John Nelson Darby
John Nelson Darby (* November 18, 1800 in London, † April 29, 1882 in Bournemouth, England) was a leading figure of the Brethren movement.
Life
Darby was the youngest son of a wealthy Anglo-Irish businessman John Darby (1751-1834) and his wife Anne née Vaughan ( 1757-1847 ). He received his middle name in honor of Lord Nelson, who was perhaps also his godfather.
From 1812 to 1815 Darby attended the Westminster School in London, then he studied until 1819 at Trinity College in Dublin Jura. On 10 July 1819 he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts and received it the highest award for Classical Philology. He spent his eight- duty quarters at Lincoln's Inn and finished it on 26 November 1821. On January 21, 1822, he was admitted as a solicitor in Ireland.
1820 or 1821 Darby had experienced a conversion to the Christian faith; 1824 or 1825, he decided to abandon his legal career and to become a clergyman. On August 7, 1825, he was consecrated in the Cathedral of Raphoe by Bishop William Bissett to Deacon, the lowest degree of an ordained priest in the Anglican Church. He worked from 1825 to 1827 among the rural poor in Calary in Enniskerry ( Co. Wicklow, Ireland). On February 19, 1826, he was ordained at Christ Church Cathedral ( Dublin) to the pastor ( priest ).
A speech by Archbishop Magee at St. Patrick 's Cathedral (Dublin) on 10 October 1826 in which he argued against the Roman Catholic system, Darby very busy. Magee was a strong connection between church and state and praised the churches of England and Ireland for their loyalty towards the state. Many people converted to Protestantism at that time what the church-political conflict intensified. Darby, however, assumed that someone who preach the gospel, be exposed to hostility and therefore it would not be logical to look for in the "world" refuge. The true head of the Christian community to God and not an earthly king.
A riding accident forced Darby end of 1827, to recover in Dublin in the house of his brother Edward Pennefather. There he made the acquaintance of Francis William Newman (brother of John Henry Newman), who found that a dozen people from the impact of Darby would have contributed more to the conversion of all of Ireland to Protestantism than the whole state church apparatus. During this time of intensive reflection Darby developed views that were the basis of his later ministry, including on the authority of the Bible, the new position of the believer in Christ, the church as the body of Christ (regardless of membership of a church organization ), the Christian ministry, the return of Christ and the establishment of his rule.
In winter 1827/28 Darby came with independent Christian circles, the germ cells of the Brethren movement in contact. He initially joined a group led by Anthony Norris Groves and John Gifford Bellett, the united and moved to the end of 1829 with a similar type of circuit to the doctor Edward Cronin in May 1830 in a public hall.
After his recovery, Darby did not return to his church service, but took a leading role in the young Brethren movement. His first preaching tour took him to Limerick and then to various other places in Ireland and England. Mostly he preached still in Anglican churches, some he met on already existing independent circuits. In many places, created new Christian communities, so in 1832 in Plymouth, where together soon found about 700 people.
Through an inheritance financially independent, Darby was able to extend its scope from 1839 to mainland Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. From 1839 to 1845, he mostly stayed in the French-speaking Switzerland, where he first attended existing free church circles, in 1841, but establishing their own communities in terms of the Brethren movement called. From 1843 as well as several Brethren originated in France. Terms of the development in Germany - apart from brief visits Darby's in Tübingen and Stuttgart 1850 - his encounter with the NKJV elementary school teacher and evangelist Carl Brockhaus significant. Darby's first visit in Elberfeld took place in 1853 until 1878 he was further seven times to Germany. With Brockhaus Darby also published the NIV translation.
From 1845 Darby was involved in England in several theological disputes, which led to divisions within the Brethren movement. End of 1845, he parted in Plymouth by Benjamin Wills Newton, whom he accused of clericalism, 1848 by the community in Bristol under Georg Müller and Henry Craik, who declined to investigate controversial teachings of Newton on the Passion of Christ and condemn ( this resulted in the global division between "open" and " closed brothers "). 1858 Darby published his part teaching on the suffering of Christ, by some of his friends ( including William Henry Dorman and Percy Francis Hall ) were perceived as false doctrines, so that they parted from him in 1866. 1879-81, there were disputes about matters of church discipline and the recognition of municipal decisions which again had a separation result ( inter alia by William Kelly).
Teaching
Darby saw the Bible in different eras in salvation history, the so-called " households " (English dispensational ), divided. In his view, Bible texts in the context of these epochs must be read. Particularly important is the strict separation between Israel ( the earthly people with earthly promises of God and an earthly future) and the community ( the heavenly people of God with heavenly promises and a heavenly future). This theological and hermeneutical model was known as dispensationalism, especially in American Protestantism far beyond the Brethren movement and also forms the basis, inter alia, the Scofield Bible.
Due to its salvation-historical Look Darby also took the view that the church was dilapidated beyond repair by the time of the apostles. The decline had already begun at the time of the New Testament. Darby agreed in many doctrinal statements while with the Free Churches agreed, but criticized its declared intention to restore the "church in the New Testament ." A restoration of the original church of Jesus was no longer possible, because God never restoring something that man has spoiled, and in addition they lacked the apostolic ministry. For the current community ( the NKJV Bible speaks of " Meeting") is it only possible to gather in the name of Jesus (Matthew 18:20). Under this Assembly in the name of Jesus Darby understood, especially the Sunday " breaking of bread " ( Eucharist). His vision was that all believers in the " table of the Lord " gather anywhere in the world and be guided in their meeting with the Holy Spirit. At the " breaking of bread " may by Darby but only those participating, by sound doctrine, pure change and separation from evil (which includes the church structures ) are different from the others.
The epistles of Revelation ( chapters 2-3) and the churches of Asia Minor were described in it for Darby types of the individual epochs of church history. The Brethren he saw as Philadelphia: small and powerless, but without blame and with a great promise ( Revelation 3:7).
Writings
Darby's writings are summarized in the following editions:
English-language editions
- The Collected Writings of J.N. Darby. Ed. by William Kelly. 34 volumes. Morrish, London 1867-1900. - New set Reprints: Stow Hill Bible and Tract Depot, Kingston-on -Thames oJ ( around 1960 ). Of further reprints.
- Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. 5 volumes. Morrish, London o.J. - Reproduction: Stow Hill Bible and Tract Depot, Kingston-on -Thames, 1943, of which more reprints..
- Notes and Comments on Scripture from the Note Books of JN Darby. 7 volumes. Carter / Humphery, London 1883-1913. - Reproduction: Stow Hill Bible and Tract Depot, Kingston-on -Thames 1959-1961. Of further reprints.
- Notes and Jottings from Various meetings with JN Darby. 5 volumes. Foreign Gospel Tract and Book Depot, London o.J. ( around 1930 ). - Reprint in one volume: Stow Hill Bible and Tract Depot, Kingston-on -Thames in 1962 of which more reprints..
- Spiritual songs. Ed. by H. A. Hammond. Tract Depot, Dublin 1883 -. Various reprints.
- Letters of J.N.D. 3 volumes. Morrish, London o.J. - Reproduction: Stow Hill Bible and Tract Depot, Kingston-on -Thames oJ Of further reprints.
A directory of Darby's individual writings can be found in the catalog of the Christian Brethren Archive (Manchester).
German -language editions
- Reflections on the Word of God. Part 1-7. New edition in 7 volumes, Ernst- Paul -Verlag, Neustadt on the Wine Route 1981. ( German translation of the Synopsis of the Books of the Bible )