William Carey Biography at One

William Carey Biography

At one time, "Carey's pathway was pockmarked with crises." Traditionally, however, Carey is usually "portrayed as a 'heroic' character - as one of a class of big, ordinary people who do not resign themselves to misfortune but give their utmost to help others find hope in life."

Along with the good Carey did, that continues to live today, this report presents him as more than a "hero," as it relates real responses he recorded during his life. This researcher purports that Carey's investments in faith; into unknown areas associated with mission work, while being genuine and opening himself up to truths, returned benefits that continue, even today.

At one time when a youth, William Carey, born in 1761 in Northamptonshire, England, worked as a cobbler's apprentice. In his memoirs, Carey wrote: "My parents were poor, and unable to do much for me; but being much affected with my situation, they with great difficulty put me apprentice to a shoemaker at Hackleton."

Carey also recorded the following memories from his youth:

At about fourteen years of age I was bound apprentice to Clarke Nichols, of Hackleton, a shoemaker. He died when I had been with him about two years. I engaged to pay his widow a certain sum for the remainder of the time for which I was bound, and from that time worked as a journeyman with Mr. T. Old, of Hackleton, till his death. The childish story of my shortening a shoe to make it longer is entitled to no credit, though it would be very silly in me to pretend to recollect all the shoes I made. I was accounted a very good workman, and recollect Mr. Old keeping a pair of shoes which I had made in his shop, as a model of good workmanship.

But the best workmen sometimes, from various causes, put bad work out of their hands, and I have no doubt but I did so too.

My master was a strict churchman, and, what I thought, a very moral man. It is true he sometimes drank rather too freely, and generally employed me in carrying out goods on the Lord's-day morning till near church time; but he was an inveterate enemy to lying, a vice to which I was awfully addicted: he also possessed the qualification of commenting upon a fault till I could scarcely endure his reflections, and sometimes actually transgressed the bounds of propriety.

A fellow-servant was the son of a dissenter; and though not at that time under religious impressions, yet frequently engaged with me in disputes upon religious subjects, in which my master frequently joined. I was a churchman; had read Jeremy Taylor's Sermons, Spinker's Sick Man Visited, and other books; and had always looked upon dissenters with contempt. I had, moreover, a share of pride sufficient for a thousand times my knowledge: I therefore always scorned to have the worst in an argument, and the last word was assuredly mine. I also made up in positive assertion what was wanting in argument, and generally came off with triumph.

But I was often convinced afterwards that, though I had the last word, my antagonist had the better of the argument, and on that account felt a growing uneasiness, and stings of conscience gradually increasing. The frequent comments of my master upon certain parts of my conduct, and other such causes, increased my uneasiness. I wanted something, but had no idea that nothing but an entire change of heart could do me good.

Later in Life

Later in life, when serving a missionary in India, Carey relates that his companions during this uneasy time in his life were "such as could only serve to debase the mind, and lead me into the depths of that gross conduct which prevails among the lower classes in the most neglected villages: so that I had sunk into the most awful profligacy of conduct."

Carey admits that at this time in his life, he was addicted to swearing, lying, and unchaste conversation. His addictions were routinely heightened "by the company of ringers, psalm-singers, foot-ball players, the society of a blacksmith's shop,...though my father laid the strictest injunctions on me to avoid such company, I always found some way to elude his care.'"

Baptized as an Anglican, a self-educated man, Carey read the Bible, which along with his theological studies/writings led him to became convinced of and embrace Baptist teachings (1783).

In time, after, he was converted, having "an entire change of heart," and began preaching in local meetinghouses. Carey then began to pastor a small congregation in Moulton.

Carey's Thoughts

The following reflects more of Carey's thoughts prior to him traveling to India as a missionary.

It is still to me a matter of thankfulness that 1 had so general a knowledge of the bible when I was a child. By that means my mind was furnished with a body of subjects, which, after I had more acquaintance with evangelical truth, were ready uponevery occasion, and were often influential upon my heart when I had but little leisure to read. To this the constant reading of parts of scripture in the church contributed not a little, and, perhaps, the reading of the bible when at school still more.

If I am a converted person, of which I have great reason to doubt, I must say that it is entirely by the grace of God, and in full opposition to the natural bias of my mind. I practised falsehood, and, even after I was under concern, attempted to make the great God a party in a scene of dishonesty and lying. Yet I have reason to believe that the greatest change which ever took place in me was about that time -- a time in which I had evidently gone to a greater length in sin than ever before.

