Blacks employed myriad means to survive the harrowing and protracted
ordeal of American slavery. ... more Blacks employed myriad means to survive the harrowing and protracted ordeal of American slavery. Arguably, the most important means were ideological, and one idea ubiquitous among Black captives was the catastrophic apocalypse: God physically coming to earth to destroy the planet and “wicked” people, while preserving “righteous” people. This article explores the origin, reception, and conception of this idea among enslaved Blacks in the United States. To do this, I first explore West and Central African cosmology during the era of the transatlantic slave trade to determine if there were philosophical antecedents that may have predisposed Africans to such a belief. I then examine how and why many displaced Africans in America embraced the apocalypse. I argue that Blacks received and conceived of the catastrophic apocalypse in a manner consistent with traditional African ways of knowing and ordering the world in order to survive and combat a novel and brutal system of oppression.
This article explores the experiences of black people who accepted the teaching of William Miller... more This article explores the experiences of black people who accepted the teaching of William Miller that Christ would return to the earth in 1843-1844. Heretofore, black Millerites have been almost completely ignored in the substantial historiography of Millerism, millennialism and apocalypticism, and black religion. In this article, I argue that the black experience in Millerism deserves to be studied because it articulates the central concerns of blacks at a critical juncture in antebellum America. I show that enslaved and free blacks embraced Miller's doctrine because of the failure of America, particularly its politics and churches, to provide them the basic human right of freedom. As they did in the Christian churches they joined during the Awakenings, blacks fashioned Millerism in their image, using it for purpose, empowerment, expression, community, and liberation. This exploration of black Millerites contributes to broader discussions on the motivations of marginalized people who gravitate toward the eschatological and the impact the apocalyptic has on real-world engagement.
American Jewish History, Volume 105, Number 4, 2021
The past three decades have witnessed a growing scholarly literature on Jews who converted to Chr... more The past three decades have witnessed a growing scholarly literature on Jews who converted to Christianity in the nineteenth century, a group of complex individuals, mostly male, mobile, and maligned. Typically born in Europe-in the Russian Empire, Germany, and England-into traditionally observant Jewish homes and receiving some rabbinic training, these men converted to Christianity relatively early in life and forged careers as Christian ministers in their respective denominations, invariably assuming the role of de facto missionaries to Jews. Their historical importance is not solely derived from the departure their lives took from those of most Jews, but in the light their careers shed on Jewish identity, Jewish-Christian relationships, Christian missions to Jews, and diasporic Jewish communities during a period that was formative for modern Jewish life. Frederick Carnes Gilbert (1867-1946) was one such Jewish Christian minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Heretofore, no serious research has been done on Gilbert, probably due to the relative obscurity of Seventh-day Adventists and the lack of wider scholarly engagement on them. However, Gilbert's significance lies in the fact that his life allows us to better understand the motivations and experiences of Christian Jews by comparing him to other Jewish Christian ministers such as Moses Margoliouth, Christian Theophilus Lucky, Paul Phillip Levertoff, Leopold Cohn, and others. Moreover, Gilbert is unique among Christian Jews in that he converted to a Protestant church commonly reviled by other Christian churches for its "Jewishness" and "Judaizing" due to its observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, adherence to certain Mosaic dietary laws, and doctrines centering on the ancient Jewish temple service. Gilbert asserted that these "Jewish" components, combined with other features of his Protestant faith, made him a "real Jew." Gilbert's preoccupation with notions of authentic Jewishness resulted in lifelong efforts to reconcile the traditional Judaism of his youth with his adopted Protestant faith, explain Jews and Judaism to Adventists, and convince Jews that Adventism was the fulfillment of Judaism. Finally, Gilbert is significant because these efforts became the foundation of an entire denomination's mission program to Jewish people, and Gilbert in time
was a quintessential Vermonter: born, raised, and residing most of his life in the Green Mountain... more was a quintessential Vermonter: born, raised, and residing most of his life in the Green Mountain State. Paradoxically, his life was like that of few Vermonters, because he was Black in Vermont in the antebellum period, and because he had a leading role in founding one of only a dozen or so major Christian churches to originate in America. By Benjamin Baker n the last few decades there has been a movement to discover, document, and promote the Black heritage of the state of Vermont. This has not only resulted in several volumes published by academic presses and numerous scholarly articles, but also in the creation of the African American Heritage Trail, a twenty-two-site interpretive historical exhibit spanning the state. 1 This article contributes to this movement by exploring the life of Eri L. Barr (1814-1864), the first minister of color in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The case of Barr is an unusual one, because only recently (2015) was it discovered-or rediscovered-that he was Black. 2 Barr has therefore not only been resuscitated for a church with a global Benjamin Baker teaches English, History, and Religion at the University of Maryland and Lincoln University. He was the charter Managing Editor of the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists.
