The Real Genesis of American Modern Missions

I found the following quote from Elder Sylvester Hassell on Elder David Montgomery's website: (http://primitivebaptist.info/mambo//content/view/974/36/)

"The Gospel Messenger--1911 

The above is the title of a book of 229 pages written by “B. H. Carroll, Jr., B. A., LL.B., Th.D.”, of Texas, and published by The Baptist Book Concern, 642 Fourth Avenue, Louisville, Ky., and sent by mail, postpaid, for one dollar.

A more correct title of the book would be “The Real Genesis of American Modern Missions, and the Imagi­nary Genesis of American Anti-Modern-Missionism.” More than one-third of the book (84 pages) is devoted to the history and glorification of American Modern-Mis­sionisrn among the Baptists. Mr. Carroll truthfully says that William Carey, of England, was the father of American as well as English missions; and that Luther Rice and Adoniram Judson, Jr., were the real or direct awakeners of the American Baptists to missionary ac­tivity. He might also have said, with truth, as the Cir­cular Letter of 1806 of the Philadelphia Association said—“In modern missions papal Rome led the way.” He does indeed intimate this important fact on the 94th page of his book, when he says: “Reformers have never been missionaries, nor the reforming ages periods of mis­sionary activity in the church. This was true of the Roman church. For three hundred years, while the re­formers were trying by means of councils to cleanse the church in head and members, there was no missionary activity. Not until after the Reformation, when the Council of Trent had finally put a quietus on the reform movements did Roman missionary activity begin. The same was true of the Protestant churches. As long as Europe was filled with the jangling of their warring creeds, missionary effort, though feebly attempted a few times, miserably failed. But in the fullness of time when religious opinions had all clarified and crystallized into settled creeds, Carey arose to set the Christian world on fire with missionary enthusiasm.” Of course if, as admitted by their most zealous and best informed advocates, Modern Money-based  missions originated with the Roman Catholics in the 17th century (Pope Gregory XV. in 1622) and with William Carey of Eng­land in the 18th century (1792), they did not originate with the prophets or Christ or His apostles in the ages of perfect and infallible Divine inspiration., and they were even unknown in the church of more than fifteen hun­dred years after the last apostle died. But there is noth­ing new in all this—these facts have been well known to informed men for more than a hundred years. If the Scriptures do not authorize Modern Money-Based Missions to a reverent believer in the scriptures who re­gards them as the only infallible standard of faith and practice there would seem to be no use or very little use for the remainder of Mr. Carroll’s book."


The Philadelphia Association certainly evidenced dislike of Carey's missions, apparently.