I am convinced that some sins have always attended me, as if they made a part of my constitution: among these I reckon pride, or rather vanity -- an evil which I have detected frequently, but have never been free from to this day. Indolence in divine things is constitutional: few people can think what necessity I am constantly under of summoning all my resolution to engage in any thing which God has commanded. This makes me peculiarly unfit for the ministry; and much more so for the office of a missionary. I now doubt seriously, whether persons of such a constitution should be engaged in the christian ministry. This, and what I am going to mention, fill me with continued guilt. A want of character and firmness has always predominated in me. I have not resolution enough to reprove sin, to introduce serious and evangelical conversation in carnal company, especially among the great, to whom I have sometimes access. I sometimes labour with myself long, and at last cannot prevail sufficiently to break silence; or, if I introduce a subject, want resolution to keep it up, if the company do not show a readiness thereto.

The proofs I have of the evil tendency of my heart, and my frequent and often reiterated falls into sin, convince me that I need the constant influence of the Holy Spirit; and that, if God did not continue his loving-kindness to me, I should as certainly depart from Him, and become an open profligate, as I exist. I see that there is no temptation but would be sufficient to destroy me, if God did not interfere; and that I as much need pardon, and divine influence to support me, and maintain the work in my heart, as I formerly did to convert me. If I ever get to heaven, it must be owing to divine grace, from first to last. I have now only to desire of you that the above may not be published; though I have no objection to your publishing any parts thereof, provided you so conceal names and other allusions, as that it may never be known that it is an account of me. Every publication of this kind, if the author be known, makes him more public; and, as it is very uncertain whether 1 shall not dishonour the gospel before I die, so as to bring a public scandal thereupon, the less is said about me the better.

Carey's Career

Carey's forty-year career has been noted in three biographies, with the latest less than a decade old. Barnhill notes in his review of the book Carter wrote publishing Carey's works, that: "The English Baptist William Carey (1761-1834) is one of the most important figures in missionary history, a trailblazer whose approach to missions established the model we use today."

Carey's published words, according to Carter, reveals his personal struggles and exposes the truth that even when a person possesses strong faith. he/she may experience suffering and times of doubt about his/her calling and/or capability to serve.

Carey's writings also confirm that an early Victorian "can overcome the culture shock of British, India, and that it is possible to adjust to local religious and cultural practices and government obstacles without accepting them."

Although Carey's journal reportedly ends prematurely, he continued to write letters for the next thirty years.

Carey understood the value in/of education, medicine, and other works. He continually encouraged missionaries to travel to the hinterland "and build an indigenous Christianity with vernacular Bibles and other writings and native-led churches."

For his mission to succeed, hile it simultaneously retained its core, Carey purported, it had to not only fill the eternal needs of people missionaries shared the gospel with, but also their day-to-day needs.

During his day-to-day life, Carey was also a husband and father. The following relates details regarding his three marriages.

Dorothy Plackett Carey (1755?-1807): Married William Carey in 1781. She was 25 and he was 19. Their marriage was a contrast in ability and interests. She was reluctant to leave England and go to India. Only after much perusasion and on the condition that her sister, Kitty, would accompany them to help care for their small children, did she agree to go. After the death of their 5 yr. old son, Peter, Dorothy became mentally unstable and remained so until her death, December 8, 1807. They were married for 26 years and had seven children: Ann, Felix, William Jr., Peter, Lucy, Jabez, and Jonathan.

Charlotte Emilia Rumohr Carey (1761-1821): Second wife of William Carey. She was the invalid daughter of the wealthy Chevalier de Rumohr and his wife, the Countess of Alfeldt. Her disability was the result of a fire at the family home, at which time she lost her speech and later the use of her legs. She first met Carey in Serampore, India, where she had gone to be in a warmer climate for health reasons. They were married in May, 1808. Her intellectual and spiritual life was an encouragement and help to Carey in the work of the ministry. They were happily married for 13 years until she died in May, 1821, at age 60.

Grace Hughes Carey (1778-1835?): Third wife of William Carey, she was a forty-five-year-old widow when they were married in 1823. She cared for Carey as a devoted companion during the last eleven years of his life. Grace had a daughter by her first marriage. She died July 27, 1855, at age 58.

At More than One Time in Life

At more than one time during his life, between 1793 and the close of the century, Carey's pilgrimage proved to be arduous.

In his journal writing, Carey relates his "new, challenging, and sometimes intimidating venture into a land whose customs, beliefs, mores, and values often affronted, sometimes appalled" him. None of the challenges, however, deterred, Carey, a man noted as "this man with a mission."

The following table notes Carey's life, compared to work by several other noted Christians.

