Benajah Harvey Carroll (1843-1914) Early Texas Baptist Leader and Educator

Dan Nelson January 30, 2020

Benajah Harvey Carroll (1843-1914) Early Texas Baptist Leader and Educator
(A synopsis of a biography in my book: Baptist Biographies and Happenings in American History. Contact me for a copy). B. H. Carroll powerfully instrumental in his ministry and education at the beginning of the 20th century (especially in Texas). He was a brilliant scholar who had a grasp of literature, history and other fields of education. He excelled through as a Bible Scholar and his “Interpretation of the English Bible” is a classic commentary on the whole Bible. Still consulted, as a great masterpiece of explaining God’s Word; a friend told me he read through the whole set of commentaries and it was just like going to Bible College and Seminary and get all the exposure in classes you would get there. I took him up on his challenge and believe me, I learned stuff I had not learned in seminary. Carroll greatly excelled as an educator after a successful ministry at First Baptist Church of Waco, TX. He was the founder and president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX going on to glory from there after a decade of establishment and notoriety as a different school in his day that stood out from the many schools that had gone after German higher critical interpretation of the Bible which was very liberal.
Carroll grew up in Texas after his family moved there from Mississippi. His father was a pastor/farmer. He did not trust as Saviour growing up and after being wounded in the Civil War and coming home to heartache he would have been considered an agnostic. However, his attendance at a Methodist Camp meeting resulted in the conviction of sin and his coming to Christ. From then on, he had absolute confidence in the Word of God. He wrote about his conversion in his book: My Infidelity and What Became of It. After growing in Baptist Churches and becoming an ardent Bible Student he sensed the call of God to preach the gospel. He pastored several small Texas churches before being called to First Baptist Church of Waco, Texas where he enjoyed 30 years of faithful and fruitful ministry. He became a leader among Texas Baptists and nationwide. He was noted for his conservative scholarship, teaching also at Baylor University. He led mission movements and took on W.H. Whitsitt, the president of Southern Seminary who denied Baptist history beginning before 1642. Carroll believed otherwise and was influenced also by his brother J.M. Carroll who wrote “Trail of Blood” advocating Baptist Church Succession back to the time of Christ. Whitsitt made such an issue out of the controversy he was fired as president of the seminary in what many believed was a victory for the Landmark view of Baptist History.
Carroll also opposed Catholicism as one of the greatest hindrances to the preaching of the gospel in history. This led to his Post-Millennial views of Revelation. Some say became a Pre-Millennial shortly before his death. He also opposed the Restoration movement by Alexander Campbell and his baptismal regeneration view, participating in debates for the Biblical view of salvation.
Carroll’s most lasting contribution was the founding of Southwestern Baptist Seminary. It was started as a firewall against liberalism, many young men were being corrupted by when they went back East to study in liberal schools that broke their faith in God’s Word. He said God gave him a vision of how the school could begin and keep young preacher boys in Texas exposing them to complete dependence on the Inerrancy of God’s Word. The school started in 1905 as a graduate school of Baylor moving to Fort Worth in 1910 and becoming at one time the largest Theological School in the world.
On his death-bed, Carroll discharged the presidency to L.R. Scarborough who he had mentored for the job. Urgently telling him “To latch the school to the Cross”, and Christ’s saving work. Baptists owe a huge debt to Carroll for his scholarship and influence in making Baptists a people of the book more than any other group today.
A couple of quotes show his allegiance to God’s Word and believing in its authority.
“These modern devotees of higher criticism must wait each week for the mail from Germany to know what to believe or preach, to find out how much, if any of their Bibles remains.” —Theological Seminaries and Wild Gourds.
“The modern cry ‘less creed and more liberty’ is the degeneration from the vertebrate to the jellyfish, and means less unity and less morality, and it means more heresy.” —An Interpretation of the English Bible