Adoniram Judson

Adoniram Judson, Jr. (9 August 1788 - 12 April 1850) was an American Baptist missionary who labored for almost forty years in Burma (now known as Myanmar). His mission and work led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America, inspired many Americans to become or support misisonaries, translated the Bible into Burmese, and established a number of Baptist churches in Burma.

Early life

Judson was born on 9 August 1788 in Malden, Massachusetts, son of a Congregational minister of the same name. At the age of nineteen, he graduated from Rhode Island College (now Brown University) as valedictorian of his class. He then attended The Andover Theological Seminary, and later participated in the formation of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Judson was commissioned as a foreign missionary by the Congregational Church, and married Ann Hasseltine on 5 February 1812. He was ordained the next day at the Tabernacle Church in Salem, and on 19 February set sail with Luther Rice, Samuel Newell and his wife, also missionaries.

Career

While aboard ship enroute to India, he did a focused study on baptism, and on 6 September 1812, he switched to the Baptist denomination and was baptized in Calcutta, India by an English missionary associate of William Carey. Both the local and British authorities did not want Americans evangelizing Hindus in the area, so the group of missionaries separated and sought other mission fields. The following year, on 13 July 1813, he moved to Burma, and enroute his wife miscarried their first child aboard ship.

After his conversion to Baptist views on baptism, Judson's offered to Baptists in the United States to serve as their missionary. Luther Rice who had also converted was in poor health and returned to America and his work and William Carey's urgings resulted in the formation in 1814 of the General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions (commonly called the Triennial Convention).

Judson, who already knew Latin, Greek and Hebrew, quickly learned to speak Burmese and began studying the grammar. His second child died at seven months of age. He completed translation of the Gospel of Matthew in 1817, and began evangelism in 1818, sitting in a zayat by the roadside calling out "Ho! Everyone that thirsteth for knowledge!" His first convert was baptized in 1819, and there were 18 converts by 1822.

Adoniram Judson was imprisoned for 17 months during the war between England and Burma, first at Ava and then at Oung-pen-la. He was released by the Burmese as the war wound down and served as an interpreter during the peace negotiations. In 24 October 1826, his wife Ann died at Amherst (now Kyaikkami), Burma, and their third child died six months later. He retreated into the woods for over a year, mourning. The first Burmese pastor he ordained was Ko-Thah-a, one of the original group of converts, who refounded the church at Rangoon. In 1834, he completed the Burmese translation of the Bible. In April of that same year, he married Sarah Hall Boardman, widow of fellow missionary George Boardman. They had eight children, five of whom survived to adulthood. Sarah's health began failing and physicians recommended a return to America. Sarah died enroute at St. Helena on 1 September 1845. He continued home, where he was greeted as a celebrity and toured the eastern seaboard raising the profile of and money for missionary activity. Because he had so thouroughly abandoned the English language for the Burmese, his public addresses were made through an interpreter. (English text is at the bottom.) On 2 June 1846, Judson married for the third time, to writer Emily Chubbuck who he had commissioned to write memoirs for Sarah Hall Boardman. They had a daughter born in 1847. He developed a serious lung infection and doctors prescribed a sea voyage as a cure. On 12 April 1850, Adoniram Judson died at age 61 on board ship in the Bay of Bengal and was buried at sea, having spent 37 years in missionary service abroad with only one home leave.

Published Works

Burmese Bible (still in print, see below), as well as portions published before the entire text was translated,
A Burmese-English dictionary (English-Burmese portion completed posthumously, see below),
A Burmese Grammar,
A Pāli dictionary,
Two hymns: Our Father, God, Who art in Heaven and Come Holy Spirit, Dove Divine.

Legacy

When Judson began his mission in Burma, he set a goal of translating the Bible and founding a church of 100 members before his death. When he died, he left the bible, 100 chuches, and over 8,000 believers. In large part due to his influence, Myanmar has the third largest number of Baptists worldwide, behind the United States and India. The majority of adherents are Karen and Kachin. Each July, Baptist churches in Myanmar celebrate "Judson Day", commemorating his arrival as a missionary. Inside the campus of Yangon University is Judson Church, named in his honor, and in 1920 Judson College, named in his honor, merged into Rangoon College, which has since been renamed Yangon University.

Judson compiled the first ever Burmese-English dictionary. The English-Burmese half was interrupted by his death and completed by missionary E. A. Steven. Every dictionary and grammar written in Burma in the last two centuries has been based on ones originally created by Judson. Judson "became a symbol of the preeminence of Bible translation for" Protestant missionaries. In the 1950s, Burma's Buddhist prime minister U Nu told the Burma Christian Council "Oh no, a new translation is not necessary. Judson's captures the language and idiom of Burmese perfectly and is very clear and understandable." His translation remains the most popular version in Myanmar.

His conversion to Baptism, and subsequent need of support, led to the founding of the first national Baptist organization in the United States and subsequently to all American Baptist associations, including the Southern Baptists that were the first to break off from the national organization. The printing of his wife Ann's letters about their mission inspired many Americans to become or support Christian missionaries. There are at least 36 Baptist churches in the United States named after him, Judson College in Illinois is named after him and Judson College in Alabama is named after his wife Ann.

External links

Life and Work of Judson
SBHLA bio of Judson
Google E-text of an 1853 Biography Volume One
Google E-text of an 1853 Biography Volume Two
Judson College
Online Burmese Bible
Online Burmese Bible (Compatible with Burmese wikipedia) - Translated from The Original Tongues by Rev. A. Judson, D.D.
Adoniram Judson at Find-A-Grave
Judson Memorial Baptist Church Lansing, MI
Memorial Church in NY to Adoniram Judson

References

Dictionary of Baptists in America, Bill J. Leonard, editor
Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists, Norman W. Cox, editor
To The Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson, by Courtney Anderson, 1987
Burmese Encyclopedia: Vol 12, p-444, printed in 1966.

Footnotes

Adoniram Judson | Adoniram Judson