Lucille Spence Byard is one of the most pivotal figures in the history of the Seventh-day Adventi... more Lucille Spence Byard is one of the most pivotal figures in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Her rejection for medical treatment due to her race at an Adventist sanitarium on the Maryland-Washington, D.C., border in 1943 was the major catalyst for the formation of regional conferences, or Black-administered governance units, within the North American administrative structure of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. However, almost since the day Lucy Byard was refused treatment, the major details of the event have been subject to the whim of the teller, and variant versions have become embedded in church lore. What has been particularly problematic, though, is that historians have not made the effort to explore what actually happened to Byard, which would require bypassing the entrenched legends and consulting primary sources. This article reconstructs the Byard event from primary sources, allowing the participants in the event, especially those of color, to be heard. What finally emerges is Lucy Byard the person-much more than just an icon of tragedy-whose last days sparked the most effective grassroots movement in Adventist history.
Ellen White and race was the subject of Benjamin Baker's 2011 Howard University dissertation. Thi... more Ellen White and race was the subject of Benjamin Baker's 2011 Howard University dissertation. This is the third article in an occasional series on the topic for Spectrum.
In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Se... more In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Seventh-day Adventist Christian women who significantly contributed to society despite facing the triple strike of color, gender, and religion in an often antagonistic world.
In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Se... more In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Seventh-day Adventist Christian women who significantly contributed to society despite facing the triple strike of color, gender, and religion in an often antagonistic world.
In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Se... more In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Seventh-day Adventist Christian women who significantly contributed to society despite facing the triple strike of color, gender, and religion in an often antagonistic world.
Blacks employed myriad means to survive the harrowing and protracted
ordeal of American slavery. ... more Blacks employed myriad means to survive the harrowing and protracted ordeal of American slavery. Arguably, the most important means were ideological, and one idea ubiquitous among Black captives was the catastrophic apocalypse: God physically coming to earth to destroy the planet and “wicked” people, while preserving “righteous” people. This article explores the origin, reception, and conception of this idea among enslaved Blacks in the United States. To do this, I first explore West and Central African cosmology during the era of the transatlantic slave trade to determine if there were philosophical antecedents that may have predisposed Africans to such a belief. I then examine how and why many displaced Africans in America embraced the apocalypse. I argue that Blacks received and conceived of the catastrophic apocalypse in a manner consistent with traditional African ways of knowing and ordering the world in order to survive and combat a novel and brutal system of oppression.
This article explores the experiences of black people who accepted the teaching of William Miller... more This article explores the experiences of black people who accepted the teaching of William Miller that Christ would return to the earth in 1843-1844. Heretofore, black Millerites have been almost completely ignored in the substantial historiography of Millerism, millennialism and apocalypticism, and black religion. In this article, I argue that the black experience in Millerism deserves to be studied because it articulates the central concerns of blacks at a critical juncture in antebellum America. I show that enslaved and free blacks embraced Miller's doctrine because of the failure of America, particularly its politics and churches, to provide them the basic human right of freedom. As they did in the Christian churches they joined during the Awakenings, blacks fashioned Millerism in their image, using it for purpose, empowerment, expression, community, and liberation. This exploration of black Millerites contributes to broader discussions on the motivations of marginalized people who gravitate toward the eschatological and the impact the apocalyptic has on real-world engagement.
