Austin McGary (February 6, 1846 – June 15, 1928) was an American
Restoration Movement
The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening (1790–1 ...
evangelist and
publisher
Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
of a periodical entitled ''
Firm Foundation'', which was first published on September 1, 1884.
Born in
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. Its population was 45,941 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville United States micropolitan area, micropolitan area ...
, to Isaac and Elizabeth (Visier) McGary, McGary's father was said to have fought at the
Battle of San Jacinto
The Battle of San Jacinto (), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Deer Park, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged and defeated General A ...
and to have guarded the recently captured
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...
. McGary's mother died while McGary was a child.
Texas lawman
Before becoming an evangelist, McGary was elected
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
of
Madison County, Texas, a post he held for two years before resigning to work for the state of
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
in transporting
prisoners to
penitentiaries. This work took place near the
United States-Mexico border
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
.
Personal life
McGary was married three times—to Narcissus Jenkins in 1866 (two children) until her death in 1872, Lucy Bettie Kittrell in 1875 (nine children) until her death in 1897, and finally to Lillian Otey.
Evangelist, publisher, debater
McGary became interested in religion and studied the
Alexander Campbell -
Robert Owen
Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist, political philosopher and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement, co-operative movement. He strove to ...
debate of 1829. He was said to have been educated in part by Church of Christ ministers including Benton, Thomas, and Basil Sweeney.
McGary was converted to the
Churches of Christ
The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation ...
and
baptized
Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...
by Harry Hamilton after hearing sermons by the latter in
Madisonville, Texas. The baptism took place on December 24, 1881.
He began publication of the ''Firm Foundation'' in 1884, in his own words:
:''"to oppose everything in the work and worship of the church, for which there was not a command or an apostolic example or a necessary scriptural inference."''
Rebaptism controversy
In debates with
David Lipscomb, editor of the rival publication ''
Gospel Advocate'', McGary advanced positions regarding the relationship between
baptism
Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
and
salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
, some of which were already seminal in the formation of the group of
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
churches known as the
Churches of Christ
The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation ...
, others of which would become the basis for continuing disagreement among members of that body.
The substance of McGary's argument was based on the notion, generally accepted by members of the Churches of Christ, that the state of human salvation begins at the moment of that individual's
baptism
Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
. McGary, however, further asserted that another condition of salvation lay in the believer's knowledge and acceptance of this idea (of baptism securing the remission of sins) at the moment of baptism, concluding that baptisms occurring outside of this condition were invalid, and did not bring about the salvation of those baptised in the absence of that state of belief. Lipscomb took the opposite position: that baptism for any scriptural reason qualified as scriptural baptism, independent of the candidate's full knowledge and acceptance of that concept. McGary's position was often dubbed "The Texas Heresy" by its detractors.
The extent of the re-baptism controversy and McGary's role in it are evident in various essays in David W. Fletcher's edited 432-page collection of essays ''Baptism and the remission of sins: A historical perspective'' published in 1990. By the late 1930s the McGary position came to dominate American
Churches of Christ
The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation ...
in all but
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...
(the area most under Lipscomb's continued influence), but the Lipscomb view has since become more popular in some elements of the fellowship nationally.
Later life
After resigning the editorship of the ''Firm Foundation'' in 1902,
[Terry J. Gardner, "McGary, Austin (1846-1928)", in ''The encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell movement'', ed. Douglas A. Foster, Paul M. Blowers, Anthony L. Dunnavant, D. Newell Williams (]Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
: Eerdmans
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company is a religious publishing house based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1911 by Dutch American William B. Eerdmans and still independently owned with William's daughter-in-law Anita Eerdmans as presid ...
, 2004), , pp. 507-508. McGary lived in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and then in
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
before returning to live in Texas.
Other later periodicals published by McGary included ''The Lookout'' and ''The Open Arena''.
References
External links
Biography at TheRestorationMovement.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGary, Austin
American members of the Churches of Christ
Texas sheriffs
1846 births
1928 deaths
People from Huntsville, Texas