FROM CAMBRIDGE TO COLONY:
Charles Simeon’s Enduring Influence on
Christianity in Australia
Edited by Edward Loane
Latimer Publications. 104 pages. £6.99
ISBN 978 1 906 327 385
I’m a great fan of niche publishing. ‘Well done’, I say, to publishing houses who weigh the longer-term benefit of a manuscript and not only potential sales figures.
This very niche work, issuing from a conference at Moore College, really needed to be published.
Charles Simeon of Cambridge, an exact contemporary of Wilberforce, seems to be making a comeback, which is good news. He was a colossus, as witnessed here by the extent of his influence in Australia. He never visited the colony, and indeed travelled comparatively little. Much of his legacy came through his ‘skeletons’ – that is, his sermon outlines, published with the aim of helping younger preachers. Like all good books, his multi-volume Horae Homileticae (to give the ‘skeletons’ their proper name) got talked about and its lessons passed on.
Shaping Australian evangelicalism
In this small volume, Simeon’s legacy in Australia is traced by six contributors, all Australians. It opens with an overview of what made up Simeon’s UK ministry, and we meet key players on the wider scene such as Henry Venn, William Farish and Isaac Milner.
From here we move to those who shaped Australian evangelicalism on the ground, with chapters on Samuel Marsden and Frederic Barker. Not surprisingly, Simeon’s emphasis on work among students receives special attention. Arguably the CICCU rooted its beginnings to Simeon, even though he died 40 years before it was founded. Chapter 5 outlines parallels between Simeon’s university ministry and the more recent work of Phillip Jensen. Final chapters are given to ‘Moderate Biblicism’, exploring Simeon’s relationship to the Church of England and non-Conformists; and to ‘Loving in Deed and Truth’.
An editor is bound to be an over-critical reviewer. While there were terms I would have explained differently, from the benefit of having a UK background, this is a small matter.
The footnotes are excellent. If you have an interest in Simeon, you will need this book.
