuss ways and means.
Carey and Fuller were not present at the first appointed meeting, but donations were already to hand totalling £88.l8s. At the second such gathering, also held in Northampton, they considered foreign policy. Questions were discussed on the qualifications for missionaries, those who were known and thought to be qualified, the regulations to be adopted concerning them, and the parts of the world to which they should immediately turn their attention. It was soon after this that John Thomas was brought to their attention. He had already been to India as a doctor with the Royal Navy and stayed on to minister as a free-lance doctor and evangelist. He became the new society’s first missionary. When a volunteer was sought to be ‘a suitable companion’ it was, not surprisingly, William Carey that volunteered.
At first, his church was unwilling to lose him. His father thought him mad. Even his wife was determined not to accompany him. Yet such was Carey’s commitment that he was even prepared to go without her! The rights and wrongs of this have been debated ever since. What no one can deny is that here was a man prepared and suited to the task. He had already been an inspiration to others and was now willing to give himself without hesitation, and wholeheartedly, to a work to which he was persuaded God had called him.

24

THE VISION IN PRACTICE

In many ways the next part of Carey’s story is the most exciting and challenging aspect of his life and vision, but it is not that on which we have chosen to concentrate. We have deliberately chosen to concentrate on those events which contributed to the implementation of his vision. Nevertheless, something ought to be said concerning the way he sought to put his theories into practice.
Although undoubtedly grieved by his wife’s unwillingness to accompany him, and after many ploys to secure her agreement, Carey embarked on a hectic speaking and fund-raising tour with John Thomas for the new mission. Due to creditors of John Thomas, the journey to India was delayed. This proved a happy intervention as far as Carey was concerned, for it was long enough for Dorothy to have her baby and be persuaded to accompany her husband. A five-month journey through violent storms concluded with their arrival in India on 19th November, 1793. Theirs was not, however, a warm welcome as missionaries were generally unwelcome. And those, like this group, that had arrived without securing the appropriate licence, were even less welcome than others.

1.	Early years in India
As a consequence, the early years in India were very difficult. Even the immediate start was somewhat auspicious and not only because they had arrived without visas. They had some difficulty finding accommodation; at least, the Careys did. John Thomas was able to secure accommodation in the city of Calcutta; the Careys had to settle for a malaria-infested marsh outside. Housing, food and health care were hopelessly inadequate. Just one year after their arrival, five-year-old Peter succumbed to dysentery. This proved to be a trauma that Dorothy was unable to endure. Her already unstable mental condition deteriorated. She was later described by a missionary as ‘wholly deranged’ and eventually died in 1807.
These years must have taxed even the staying power of Carey to the absolute limit. After seven years of struggle including language study, itinerant preaching and secular employment at an indigo factory - Carey was unable to claim one Indian convert. Yet in many respects this was a most fruitful period. He acquired a remarkable grasp of the language, translated a large portion of the New Testament into Bengali, planted a tiny non-Indian church in Malda, and had made the name of Christ known throughout much of Northern Bengal. But these small beginnings were soon to give way to something far better with the crucial move at the end of the nineteenth century to Serampore. In this Danish colony he was also out of reach of the troublesome East India Company.

