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Review of Faithful Witness Timothy George, Faithful Witness: The Life and Mission of William Carey. n.p.: Christian History Institute, 1998. 202 pp.   Introduction   William Carey is considered to be the founder of the modern missions movement. In Faithful Witness, Timothy George offers a sympathetic and detailed biography complete with photos, cast of characters, family tree, list of biographical highlights, and index. Included as a separate appendix is Carey’s famous “Enquiry,” Carey’s only published work in English, which was catalytic in forming the missionary society that sent Carey to India. (Incidentally, this edition of the book is a special reprint of the original 1991 edition that is a companion to a full feature film about William Carey titled Candle in the Dark produced by Christian History Institute/Vision Video.)   Summary   In the preface, George announces his two-fold purpose in writing the book as a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of William Carey’s departure to India from England and also to encourage Christians today to catch Carey’s vision for proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ throughout the world (xvii-xviii). More than a simple re-telling of the story of Carey’s life (more than 50 biographies of Carey have been published), George intends his book to focus on “Carey’s early life, his motivation and calling as a missionary, and his historic role in awakening the church of his day to the great challenge of world evangelization” (xviii).   William Carey was born in an obscure village of 800 inhabitants in the Midland region of England. As a young boy, Carey was fascinated with stories of faraway places whether it was stories of his Uncle Peter’s adventures in the British Army or those he read of Captain Cooke’s adventures in the South Pacific. Carey was also an avid naturalist with an insatiable curiosity. He especially appreciated plant life and became an expert botanist later in life. At age seven, Carey  developed severe allergies and a skin disease that forced him indoors. His parents found a shoemaker in a nearby town who agreed to apprentice young Carey.   Though raised in the Church of England, Carey was converted through the persistent witness of a fellow shoemaker apprentice who was a dissident. He immediately became a fervent witness for Christ, associated with dissidents and eventually become a Baptist pastor. Carey was a faithful shepherd and truly loved the two churches he served. His zeal for God’s glory turned his interest to the nations that had yet to know about Jesus Christ. Because of his burden for the nations he gathered as much information as he could about the worldwide spread of the gospel and the demographics of the nations of the world. He wrote his famous treatise, the first missiological study, titled 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.   The “Enquiry,” as it became known, had a major influence for the cause of missions. The Northamptonshire Baptist Association, after stalling a few times, eventually consented to form the Baptist Missionary Society which commissioned and sent Carey to India along with John Thomas, a surgeon. Carey, with his family, endured many hardships and moves in the first few years in India before finally settling in Serampore where he enjoyed a very fruitful and long ministry.   Along with his colleagues William Ward and Joshua Marshman, Carey’s ministry at Serampore included translating the Bible into forty languages (including portions of the Bible), founding dozens of schools including a college, helping to legally abolish the practice of sati (burning widows with the bodies of their dead husbands) and infanticide, and preaching Christ throughout the region. Carey was a man wholly devoted to the Savior and the Savior’s cause. He lived a life of intense self-discipline that resulted in extraordinary productivity, yet was always looking at what more could be done for God and for the lost yet to hear of Christ.   Evaluation   I found Timothy George’s treatment of William Carey to be very balanced in terms of the biographical details of Carey’s life along with the theological, cultural, and political issues that surrounded the origins of the modern missions movement. There is much to be learned from this book about engaging in international missions. For example, in chapter four, George highlights three major factors that led to the forming of the Baptist Missionary Society that I believe are instructive for us today: 1) The call to prayer; 2) theology of missions; 3) a plan of action.   The movement towards prayer began with John Sutcliff’s 1784 address to the ministers and messengers of the Northamptonshire Baptist Association to begin a concert of prayer once a month. The writings of Jonathan Edwards were the single most important influence on the English Baptists who launched the missionary movement. The one book that particularly influenced the prayer movement was Edwards’ “Humble Attempt.” The influence of Edwards’ was also seen in the theology of missions. Hypercalvinism had stifled the interest in missions among the English Baptists. Andrew Fuller was influenced by Edwards’ Freedom of the Will which affirmed that evangelism and Calvinism could be reconciled. “The failure to believe stemmed not from any physical or ‘natural inability,’ but rather from a ‘moral inability’ which was the result of a perverted human will. Edwards’s [sic] distinction between natural and moral inability was the key which unlocked the mystery of divine sovereignty and human responsibility for Fuller” (55). In 1785 Fuller published his treatise The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation which expounded his argument for “duty faith,” that is, sinners were obliged to repent and believe in Christ, and along with that, Christians were obliged to preach Christ to the unconverted.   Carey’s plan of action was provided in his Enquiry. The Enquiry consisted of the Great Commission, historical precedents, a world survey, obstacles to missions, and the Christian’s duty to promote the cause of missions. Carey found it necessary to correct the common misunderstanding that the Great Commission did not apply to contemporary Christians because it was directed to the apostles and was already fulfilled in the early history of the Church. Carey gave lucid arguments to show that such a view was not possible since, for example, that would mean other parts of the Great Commission are no longer applicable such as the command to baptize and teach, and that the promise of Christ’s presence would no longer apply. Carey answered other objections such as that nothing should be done until divine providence justified it. Carey responded that the argument was really one of waiting for a miracle (i.e. to be supernaturally transported to some other place) and not providence since many providential openings were being presented and should be acted on. Another objection was that “we have work enough at home,” to which Carey responded that while need exists at home other peoples do not even have the resources to hear of Christ that exist in Christianized lands (i.e. Bibles, churches, preachers, etc.).   After highlighting the spread of the gospel in church history, the centerpiece of Carey’s treatise was his survey of “the present state of the world.” Carey compiled demographic and religious information about all the known nations of the world. Carey did not view this information as mere statistical data, but a “great Niagara” of souls perishing daily. In the fourth chapter, Carey answered the practical objections such as dangers to the missionary, difficulties of travel, living, and language learning. The closing section climaxes with a plea to pray, plan, and give to the cause of missions.   In 1792, the same year of the publishing of Carey’s Enquiry, he preached his famous “Expect great things. Attempt great things.” sermon before the Northamptonshire Baptist Association. That year saw also the forming of the Particular Baptist Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Heathen in by the Northamptonshire Baptist Association meeting in Kettering. Carey and John Thomas were appointed the first missionaries the following year in 1793 to India.   Each of these three factors (prayer, theology, plan of action) is indispensable to continuing and expanding the missions movement in our own day. The dwindling interest and engagement in missions today can be addressed by consistent application of these three factors. For example, most churches no longer have prayer meetings at all, much less earnestly pray for God’s work in the world. Many of the theological underpinnings of missions are doubted or denied (e.g., reality of hell, exclusivity of Christ, etc.). Also, most Christians and churches are not planning to be involved in missions in any significant way. William Carey and his associates are great examples for how Christians today should seek to follow Christ in missions.   Conclusion   Faithful Witness is a stirring examination of one of the truly great Christians of history. I found no significant weaknesses with the book. Carey’s passion for the glory of God and his compassion for people as manifested in his life of faithfulness is such a powerful testimony that Timothy George really just needed to stay out of the way and give the reader a clear look at Carey’s life that we might be compelled to give of ourselves in like manner. George successfully told Carey’s story and it is one that every Christian should become familiar with. In a day when most Christians are ignorant about missions and our children need to be introduced to great heroes of the faith, Faithful Witness is a book that belongs in every Christian’s library.

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