Theology and Practice of Ann Hasseltine Judson and the American Baptist Mission to Burma, 1812 ...

340 Pages·2015·1.91 MB·English

Leaving Home and Finding Home:
Theology and Practice of Ann Hasseltine Judson and the
American Baptist Mission to Burma, 1812-1826

by  
Laura  Rodgers  Levens  
Divinity  School  
Duke  University  

Date:_______________________
Approved:

___________________________
Curtis Freeman, Supervisor

___________________________
Laceye Warner, Supervisor

___________________________
Yaakov Ariel

___________________________
Willie Jennings

___________________________
Grant Wacker

Dissertation  submitted  in  partial  fulfillment  of  
the  requirements  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Theology    
 in  the  Divinity  School  of  Duke  University  

2015
ABSTRACT  
Leaving Home and Finding Home:
Theology and Practice of Ann Hasseltine Judson and the
American Baptist Mission to Burma, 1812-1826

by  
Laura  Rodgers  Levens  
Divinity  School  
Duke  University  

Date:_______________________
Approved:

___________________________
Curtis Freeman, Supervisor

___________________________
Laceye Warner, Supervisor

___________________________
Yaakov Ariel

___________________________
Willie Jennings

___________________________
Grant Wacker

An  abstract  of  a  dissertation  submitted  in  partial  
fulfillment  of  the  requirements  for    
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Theology  in  the    
Divinity  School  of  Duke  University  

2015
Copyright by
Laura Rodgers Levens
2015
Abstract

This dissertation is a historical and theological investigation of one of the first
American missionary women, Ann Hasseltine Judson. This project follows the recent
historical shift in international and mission history toward questions of engagement, agency,
and exchange to elucidate shifting identities and relational negotiation along the lines of
gender, nationality, and community. Ann Judson engaged in a process of detachment and
identification, or uprooting and replanting, from her formative context in the United States
to her new home in Burma. Ann Judson used devotional habits and theological rationale to
uproot herself from the United States and create a critical distance in order to open herself
to replant in her new mission field. Her preparations to uproot guided Ann toward the type
of mission Burma might offer, and included a shift in her religious tradition from
Congregationalist to Baptist. Ann’s change to the Baptists widened her circle of supporters,
as she added a network of women’s societies, congregations, and the newly formed national
Baptist Triennial Convention.
Methodological tools of sociological identification, gender history, women’s history,
and practice theories assist to elucidate Ann’s personal agency, organizing principles, and
efforts to encourage the agency of others within the American Baptist Mission to Burma.
Ann engaged in her context and social relations to construct and shape mission practices.
She extended formative knowledge into complex practices of home- and church-making.
Ann’s organization of practices focused on her two goals: to establish a stable life in Burma
and to participate in the birth of the Burmese church. As a foreigner, Ann sought good civic
relations and the ability to openly spread Christianity with her practices of household
economy and missionary diplomacy. As a missionary, Ann fashioned the practices of
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catechesis and community cultivation to connect and guide religious inquirers, and enable
the agency and responsibility of Burmese converts within the congregation. Her theology of
redemption and religious affections tinted every attempt to make sense of her environment,
experience, and encounter, and she also crafted a theology of mission for the West in her
historical account of the American Baptist Mission to Burma.