				The Vision in Practice			       25

2.	Serampore
The move to Serampore in 1800 was largely precipitated by the arrival of the first new party of missionaries from England. It was a decisive move that multiplied opportunities for the struggling Baptist Missionary Society. Serampore was a more densely populated area than North Bengal and within a year Carey and his colleagues were able to report the conversion of two Indian nationals. By 1803 there were 25 baptised converts. Still the work was slow. Nevertheless, by 1818 some 600 had been baptised and a few thousand were regularly attending classes and services.
One of the most important developments with this move was the emphasis that Carey gave to translating the Scriptures. The missionary base at Serampore became something of a linguistic centre. With the help of Indian teachers, a truly amazing quantity of work was completed. He completed six translations of the entire Bible (Bengali, Sanskrit, Oriya, Hindi, Assamese and Marathi) and portions of the New Testament into nearly 30 additional languages. Another priority of this period was the establishment of an indigenous church. This was very much tied up with his translation work as he was convinced that the availability of the Scriptures would pave the way for a strong and indigenous church. Allied to this was a great emphasis on the training of nationals. Indeed, the first convert, Krishna Pal, was to serve as an effective evangelist in Calcutta and Assam.
In many ways Carey was far ahead of his time. It can be seen particularly in his emphasis on training nationals, and his use of women. The task of evangelising India was enormous and Carey quickly recognised that women would be needed if they were to reach Indian women who were generally secluded from the outside world and beyond the reach of male missionaries. But then again, it is quite evident that he was prepared to use anyone in this great task. As a teacher in Fort William College he would employ his non-Christian colleagues and students in translation work. Even his sons were not spared. At thirteen he set Jabez learning Chinese in order to help with translation. Felix was preaching at sixteen and his teenage son, William, was distributing literature. Other missionary children were also normally active in the cause.
Although a supporter of that which was good and useful in Indian culture, unlike some in today’s missionary movement, Carey was not unwilling to criticise, and even condemn, those aspects of the culture which he believed offended God. For example, he protested loudly against infanticide, child prostitution and sati [widow burning]. In doing so he aided Hindu reformers who were able to influence legislation banning these practices. Carey, of course, had his critics. Many did not agree with his willingness to translate Eastern literature. There were also those who were unhappy about his willingness to allow non-Christians into Serampore
26	William Carey				

College which was essentially established in 1819 for the training of indigenous church planters and evangelists.
Another important part of his outlook concerned his belief that missionaries should be as economically self-supporting as soon as possible. During his early years in India he had worked as a factory foreman. Later, he was a well-paid language professor at Fort William College in Calcutta. And, in addition, the Serampore mission was supported by funds from its boarding school. The mission itself operated on a communitarian basis, which allowed for funds not needed for living expenses to be used for the expansion of mission work. The important thing to remember about all this, however, is that all these activities were subservient to, and pursued in, the interests of the greater work of making the gospel known as far and wide as possible.
Even that which we have so briefly outlined draws attention to the fact that that which was done in India between 1793-1834 was not the work of Carey alone. Indeed, without the able assistance and harmony between himself, Joshua Marshman and William Ward nothing like that which was done could have been accomplished. Together they were the backbone of the mission. He spoke warmly of their hard work and harmony. A harmony that was shattered when, after 15 years at Serampore, young missionaries arriving from England balked at the practice of communitananism and authoritarian control by the senior missionaries. The result was a temporary split that deeply grieved the self-sacrificing and peace-loving Carey.
Under God, of course, much of Carey’s success was related to his personality and character. He once boasted that he could ‘plod’ and this was ably demonstrated when a warehouse fire destroyed not only valuable paper and equipment, but irreplaceable manuscripts. Had he been made of different stuff, he may well have never recovered. Instead, he accepted this as the will of God and immediately began the arduous task of redoing some of the translations that had been lost. The news of the fire made Carey’s name a household word in England. Not only were large sums of money being sent from well-wishers of every evangelical denomination, but there was even a request for a portrait of the missionary. It caused Fuller to pen the following warning to Carey:
‘The fire has given your undertaking a celebrity which nothing else, it seems, could; a celebrity which makes me tremble. The public is now giving us their praises. Eight hundred guineas have been offered for Dr Carey’s likeness! If we inhale this incense, will not God withhold his blessing, and then where are we? Ought we not to tremble? Surely, all need more grace to go through good report than through evil....

				The Vision in Practice			      27

When the people ascribed ‘ten thousands to David’, it wrought envy in Saul, and proved a source of long and sore affliction. If some new trials were to follow, I should not be surprised; but, if we be kept humble and near to God, we have nothing to fear.’ (43)
This proved a timely warning, for many of Carey’s most difficult trials were still to come. We have neither the time nor space to record them here, but this letter itself gives some insight into the spirit that prevailed both with Carey and his friend, Andrew Fuller. In Fuller, Carey had a faithful and able apologist for the mission. When, however, in 1815 he died then difficulties that had simmered for some time concerning the relationship between the work in Serampore and the home Committee came to a head. It was to lead in 1826 to a temporary separation. Although this tie was later re-established, that, and the long years given to India, had detrimentally left their mark on Carey’s health.
He continued to work, however, to within two years of his eventual death. From July 1833, with his health evidently declining, he suffered a series of strokes which, for a while left him paralyzed. Through all this his third wife, Grace, cared for him devotedly. He much enjoyed being wheeled around the garden in which he still took such great delight. The following June he died peacefully and was buried at Serampore alongside the tomb of his much-loved second wife, Charlotte. At his request, a simple tablet marked his grave bearing the words:

William Carey
Born August 17th, 1761
Died June 9th, 1834
A wretched, poor, and helpless worm,
On Thy kind arms I fall.

