THE GOOD DOCTOR:
Philip Doddridge of Northampton - a tercentary tribute
By Alan C. Clifford
Charenton Reformed Publishing, 8 Le Strange Close, Norwich NR2 3PN
319 pages. £9.95 + £1.60 p&p
ISBN 0 9526716 3 8
Few people are better-equipped than Dr. Alan Clifford to write an account of the life and work of Philip Doddridge. Like the author of 'Hark, the glad sound, the Saviour comes', his biographer is a pastor/hymnwriter and a moderate (or genuine) Calvinist, whose interest in his subject goes back decades.
50 years ago Victor Murray wrote: 'The history of nonconformity in the middle years of the 18th century is the history of Doddridge and his influence.' Like the book where that appeared, edited by Geoffrey Nuttall, this marks a notable anniversary. Unlike it, it is the work of one man, who values his predecessors in the field, but clearly feels that justice has not yet been done to Doddridge the evangelical.
'The good Doctor' (an adjective on which his contemporaries agreed) could also be described as a moderate liberal and ecumenical catholic, but those words have been so hijacked that what once were badges of honour have become labels of abuse. The man himself rose above all that, combining orthodox biblical teaching in his Northampton Academy with an unashamed gospel ministry. There was room in his faithful prayers, vast correspondence and warm friendship for Whitefield and Wesley, Baptists and Independents, curates and archbishops. He had a sense of proportion, humour and social obligation.
He is a dangerous man to pigeonhole, but Dr. Clifford finds him a congenial spiritual in most disputed areas. Unlike some teachers to his left or right, he encouraged his students to think for themselves and was wary of obligatory subscription to man-made articles and confessions; his five reasons are given on page 249.
This issue surfaces elsewhere, but that page comes in an academic Appendix which some may find excessive. It consists largely of the author's response to criticism from Prof. Donald Macleod and others who impugn his hero's orthodoxy. This is well-argued, but will surely date more quickly than the main narrative. Still, appendicectomy is not normally fatal.
As well as many helpful illustrations, notes, bibliography and indexing we would have valued a family tree and chronological table, such as Malcolm Deacon gave in his 1980 biography. But lovers of Doddridge, Northampton, hymns, revival and the history of English dissent, cannot afford to ignore this book. Most will greatly enjoy it.
