Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 25:1 (Spring 2021)
Article: John Gill And Islam: A Baptist Perspective From The Long Eighteenth Century
Author: Joseph C. Harrod

SBJT 25:1 (Spring 2021) p. 107

John Gill And Islam: A Baptist Perspective From The Long Eighteenth Century

Joseph C. Harrod

Joseph C. Harrod is Assistant Professor of Biblical Spirituality and Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He earned his PhD in Biblical Spirituality from Southern Seminary. He is the author of the forthcoming 40 Questions about Prayer (Kregel), Theology and Spirituality in the Works of Samuel Davies (V&R, 2019), and the editor of the forthcoming critical edition of The Gospel its Own Witness by Andrew Fuller. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and a Senior Fellow of the Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies. He is married to Tracy and they have three sons.

John Gill’s peers regarded him as an eminent theologian. Gill was a long-tenured Particular Baptist pastor, prolific author, able defender, and insightful observer of religion. As the articles in this journal suggest, Gill’s writings still pique scholarly curiosity. Michael Haykin’s introductory article presents the important contours to Gill’s life and helps explain his influence.

This present article began as a question, “How did John Gill interpret Islam?” This question prompted others: how did Gill treat Islam in his many writings? What were the sources that influenced his thought on Islam? How did Gill’s perspective compare with other Baptist perspectives? Answering these questions in full would surely require a monograph, but they each have a role to play in this analysis.

This article examines Gill’s various writings to elucidate his perspective

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on Islam for a contemporary audience. Gill considered Qur’ānic allusions to biblical texts alongside rabbinic interpretations, though with a skeptical eye. Islam occupied an especially important place in Gill’s eschatology: he interpreted Islam as the embodiment of one strand of biblical prophecy, naming it the “eastern antichrist” or “Gog and Magog” that opposed the kingdom of Christ on earth, obstructed the mass conversion of the Jewish people, and awaited God’s decisive judgment. Christian rulers were destined to destroy Muslim kingdoms. Understanding the place of Islam in Gill’s thought addresses a lacuna in the literature and opens doors for continuing reflection in Reformed orthodox studies.1

Protestant Perspectives On Islam

Protestant theologians reflected on Islam from the sixteenth century forward. Christian engagement with Islam started in the seventh century and European engagement with Islamic thought ...