28
THE CHALLENGE OF CAREY’S ‘ENQUIRY’

In concluding this lecture, it is to the ‘Enquiry’ that we must briefly return. It was, as we have said, an amazing work. The zeal with which its vision was pursued by Carey both in gaining its acceptance and implementing its policies is something that ought still to call forth our admiration. A study of his life would appear to reveal that that which he had written in 1792 was essentially the pattern he followed in his labours, especially at Serampore. If there were differences between the written document and the practice they were almost all simply a matter of emphasis; experience adding fresh insight to the principles already set out. But one of the most remarkable things about the work is that there was little need to rewrite what he had previously written when it came to practic.e Of course., this was largely due to his conviction that the principles themselves were biblical. Therefore, there was no need to be feverishly looking for a fresh gimmick; one that would change everything and bring in success. He was committed to that which he understood to be right; content to leave the consequences with God. And when things seemed to go against him, he was more willing to suspect himself than he was the methodology. He was, after all, God’s servant.
Now, from the man, his concern and method, we can still learn, or re-learn, a great deal today. We cannot possibly draw attention to all that we might, but it would be a dereliction of duty not to draw attention to certain basic concerns as expressed in this pamphlet which we would do well to heed in our day concerning his missionary vision.

1.	The obligation
Now it may hardly seem necessary for us to draw attention to the most fundamental concern of Carey’s ‘Enquiry’, that of obligation. After all, this is not the eighteenth century and we have had two hundred years of missionary endeavour since his day, and much good has already been done. Moreover, the work itself continues with much still being done that has both its origin and support from these shores. Nevertheless, our current position may not be quite as comfortable as we would like to imagine. If funds are any sort of barometer for the health of our interest in the work of missions, then we may be in more trouble than we have hitherto thought. Certainly, a good number of the missionary agencies based in this country are finding it difficult to continue, let alone expand. It is also noticeable that attendance at missionary meetings is no longer what once it was.
Now we realise that other factors may well come into the equation. It may well be, as some claim, that the evangelical cause is in decline in this country; that funds are simply not available as once they were. It may be, as is increasingly
	The Challenge of Carey’s ‘Enquiry’	29

heard, that there are now so many heathen’ on our own doorsteps that our attention should be directed toward them, rather than those abroad. For others, it may well seem appropriate to delay going to other shores until we have the revival that will guarantee success.
The trouble with these arguments is that they sound very much like the kind of things Carey was hearing in his day. At times it must have seemed to him that he was the only one interested in the evangelisation of the lost nations of the world. Yet smallness did not stop him. Neither did the fact of a very real need in this land. It is true that the need here is great.
Nevertheless, for example, in comparison with the rest of the continent of Europe, we are still very rich. We may be trading off the last throes of our legacy, but we are still under an obligation and we know of no better way of improving our own situation than by being faithful to the obligations that are currently ours.
We know that there may yet be still other reasons why missionary agencies may be somewhat out in the cold these days. There may simply be too many of them. It may be that there has been, in some cases, a breakdown in trust between churches and agencies. It could well be that some reformation is long overdue concerning the relationship between churches and agencies. It may even be that some doubt whether there exists a biblical basis or rationale for mission agencies at all. All these are legitimate areas for discussion and Carey has much to teach us in these areas too. However, none ought to have the effect of denying the obligation. And, as Carey recognised, ministers of the churches have a particular responsibility to make these needs known to those under their charge; to ever keep before their minds and hearts the urgent need of those who have never heard the gospel.

