Bellamy, Joseph, Dd

Bellamy, Joseph, D.D.

an eminent New England divine, was born at New Cheshire, Conn., 1719, and graduated at Yale College 1735. He began to preach at 18, and in 1740 was ordained pastor of the church in Bethlehem, Conn. In the great revival which soon after spread over New England, he was widely useful. He died March 6, 1790. His later years were spent (in addition to his pastoral labors) in teaching theology to students, who resorted to him in numbers. He was accustomed to give his pupils a set of questions, and also lists of books on the subjects of the questions; they were afterward made topics of examination on the part of the teacher, and of essays or sermons by the pupil. Many of the most prominent divines of New England in the last generation were Bellamy's students. He was less successful as a writer than as a teacher, though some of his books are still published. His True Religion delineated (Boston, 1750) went through many editions in this country and in Great Britain. He also published Theron, Paulinus, and Aspasia, or Letters and Dialogues upon the Nature of Love to God, etc. (1759); an Essay on the Nature and Glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, etc. (1762); The Half-way Covenant (1769); and a number of occasional sermons, with various controversial pamphlets, all of which may be found in his Works (N. Y. 1811, 3 vols. 8vo; 2d ed. Boston, 2 vols. 8vo), with memoir. A careful review of his writings, by Dr. Woodbridge, is given in the Literary and Theological Review, 2, 58. Sprague, Ann. 1, 504. SEE NEW ENGLAND THEOLOGY.