English Methodist theologian
William Burt Pope (19 February 1822–5 July 1903) was an English
Wesleyan Methodist
minister and
theologian , who was
president of the Methodist Conference .
Biography
Early life
William Burt Pope was born at
Horton, Nova Scotia , on 19 February 1822. He was the younger son of John Pope (1791–1863), Wesleyan
missionary and Catherine, born Uglow, who was originally of
Stratton, Cornwall . He was the younger brother of
George Uglow Pope . After education at a village school at
Hooe and at a secondary school at
Saltash , near
Plymouth , William spent a year in boyhood (1837-8) at
Bedeque, Prince Edward Island , assisting an uncle, a shipbuilder and general merchant.
In 1845, he married Ann Ehza Lethbridge, daughter of a yeoman farmer of Modbury, near Plymouth. By her he had six sons, two of whom died in early life, and four daughters.
Career
Pope was accepted, in 1840, by the Methodist synod of
Cornwall as a candidate for the ministry, and entered the Methodist Theological Institution at
Hoxton .
Ordained in 1842, he began his active ministry at
Kingsbridge , Devonshire. He served for short periods at
Liskeard , Jersey,
Sandhurst ,
Dover and
Halifax . He served also for longer periods at
City Road, London , Hull,
Manchester ,
Leeds , and
Southport .
In 1846, he became a successful
linguist and translator of German anti-rationalist critics.
In 1860, he became editor, having as his co-editor (1883-6)
James Harrison Rigg , of the London Quarterly Review' to which he was already a contributor.
In 1867, he succeeded Dr.
John Hannah the elder as tutor of
systematic theology at
Didsbury . He received the degree of
D.D. from the
Wesleyan University , U.S.A., in 1865 and from the
University of Edinburgh in 1877. In 1876, he visited America with Dr. Rigg as delegate to the general conference of the
methodist episcopal church at Baltimore.
In 1877, he was
President of the Methodist Conference at Bristol.
From 1867 to 1886, he taught at Didsbury Wesleyan College in
Manchester ,
England .
Theological contribution
Pope made notable contributions to theological literature which were deemed authoritative by his own church. His greatest work, a systematic theology, Compendium of Christian Theology (1875-1876), set forth influential arguments for the "holiness doctrine of all Methodist systematic theology" and defended Methodist doctrine against its critics.
Wayne Grudem writes that, "This work […] is one of the greatest systematic theologies written from a
Wesleyan or Arminian perspective." He had
Arminian
soteriological views.
Death
Pope died on 5 July 1903, and was buried in
Abney Park Cemetery , London.
Works
Books as author
Pope, William Burt (1855).
The Abiding Word . London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
Pope, William Burt (1856). The Rest Of Our Time . London: John Mason.
Pope, William Burt (1862). The Love Of The Commandment . London: John Mason.
Pope, William Burt (1866). The Great National Fast . London: [publisher not identified].
Pope, William Burt (1866). The Presence Of Christ In His Church . [publisher not identified].
Pope, William Burt (1867). An inaugural address delivered in the college chapel . [publisher not identified].
Pope, William Burt (1869).
Discourses on the kingdom and reign of Christ . London: Simpkin, Marshall.
Pope, William Burt (1871).
The Person of Christ . London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
Pope, William Burt (1872). The Law Of Perfect Service . London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
Pope, William Burt (1873). The Peculiarities Of Methodist Doctrine . London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
Pope, William Burt (1874). A Memoir of John Fernley . London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
Pope, William Burt (1875).
The Person Of Christ . London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
Pope, William Burt (1876).
The Prayers Of St. Paul . London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
Pope, William Burt (1876).
A Memoir of the Late James Heald of Parrs Wood . London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
Pope, William Burt (1877).
A Compendium of Christian Theology . Vol. 1. London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
Pope, William Burt (1877).
A Compendium of Christian Theology . Vol. 2. London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
Pope, William Burt (1877).
A Compendium of Christian Theology . Vol. 3. London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
Pope, William Burt (1883).
A Higher Catechism of Theology . London: T. Woolmer.
Pope, William Burt (1885).
The Inward Witness and Other Discourses . London: T. Woolmer.
Books as translator
Stier, Rudolf (1855).
The Words of the Lord Jesus . Vol. 1. London: J. Gladding.
Stier, Rudolf (1855).
The Words of the Lord Jesus . Vol. 2. London: J. Gladding.
Stier, Rudolf (1855).
The Words of the Lord Jesus . Vol. 3. London: J. Gladding.
Stier, Rudolf (1855).
The Words of the Lord Jesus . Vol. 4. London: J. Gladding.
Stier, Rudolf (1855).
The Words of the Lord Jesus . Vol. 5. London: J. Gladding.
Stier, Rudolf (1855).
The Words of the Lord Jesus . Vol. 6. London: J. Gladding.
Stier, Rudolf (1855).
The Words of the Lord Jesus . Vol. 7. London: J. Gladding.
Stier, Rudolf (1855).
The Words of the Lord Jesus . Vol. 8. London: J. Gladding.
Stier, Rudolf (1859).
The Words of the Risen Savior and Commentary on the Epistle of St James . London: Hamilton, Adam and Co.
Ebrard, Johann Heinrich August (1860).
Commentary on the Epistles of St. John . London: Hamilton, Adam and Co.
Peter, Johann (1861).
Theological and Homiletical Commentary on the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark . Vol. 1. London: Hamilton, Adam and Co.
Peter, Johann (1861).
Theological and Homiletical Commentary on the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark . Vol. 2. London: Hamilton, Adam and Co.
Wilhelm, Ernst (1865).
Commentary on the Gospel of St. John . Vol. 1. London: Hamilton, Adam and Co.
Wilhelm, Ernst (1865).
Commentary on the Gospel of St. John . Vol. 2. London: Hamilton, Adam and Co.
Wilhelm, Ernst (1871).
History of the Kingdom of God . Vol. 1. London: Hamilton, Adam and Co.
Wilhelm, Ernst (1871).
History of the Kingdom of God . Vol. 2. London: Hamilton, Adam and Co.
Benedikt, Georg (1873).
A Comparative View on the Doctrines and Confessions of the Various Communities of Christendom . Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
Haupt, Erich (1879).
The First Epistle of St. John: A Contribution to Biblical Theology . Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark.
Chapters
Pope, William Burt (1878). "Epistles of St. John". Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary on the NT . New York: Charles Scribner's sons.
Notes and references
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain : Irwin, Clarke Huston (1912). "
Pope, William Burt ". In
Lee, Sidney (ed.).
Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement) . London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Citations
Sources
Grudem, Wayne (1994). Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine . Leicester, England & Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press & Zondervan.
Irwin, Clarke Huston (1912).
"Pope, William Burt" . Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement . Vol. 3. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 127.
Lees, C. H.; Wellings, Martin (2004).
"Pope, William Burt (1822–1903)" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography .
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
doi :
10.1093/ref:odnb/35574 . (Subscription or
UK public library membership required.)
Olson, Roger E. (2010).
"Arminian teaching regarding original sin" . Roger E. Olson: My evangelical, Arminian theological musings . Patheos. Retrieved 13 August 2020 .
Stevenson, George John (1885). "William Burt Pope, D.D.".
Methodist Worthies : Characteristic Sketches of Methodist Preachers (PDF) . Vol. 3. London: Thomas C; Jack.
Further reading
Moss, R. W. (1909). William Burt Pope: Theologian and Saint . London: R. Culley.
Telford, John (1909). The life of James Harrison Rigg, 1821-1909 . London: R. Culley.
External links
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