Table 1: Timeline noting Carey's Birth and Death

Timeline

John & Charles Wesley's evangelical conversions

First production of Handel's Messiah

1759 Voltaire's Candide

William Carey born

William Carey dies

David Livingstone sails for Africa

Carey's Theological Perception

He [Carey] divided the world's population into Christians sub-categorized by Catholics, Protestants, and Greeks),

Jews, 'Mahometans', and Pagans'."

William Carey

Carey's Calling

Although Carey felt a personal "calling" to work among the "heathen," his perception of the heathens, however, did not include Muslims. According to Carey, the world's population consisted of "Christians (sub-categorized by Catholics, Protestants, and Greeks), Jews, 'Mahometans', and 'Pagans'."

Carey, as a number of other Christians during this time, did not consider Muslims as pagans as the Muslims claimed to serve the one true God, just as Christians and Jews claimed. Based on an average number of people per square mile in his targeted area of northern India, Carey calculated the number to be 420 million people, or approximately 57.7% of the world's inhabitants to be pagans. From impressions he gained from travel books, Carey estimated that more than half "... The sons of Adam... are in general poor, barbarous, naked pagans as destitute of civilization, as they are of true religion."(citations omitted) From his calculations, Carey perceived the need for missionary work was greater for the 57.7% pagans of the world, than the 17.9% potential Muslims. The more Carey read and studied, the more he reportedly became convinced that people in the world need Christ. "He read, he made notes, he made a great leather globe of the world and, one day, in the quietness of his cobbler's shop - not in some enthusiastic missionary conference - Carey heard the call: 'If it be the duty of all men to believe the Gospel... then it be the duty of those who are entrusted with the Gospel to endeavor to make it known among all nations'." Gospel Challenges the gospel's would be better spread to the heathen, Carey contended, if the story of Christ were heard from one of their own people as these individuals know their own culture and language better than an outsider. In addition, training nationals for the massive work for the conversion of their own people Carey knew was more rational. As Carey life shows, however, even with the help of those a missionary trains shows to help share the gospel, much work remains for foreign missionaries to complete.

Amidst the training times, Carey experienced years of discouragement as no Indian converted to Christ for seven years. Carey experienced debt, disease, deterioration of his first wife's mind, death, yet he continued to preach God's grace, the power of the Word and life in Christ. Carey's Missionary Approach Carey's missionary approach consisted of three primary main tenets:

Preach the gospel in the people's native tongue, give them the Bible in their mother tongue if they do not already have it, and educate the young whether Christians or not."

Faith-Based Expectations... "Expect great things; attempt great things" constitutes another of Carey's theological perceptions. Although much of Carey's mission work was beset with difficult transitions and painful memories, these in a sense, "constitute building blocks of deep-seated truth and timely reminders for current attempts to gain new missiological understanding. In their light, the present 'quest for the historical Carey' and his colleagues seeks to discover how and what the triumvirate learned, how they developed skills, how they acted cross-culturally in the midst of complex socio-political circumstances, whom they influenced in the process of trying to be true to Jesus Christ, what they achieved, what legacy they left, and how their principles may be relevant for...today." From 1800 forward, Carey's circumstances dramatically changed. At this time, he turned away from a backwater in the northern part of Bengal and invested this time of his life in metropolitan Calcutta and its suburbs. At this time, Carey "emerged from a frontier, pioneer-missionary chrysalis to use the wings of an urban professional educator and translator."

Consequently, Carey's biographers identified the heroic in his life and spotlight his courage in the midst of difficult challenges as they present him as a man of nobility, grace, and kindness. Carey's life reflects how Christ can redeem ordinary humanity. This noble picture, back in time, and even now frequently provided Christian readers an enthusiastic motivation to "do good in 'foreign places'."

Doing good" in "foreign places," only reflects part of the picture of a larger than life canvas. The call is to see Carey and others, as well as one's self as parts of a brotherhood in/of faith. To understand missions such as the Serampore mission band to constitute " much larger effort to unite the east and the west -- to perceive its contribution to the coming of the kingdom of God and to better address the challenges posed by a sinful world."

Carey's Contribution to/Significance for the Baptist Movement

Carey's approach, in the end, proved successful in that Muslims joined Hindus and Europeans along his funeral route demonstrating that gentility can win admirers in any culture."

Share and Show

William Carey, referred to as "the father of modern missions," shared a many great truths about missions, as he also showed how these truths might be put into practice. From Carey's example and teachings, others saw the missionary vision. In turn, sparks from his fire for winning the world for Christ ignited the same missionary desire in others.

Carey is also considered "one of the most important figures in missionary history, a trailblazer whose approach to missions established the model we use today. His forty-year career has received deserved attention, with three biographies already, the newest less than a decade old."