2.	The work itself
A second area of challenge for some of us has to do with the nature of the ~vork itself. To suggest that interest and support of missionary work in this country is in decline is really only part of the story. The fact is that large sums of money still leave these shores every year in the name of missionary endeavour which for some of us is not, strictly speaking, missionary work. Increasing numbers of people are still leaving these shores to take up what by now is almost unquestioned missionary activity, but it is not to preach the gospel. It is not even primarily to preach the gospel. It is to serve; to serve in hospitals and schools, in social and political arenas. And, by comparison, there is hardly any shortage of funds for such activities.
Perhaps part of the problem is with the term ‘missionary’ itself. Not being a biblical word, perhaps it is inevitable that it should be put to use in a way that was not originally envisaged. Traditionally, in evangelical circles, it was a word

30				William Carey					

associated with the activities of our Lord’s early disciples as they attempted to begin the work of ‘going into all the world to preach the gospel’. Today it is used to cover just about anything that is done by Christians in any country other than his or her own. This, we are persuaded, is, at best, regrettable; at worst, it is mischievous. How so? Because the inevitable tendency is for the preaching of the gospel to end up taking second place to humanitarian concern. It does so in terms of man-power; it does so in terms of funds; it does so in terms of church interest and participation.
It is not that we are against the good being done by Christians all over the world. We praise God for it and them. It is not that we do not recognise in them faithful servants of God doing his will and to his glory. It is not that we are opposed to Christians who are missionaries in the traditional sense dirtying their hands in the very real problems faced by needy men and women in the third, or any other, world. It is that we are convinced that the work of the church is essentially something other. It is almost as an aside, by accident, that she finds herself involved in these other matters. She is commissioned to fulfil another work; a work that no one else is either interested in, or qualified to perform: the preaching of the gospel to needy sinners that they might be properly prepared for an everlasting state. It is a question of priority. It may even be a question of mandate. This is what she is called to do and all else must be subservient to it.
Now we know that William Carey was interested and involved in many things. He was not an obscurantist. He was not unconcerned about the social, educational and environmental needs of those to whom he ministered. But we are persuaded that all these interests and concerns were subservient to this greater work of proclaiming the gospel. Stephen Neill, for example, summarizes Carey’s work as...
‘a five- pronged advance, with equal attention directed to each of the five elements: (1) the widespread preaching of the Gospel by every possible [we would probably prefer the word ‘permissible’] method; (2) the support of the preaching by the distribution of the Bible in the languages of the country [and where the Bible is in place we would probably advocate the use of good Christian literature]; (3) the establishment at the earliest possible moment of a Church; (4) a profound study of the background and thought of the non-Christian peoples; (5) the training at the earliest possible moment of an indigenous ministry [by our day we would want this to be a priority].’ (44)

This is the vision of missionary work that we need urgently to recapture.

			The Challenge of Carey’s ‘Enquiry’		       31

3.	The men the work requires
Finally, if we are to encourage the sending of missionaries to other lands, and if we are to encourage nationals to aspire to this work, what kind of people ought they to be? The first answer to give is that they are to be the best. This work Carey believed was quite simply the highest to which any person could aspire. Indeed, when in 1814 his son Felix resigned from his missionary labours in order to become ambassador in Calcutta for the King of Burma, Carey wrote home lamenting that...
‘Felix is shrivelled from a missionary into an ambassador.’(45)
What is needed is not simply a greater number of people willing to do the work, but more who in heart and mind and life are like William Carey. But how are we to recognise such? Let us remind ourselves again of the yardstick set out in a few lines of the ‘Enquiry’:
‘The missionaries must be men of great piety, prudence, courage and forbearance; of undoubted orthodoxy in their sentiments, and must enter with all their hearts into the spirit of their mission; they must be willing to leave all the comforts of life behind them, and to encounter all the hardships of a torrid or a frigid climate, an uncomfortable manner of living, and every other inconvenience that can attend this undertaking.’ (46)
In other words, they are to be people known for their Christian character and convictions, and a willingness to give themselves wholeheartedly to a life of self-denial. Moreover, it ought to be said that all these characteristics should, in meaningful measure, be evident in those who aspire to such work before they leave the land of their birth. Such qualities are not suddenly discovered once the aeroplane has touched down on some distant tarmac and the work is expected to begin. Carey himself was largely the man that he was because he had been well-prepared by life and grace before leaving for India. Moreover, his was not merely a desire to preach, but a concern to reach lost and dying souls. Once again, the evidence of his commitment to their welfare is seen before he ever reached them in the way he collected every detail that he possibly could about their circumstances, spread these concerns before the Lord in prayer, and before men on every possible occasion.
There was also in his character a commitment to duty; something we fear is largely lost on a generation that has probably had things far too comfortable for its own, and others’, good. For Carey, however, this commitment to duty meant that when the going got incredibly tough, and the sorrows and disappointments were multiplying, there was no talk of giving up. Duty held him. He believed in hard work and expected that the way would be difficult. And yet even this outlook was

