Jesse Babcock Ferguson
Encyclopedia
Jesse Babcock Ferguson was an American
Christian
preacher
who developed Spiritualist leanings in the 1840s and 1850s while serving as the preacher at the Nashville, Tennessee
Church of Christ. He edited a periodical called The Christian Magazine and drew large numbers into the church with his powerful preaching, leading to congregational growth and the construction of a new church building.
Ferguson was eventually expelled from the Nashville Church of Christ in April 1857 for his public advocacy of Spiritualism; the new church building burned shortly after that under suspicious circumstances. Ferguson's beliefs and their upshot led some of the members of the Nashville Church of Christ who had not agreed with Ferguson's Spiritualism to make stronger affirmation of orthodoxy a requirement for future ministers; among the leaders of this strain of belief was Tolbert Fanning, who used the Ferguson incident to enforce his own conservative beliefs as the norm for the group.
Ferguson later traveled to England in the company of the Davenport Brothers
to demonstrate supposed "supramundane"
phenomena. Ferguson also became convinced of the eventual salvation of all souls through divine grace, the doctrine of Universalism
, and was active in the Universalist faith in his later years.
Ferguson is buried in Nashville's Mount Olivet Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
who developed Spiritualist leanings in the 1840s and 1850s while serving as the preacher at the Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
Church of Christ. He edited a periodical called The Christian Magazine and drew large numbers into the church with his powerful preaching, leading to congregational growth and the construction of a new church building.
Ferguson was eventually expelled from the Nashville Church of Christ in April 1857 for his public advocacy of Spiritualism; the new church building burned shortly after that under suspicious circumstances. Ferguson's beliefs and their upshot led some of the members of the Nashville Church of Christ who had not agreed with Ferguson's Spiritualism to make stronger affirmation of orthodoxy a requirement for future ministers; among the leaders of this strain of belief was Tolbert Fanning, who used the Ferguson incident to enforce his own conservative beliefs as the norm for the group.
Ferguson later traveled to England in the company of the Davenport Brothers
Davenport Brothers
Ira Erastus Davenport and William Henry Davenport , known as the Davenport Brothers, were American magicians in the late 19th century, sons of a Buffalo, New York policeman...
to demonstrate supposed "supramundane"
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
phenomena. Ferguson also became convinced of the eventual salvation of all souls through divine grace, the doctrine of Universalism
Universalism
Universalism in its primary meaning refers to religious, theological, and philosophical concepts with universal application or applicability...
, and was active in the Universalist faith in his later years.
Ferguson is buried in Nashville's Mount Olivet Cemetery
Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville)
Mount Olivet Cemetery is a 250-acre cemetery located in Nashville, Tennessee.Mount Olivet has been continuously operated since its establishment in 1856. It serves as the final resting place for many of Middle Tennessee's political and business leaders, including several former governors of...
.
External links
- Jesse Babcock Ferguson at the website of the Unitarian Universalist AssociationUnitarian Universalist AssociationUnitarian Universalist Association , in full the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations in North America, is a liberal religious association of Unitarian Universalist congregations formed by the consolidation in 1961 of the American Unitarian Association and the Universalist Church of...
- Jesse B. Ferguson at TheRestorationMovement.com
- Supramundane Facts in the Life of Rev. Jesse Babcock Ferguson, A.M., L.L.D. Including Twenty Years of Observations of Preternatural Phenomena Edited by T. L. Nichols, M.D. LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
: 1885. (PDF) at SpiritualWritings.com