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Table of Contents
Abstract ......................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... viii
Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................. 1
1.1 Argument .................................................................................................................................................. 2
1.2 Method ...................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Historiography .......................................................................................................................................... 6
1.4 Life of Ann Judson and the American Baptist Mission to Burma ................................................... 9
Chapter Two: Leaving Home: Contextual Uprooting and Replanting ....................... 15
2.1 Preparations to Uproot, Expectations to Replant ............................................................................ 19
2.2 Searching for a New Home .................................................................................................................. 27
2.3 Subject to a New Government ............................................................................................................ 31
2.4 Speaking a New Language .................................................................................................................... 42
2.5 Immersed in New Religion: Becoming Baptist and Exposure to Burmese Buddhism .............. 48
2.6 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 63
Chapter Three: From Hasseltine to Judson: Western Partnerships in Mission ......... 66
3.1 Formative Relations: Mission Enablers In Bradford, Massachusetts ............................................ 71
3.2 Mission Support: Triennial Convention, Female Societies, And Missionary Magazines ............ 79
3.3 Close Partner in Mission: Adoniram Judson ..................................................................................... 91
3.4 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 97
Chapter Four: Home-Making: Practices of Household Economy and Political
Diplomacy ................................................................................................................... 99
4.1 Contextual And Relational Practice .................................................................................................. 101
4.2 Formative Knowledge I: New England Households and the Serampore Baptist Mission ...... 107
4.3 The Practice of Missionary Household Economy: Domestic Arrangements and Relations ... 113
4.4 Formative Knowledge II: Learning Diplomacy in Burma ............................................................ 118
4.5 The Practice of Missionary Diplomacy: Securing Life in Rangoon ............................................. 123
4.6 The Heroic Home-Maker: Household Economy and Diplomacy During the Anglo-Burmese
War ...................................................................................................................................................... 132
4.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 142
Chapter Five: Church-Making I: The Practice of Catechesis ................................... 145
5.1 Corporate and Constitutive Practice ................................................................................................. 149
5.2 Formational Knowledge: New England Congregationalism And Burmese Buddhism ........... 152
5.3 The Practice of Catechesis .................................................................................................................. 161
5.3.1 Materials Of The Faith: Translation Of Scripture And Composition Of Theology ......... 164
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5.3.2 Communicating the Faith ........................................................................................................... 170
5.3.3 Habits of Faith: Prayer, Reading, and Self-Examination ....................................................... 178
5.4 Indigenous Agency or Cultural Imperialism? .................................................................................. 186
5.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 190
Chapter Six: Church Making II: The Practice Of Community Cultivation .............. 194
6.1 Creative and Communal Practice ...................................................................................................... 198
6.2 Formational Knowledge Contested: Bradford Congregationalism and the Judsons’ ‘Change Of
Sentiment’ ........................................................................................................................................... 202
6.3 The Practice of Community Cultivation .......................................................................................... 207
6.3.1 Seeking Faith: A Community to Encourage Conversion ...................................................... 208
6.3.2 A Community Tested: How Public Must the Mission Be? ................................................... 217
6.3.3 Cultivation of Community Together: The Early Rangoon Congregation .......................... 228
6.4 Educating America: Ann Judson’s Appeals for Mission Support and Female Education in The
United States ...................................................................................................................................... 241
6.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 252
Chapter Seven: Finding Home: The Practice Of Theology ...................................... 257
7.1 Teleological, Pastoral Practice ............................................................................................................ 260
7.2 Redemption ........................................................................................................................................... 265
7.3 Religious Affections ............................................................................................................................ 277
7.4 A Theology of Mission for The West ............................................................................................... 286
7.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................ 303
Chapter Eight: Conclusion ......................................................................................... 307
Appendix A: Lists of Abbreviations and Names ........................................................ 312
Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................................. 312
Hasseltine-Judson Family .......................................................................................................................... 312
Western Missionary Colleagues ................................................................................................................ 312
Burmese Inquirers, Converts, and Other Noteworthy Persons ......................................................... 313
Appendix B: Ann Judson Chronology ........................................................................ 315
Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 322
Biography ................................................................................................................... 331