American Jewish History, Volume 105, Number 4, 2021
The past three decades have witnessed a growing scholarly literature on Jews who converted to Chr... more The past three decades have witnessed a growing scholarly literature on Jews who converted to Christianity in the nineteenth century, a group of complex individuals, mostly male, mobile, and maligned. Typically born in Europe-in the Russian Empire, Germany, and England-into traditionally observant Jewish homes and receiving some rabbinic training, these men converted to Christianity relatively early in life and forged careers as Christian ministers in their respective denominations, invariably assuming the role of de facto missionaries to Jews. Their historical importance is not solely derived from the departure their lives took from those of most Jews, but in the light their careers shed on Jewish identity, Jewish-Christian relationships, Christian missions to Jews, and diasporic Jewish communities during a period that was formative for modern Jewish life. Frederick Carnes Gilbert (1867-1946) was one such Jewish Christian minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Heretofore, no serious research has been done on Gilbert, probably due to the relative obscurity of Seventh-day Adventists and the lack of wider scholarly engagement on them. However, Gilbert's significance lies in the fact that his life allows us to better understand the motivations and experiences of Christian Jews by comparing him to other Jewish Christian ministers such as Moses Margoliouth, Christian Theophilus Lucky, Paul Phillip Levertoff, Leopold Cohn, and others. Moreover, Gilbert is unique among Christian Jews in that he converted to a Protestant church commonly reviled by other Christian churches for its "Jewishness" and "Judaizing" due to its observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, adherence to certain Mosaic dietary laws, and doctrines centering on the ancient Jewish temple service. Gilbert asserted that these "Jewish" components, combined with other features of his Protestant faith, made him a "real Jew." Gilbert's preoccupation with notions of authentic Jewishness resulted in lifelong efforts to reconcile the traditional Judaism of his youth with his adopted Protestant faith, explain Jews and Judaism to Adventists, and convince Jews that Adventism was the fulfillment of Judaism. Finally, Gilbert is significant because these efforts became the foundation of an entire denomination's mission program to Jewish people, and Gilbert in time
was a quintessential Vermonter: born, raised, and residing most of his life in the Green Mountain... more was a quintessential Vermonter: born, raised, and residing most of his life in the Green Mountain State. Paradoxically, his life was like that of few Vermonters, because he was Black in Vermont in the antebellum period, and because he had a leading role in founding one of only a dozen or so major Christian churches to originate in America. By Benjamin Baker n the last few decades there has been a movement to discover, document, and promote the Black heritage of the state of Vermont. This has not only resulted in several volumes published by academic presses and numerous scholarly articles, but also in the creation of the African American Heritage Trail, a twenty-two-site interpretive historical exhibit spanning the state. 1 This article contributes to this movement by exploring the life of Eri L. Barr (1814-1864), the first minister of color in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The case of Barr is an unusual one, because only recently (2015) was it discovered-or rediscovered-that he was Black. 2 Barr has therefore not only been resuscitated for a church with a global Benjamin Baker teaches English, History, and Religion at the University of Maryland and Lincoln University. He was the charter Managing Editor of the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists.
Lucille Spence Byard is one of the most pivotal figures in the history of the Seventh-day Adventi... more Lucille Spence Byard is one of the most pivotal figures in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Her rejection for medical treatment due to her race at an Adventist sanitarium on the Maryland-Washington, D.C., border in 1943 was the major catalyst for the formation of regional conferences, or Black-administered governance units, within the North American administrative structure of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. However, almost since the day Lucy Byard was refused treatment, the major details of the event have been subject to the whim of the teller, and variant versions have become embedded in church lore. What has been particularly problematic, though, is that historians have not made the effort to explore what actually happened to Byard, which would require bypassing the entrenched legends and consulting primary sources. This article reconstructs the Byard event from primary sources, allowing the participants in the event, especially those of color, to be heard. What finally emerges is Lucy Byard the person-much more than just an icon of tragedy-whose last days sparked the most effective grassroots movement in Adventist history.
Ellen White and race was the subject of Benjamin Baker's 2011 Howard University dissertation. Thi... more Ellen White and race was the subject of Benjamin Baker's 2011 Howard University dissertation. This is the third article in an occasional series on the topic for Spectrum.
In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Se... more In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Seventh-day Adventist Christian women who significantly contributed to society despite facing the triple strike of color, gender, and religion in an often antagonistic world.
In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Se... more In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Seventh-day Adventist Christian women who significantly contributed to society despite facing the triple strike of color, gender, and religion in an often antagonistic world.
In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Se... more In this three-part special for Black History Month, Benjamin Baker highlights African American Seventh-day Adventist Christian women who significantly contributed to society despite facing the triple strike of color, gender, and religion in an often antagonistic world.
Comprehensive compilation of Seventh-day Adventist cofounder Ellen G. White statements on African... more Comprehensive compilation of Seventh-day Adventist cofounder Ellen G. White statements on African Americans and race relations in the United States
A descriptive inventory of documents in the Archives of the General Conference of
Seventh-day Adv... more A descriptive inventory of documents in the Archives of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, relating to the drafting and adoption of Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief no. 6
History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Africa (CHIS 678) explores the Seventh-day Adventi... more History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Africa (CHIS 678) explores the Seventh-day Adventist movement in Sub-Saharan Africa from the 1850s to the present day. As a background, the first two class sessions will trace the history of Christianity in Africa, from the first century AD, through the Middle Ages and Protestant Reformation, and to the Second Great Awakening. The other eight sessions will explore the origins of the Seventh-day Adventist message in Africa; significant indigenous believers and ministers; important foreign missionaries; the means of the expansion of the message; early Adventist institutions; the organization and development of church administrative structures; the church’s impact on local societies; missional challenges unique to the African setting; the assumption of African leadership; the decades of evangelism from the 1970s onward that have resulted in world church membership being approximately one-third African; the church’s engagement with regional and national politics; and the impact of African Adventists on the global church and the world.
