James Henley Thornwell Books

It is impossible to understand the developments and controversies in American Presbyterianism in the nineteenth century without some grasp of the thought and importance of the distinguished Southern theologian and educator James Henley Thornwell (1812–1862). Three times he served as a pastor, and twice as a professor in the College of South Carolina, before he was called to the presidency of the college in 1851.

From 1855 until his death at the age of 49 he held the chair of theology in the Theological Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. During his relatively short lifetime he was widely recognized as a great preacher, a brilliant theologian, and an effective and influential churchman. Although Thornwell preferred the spoken to the written word, and did not live long enough to complete a work covering the whole system of theology, his Collected Writings, 1871–1882, edited by John B. Adger and John L. Girardeau, and now republished in full, have long been prized. The lectures, sermons, addresses, and articles which they contain abundantly confirm that among the many expositors of the theology and experimental religion which came to classical exposition in the Westminster Confession of Faith, Thornwell is one of the most erudite and powerful.