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Acknowledgements

There is nothing like a dissertation to make one sensible of the village. I am grateful,
first and foremost, for the encouragement and assistance of my husband, Justin Levens. I
confessed my desire to pursue more school shortly before we married, and he has been
gracious and supportive throughout. In saying “I do,” he also vowed to come alongside me
for better or worse on this doctoral adventure, and I am immensely grateful for his
companionship on this long journey. Shortly before I passed my dissertation proposal, Justin
and I discovered we were pregnant. Our son, Felix, has brought more joy, and a new
perspective, to this project by his presence. I am also thankful for my parents, Barry and
Linda, and my sister, Allison, for their supportive listening, guidance, and encouragement
along the way. During the central months of writing, my parents offered me free room,
board, and babysitting, which can never be repaid.
Second, I would like to acknowledge the support of the Duke Divinity community
and my dissertation committee. When I asked Laceye Warner for an independent study as a
master’s student, she suggested I apply for the ThD, beginning a wonderful mentorship and
friendship throughout my time in the degree program. As an interdisciplinary doctoral
student, I am eternally indebted to the Divinity faculty for their welcome in their respective
disciplines, especially Amy Laura Hall, Anathea Portier-Young, J. Kameron Carter, Sujin
Pak, Randy Maddox, Tammy Williams, Stephen Gunter, Willie Jennings, and Grant Wacker.
Grant took me in as an unofficial American Christianity student, and initially proposed that I
explore the theme of uprooting and replanting in missionary biographies. Curtis Freeman
invited me to read seventeenth century Baptist female preacher texts with him, and for the
next four years I visited his office almost weekly. I will never have another mentor and
working partner quite like him, and I appreciate his guidance and advice more than words
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can say. I am grateful for McKennon Shea, Callie Davis, and Kori Robins, who helped me
navigate the maze of Duke Divinity life. Nathan Kirkpatrick was my accountability partner,
and as iron sharpens iron, his care and concern for his denomination fueled my own interest,
questions, and concerns for my Baptist tradition.
I have loved to read and learn for as long as I can remember, but would never have
imagined my way to doctoral study without the quick wit and encouragement of my number
one fan, Carey Newman. Many thanks also to my fellow Duke colleagues who listened and
offered advice, especially Presian Burroughs, Wen Reagan, Celia Wolff, Kate Roberts, and
Mari Jorstad. Jennifer and Ben Brown, and Lindley and Mark Curtis provided hospitality
during research trips. Nathan Kirkpatrick and Kourtney Schopper offered accountability and
encouragement. Thanks also to the archivists and staff of American Baptist Historical
Society and the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives for their help and direction
in the early stages of my project. I am also thankful for my newest community of
scholarship, Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, for their support, and for our librarian Ryan
Schrauner, who copyedited my work.
Last, I want to thank the church communities who cultivated Christ in me and
encouraged me toward faith seeking understanding, and the presence of God in the world.
Many thanks to St. Matthews Baptist in Louisville, Seventh and James Baptist in Waco, First
Calvary Baptist, and Watts Street Baptist in Durham. I am also humbled and amazed by the
love shared within the community of Open Table Homeless Ministries, of Durham, North
Carolina. They too contributed to my research, as they were the first to teach me the
vulnerability of being “home-less” and to demonstrate an alternative way of constructing
“home” in relationship together.
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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

I believe very few females who have left their native country, have had it in their
power to make such sacrifices as myself. When I think of my pleasant home, and dear
Bradford friends; the flattering prospects and sources of enjoyment which I left, I am often
led to wonder how I was ever made willing to forsake them, and deliberately embrace a life
replete with vicissitudes as the present. But, my dear sister Mary, a little sacrifice for the
cause of Christ is not worth naming; and I feel it a privilege of which I am entirely
undeserving, to have had it in my power to sacrifice my all for Him who hesitated not to lay
down his life for sinners.
– Ann Judson, 18191

In legend, Ann Hasseltine Judson is a mythical force of feminine nature, striding
forth to sacrificially act in truth as the model martyr for missions. Among Baptists, Ann is
remembered for three moments in her missionary career. First, it is said that during the
commissioning of the first cohort of American male missionaries, Ann slipped from her pew
and knelt at the altar, submitting herself completely to God. Second, it is said that Ann and
Adoniram, individually studying the Bible to prepare for Bible translation and other
missionary activities, both concluded believer’s baptism to be the only proper administration
of this Christian right. Following this, they were immersed, no longer considering the
sprinkling they received as infants to be effective, and went on their way to Burma as the
first American Baptist missionaries. Third, Ann is famous for sacrificing her health and
safety to save imprisoned Adoniram from starvation, torture, and execution at the hands of
the Burmese during a time of war. After her death, poets eulogized Ann as the saintly,
angelic, missionary heroine who “dar’d the rude arrogance of savage power/to plead for
him, and bade his dungeon glow/with her fair brow.”2

1. Ann Judson to her sister Mary, Rangoon, Burma, April 29, 1819, in James D. Knowles, Memoir of
Mrs. Ann H. Judson, Late Missionary to Burmah: Including a History of the American Baptist Mission in the Burman Empire
(Boston: Lincoln & Edmunds, 1831), 180-181.
2. On Reading the Memoir of Mrs. Judson, in Knowles, Memoir of Mrs. Judson, 400.
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