Pray, Plan, Pay"

One of Carey's primary, significant contributions to the Baptist movement in missions, Enquiry Into the Obligations of the Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens, which appeared in 1792, constituted: " a clarion call for missionary work, which Carey pressed with his formula: 'pray, plan, pay'."

Andrew Fuller assisted Carey in his push for the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society, which was founded in Kettering, England, during 1792.

Carey's Enquiry into the Obligations of the Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen was/is considered a masterpiece on missions. "Carey answered arguments, surveyed the history of missions from apostolic times, surveyed the entire known world as to countries, size, population and religions, and dealt with the practical application of how to reach the world for Christ.

Enquiry

The following depicts an excerpt from Enquiry into the Obligations of the Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen:

SECT. I.

_An Enquiry whether the Commission given by our Lord to his Disciples be not still binding on us._

Our Lord Jesus Christ, a little before his departure, commissioned his apostles to _Go_, and _teach all nations_; or, as another evangelist expresses it, _Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature_. This commission was as extensive as possible, and laid them under obligation to disperse themselves into every country of the habitable globe, and preach to all the inhabitants, without exception, or limitation. They accordingly went forth in obedience to the command, and the power of God evidently wrought with them. Many attempts of the same kind have been made since their day, and which have been attended with various success; but the work has not been taken up, or prosecuted of late years (except by a few individuals) with that zeal and perseverance with which the primitive Christians went about it. It seems as if many thought the commission was sufficiently put in execution by what the apostles and others have done; that we have enough to do to attend to the salvation of our own countrymen; and 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. It is thus that multitudes sit at ease, and give themselves no concern about the far greater part of their fellow-sinners, who to this day, are lost in ignorance and idolatry. There seems also to be an opinion existing in the minds of some, that because the apostles were extraordinary officers and have no proper successors, and because many things which were right for them to do would be utterly unwarrantable for us, therefore it may not be immediately binding on us to execute the commission, though it was so upon them. To the consideration of such persons I would offer the following observations.

FIRST, if the command of Christ to teach all nations be restricted to the apostles, or those under the immediate inspiration of the Holy

Ghost, then that of baptizing should be so too; and every denomination of Christians, except the Quakers, do wrong in baptizing with water at all.

SECONDLY, if the command of Christ to teach all nations be confined to the apostles, then all such ordinary ministers who have endeavoured to carry the gospel to the heathens, have acted without a warrant, and run before they were sent. Yea, and though God has promised the most glorious things to the heathen world by sending his gospel to them, yet whoever goes first, or indeed at all, with that message, unless he have a new and special commission from heaven, must go without any authority for so doing.

THIRDLY, if the command of Christ to teach all nations extend only to the apostles, then, doubtless, the promise of the divine presence in this work must be so limited; but this is worded in such a manner as expressly precludes such an idea. _Lo, I am with you always, to the end of the world.

Carey also prayed... pled with God in prayers. He also "plodded" and persisted as he preached -- especially his "epoch-producing message, 'Expect Great Things From God. Attempt Great Things for God.'" Carey's message, "Expect Great Things from God. Attempt Great Things for God" preached at Nottingham, May 30, 1792, along with a number of other missionary ministries of Carey, "produced the particular Baptist Missionary Society, formed that Fall at Kettering on October 2, 1792. A subscription was started and, ironically, Carey could not contribute any money toward it except the pledge of the profit from his book, the Enquiry."

Over the Course of a Career

In 1793, Carey travelled to India as the Society's first missionary. "Over the course of a career that lasted three decades, Carey founded Baptist churches, a college, and an indigo plantation, the proceeds of which he used to publish and distribute copies of the Bible."

After Carey's inspiration contributed to the founding of the Baptist Missionary Society in 1792, and after his missionary work in India, Carey helped complete a translation of the NT into Bengali (published 1801). When Fort William College opened in Calcutta, Carey was appointed professor of Sanskrit, Bengali, and Marathi. He also translated the entire Bible into Bengali (1809), as well as translating the entire or part into 24 other dialects and languages.

As a skillful linguist, Carey not only translated the Scriptures into Bengali, but also into Kanarese, Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, and Telugu, India's major languages. He also produced dictionaries and grammars for a number of other languages. Some individuals, in fact, perceive Carey to be the father of modem Bengali. In addition to contributions in the Christian realm, Carey made a point to contribute to political and social issues, such as promoting the conservation of forests and founding the Agricultural Society of India. Some "social" issues, such as, calling for an end to infanticide and sati, the Indian practice of a widow throwing herself onto her husband's funeral pyre," and being burned, albeit could also be noted as Christian concerns.