32				William Carey					

borne of a genuine realism, rather than a pessimistic or depressive disposition. The only success he sought was that he should be faithful to God and the work entrusted to him; the only failure that he shunned was that of not doing what needed to be done. Indeed, much of his own attitude is revealed in a letter written to another son in 1808. William Jnr. was but twenty, newly-wed, and posted to a remote area well- known for its gangs of violent robbers and wild animals. He had been gored by a buffalo and wrote to his father asking to return to Serampore. Among other things, his father’s reply contained the following admonition:
‘I ought, however, to say that I think there is much guilt in your fears. You and Mary will be a thousand times more safe in committing yourselves to God in the way of duty than in neglecting obvious duty to take care of yourselves.’ (47)
His commitment to duty and his great confidence in God were, of course, rooted in his conviction that God was sovereign in all things. This was not only so when things seemed to run in his favour, but when providence seemed against him. This is nowhere more clearly seen than in his response to the fire that undid much work; some of it irreplaceable. In a letter to Dr Ryland he states:
‘The Lord has smitten us, he had a right to do so, and we deserve his corrections. I wish to submit to His sovereign will, nay cordially to acquiesce therein, and to examine myself rigidly to see what in me has contributed to this evil.’ (48)
This same attitude is evident again when as a sixty-two-year-old he found himself sending the following advice to a young missionary just commencing his labours:
‘Remember three things. First, that it is your duty to preach the Gospel to every creature; second, remember that God has declared that His word shall accomplish that for which it is sent; third, that He can as easily remove the present seemingly formidable obstacles as we can move the smallest particles of dust.’ (49)
This is the kind of Christian that is needed in every walk of life, but particularly so on the mission field.

	William Carey	33

Notes

1.	Tucker R., From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983, p114
2.	Neill S., A History of Christian Missions, London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1978, p26
3.	Quoted from Walker F.D., William Carey: Missionary Pioneer and Statesman,
London:	SCM, 1926, p100
4.	Kane J.H., A Concise History of the Christian World Mission, Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House, 1982, p85
5.	Quoted from Drewery M., William Carey, London: Hodder and Stoughton.
1978, p25
6.	Dakin A., William Carey: Shoemaker, Linguist, Missionary, London: The
Carey Press, n.d., p12
7.	Quoted from Drewery, op.cit., p16
8.	ibid., p19
9.	ibid., p20
10.	Quoted from Walker, op.cit., p56
11.	Drewery, op.cit., p31
12.	ibid., p31
13.	Smith G., The Life of William Carey D.D.: Shoemaker and Missionary, London: John Murray, 1885, pp32,33 
14.	Walker, op.cit., p67
15.	ibid., p73
16.	ibid., pp72,73
17.	ibid., p74
18.	Fuller A., The Complete Works, London: Henry G. Bohn, pp550,55l
19.	ibid., p551
20.	Walker, op.cit., p79
21.	Carey W., An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Every Means for the Conversion of the Heathens (1792), New facsimile edition 1961, Oxford:	Baptist Missionary Society, 1991, p31
22.	ibid., p33
23.	ibid., p93
24.	ibid., pp93,94
25.	ibid., p94
26.	ibid., p94
27.	ibid., pp95,96
28.	ibid., p96

34	William Carey				

29.	ibid., pp97,98
30.	ibid., pp98,99
31.	ibid., p99
32.	ibid., p100
33.	ibid., pp100-102
34.	ibid., p107
35.	ibid., pp107,108
36.	ibid., p109
37.	ibid., p111
38.	ibid., p112
39.	Walker, op.cit., p94
40.	ibid., pp94,95
41.	ibid., p97
42.	ibid., pp98,99
43.	Quoted from Drewery, op.cit., p161
44.	Neill, op.cit., p263
45.	Quoted from Drewery, op.cit., p166
46.	Carey, op.cit., p100
47.	Quoted from Drewery, op.cit., p149
48.	ibid., p155
49.	Quoted from Dakin, op.cit., p77

	William Carey	35

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