My ambition to become a scholar had been very great, and when I pondered over my disappointed hop... more My ambition to become a scholar had been very great, and when I pondered over my disappointed hopes, and the thought that I was to be an invalid for life, I was unreconciled to my lot and at times murmured against the providence of God in thus afflicting me. Had I opened my mind to my mother, she might have instructed, soothed, and encouraged me; but I concealed my troubled feelings from my family and friends, fearing that they could not understand me. The happy confidence in my Saviour's love that I had enjoyed during my illness was gone. My prospect of worldly enjoyment was blighted, and heaven seemed closed against me."
My Dear Henry and Edson, Dear children, your mother has not forgotten you. She thinks of you many... more My Dear Henry and Edson, Dear children, your mother has not forgotten you. She thinks of you many times every day. We hope you will be good and faithful children. I have been thinking, what if either of you should be taken sick and die, and your father and mother see you no more? Would you be prepared to die? Do you love God better than any one else? Can you forget your play to think of God, to go away alone and ask him for Jesus' sake to forgive your sins? I know that much of your time is taken up with your studies, and with doing errands; but, dear children, don't forget to pray. The Lord loves to have children pray to him. And if you really repent and feel sorry for your sins, God will forgive your sins for Jesus' sake. When you do wrong don't conceal your wrong, but heartily and honestly confess it. This I believe you will do. I have confidence in you that you have tried to do it. Continue to do so, and we shall love you better than if you kept your wrongs concealed. God loves honest-hearted, truthful children, but cannot love those who are dishonest. Be obedient, dear children. God has been very merciful to you and to us. Your parents have to travel from place to place among the people of God to try to do them good and save souls. And the Lord has inclined sisters Jenny and Martha to come into our family, to feel an interest for you, to love you, and to care for you, that we may leave home feeling free. They are not related to you. They make a sacrifice. What for? Because they love you. When you grieve them you grieve your parents also. It is not a desirable task to have the care of children if they are ungrateful and disobedient…. Many times I ask myself the question, Will my dear children be saved in the kingdom? I cannot bear the thought of their being shut out of the City with the wicked. I love my children, but God says that only the good and holy can be saved…. Be good to Willie. Love him. Teach him right things. If you do wrong, you not only sin yourselves, but you teach him to sin. When you do wrong, you teach him to do wrong; so double sin rests upon you. Always act as you would like to see Willie act. Always speak pleasantly to him, and try to make him happy.
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Papers by Benjamin Baker
ordeal of American slavery. Arguably, the most important
means were ideological, and one idea ubiquitous among Black captives
was the catastrophic apocalypse: God physically coming to earth
to destroy the planet and “wicked” people, while preserving “righteous”
people. This article explores the origin, reception, and conception
of this idea among enslaved Blacks in the United States. To do
this, I first explore West and Central African cosmology during the era
of the transatlantic slave trade to determine if there were philosophical
antecedents that may have predisposed Africans to such a belief.
I then examine how and why many displaced Africans in America
embraced the apocalypse. I argue that Blacks received and conceived
of the catastrophic apocalypse in a manner consistent with traditional
African ways of knowing and ordering the world in order to survive
and combat a novel and brutal system of oppression.
ordeal of American slavery. Arguably, the most important
means were ideological, and one idea ubiquitous among Black captives
was the catastrophic apocalypse: God physically coming to earth
to destroy the planet and “wicked” people, while preserving “righteous”
people. This article explores the origin, reception, and conception
of this idea among enslaved Blacks in the United States. To do
this, I first explore West and Central African cosmology during the era
of the transatlantic slave trade to determine if there were philosophical
antecedents that may have predisposed Africans to such a belief.
I then examine how and why many displaced Africans in America
embraced the apocalypse. I argue that Blacks received and conceived
of the catastrophic apocalypse in a manner consistent with traditional
African ways of knowing and ordering the world in order to survive
and combat a novel and brutal system of oppression.
Seventh-day Adventists, relating to the drafting and adoption of Seventh-day
Adventist Fundamental Belief no. 6