Author
L. S. Foster
L. S. Foster was a nineteenth-century American religious figure whose editorial and biographical work documented the missionary enterprise in China during a transformative period of Christian expansion in East Asia. Through his compilation of Tarleton Perry Crawford's memoir, Foster preserved crucial firsthand accounts of evangelical efforts and cross-cultural encounters that shaped Protestant missionary theology and practice in the late Qing period. His work remains significant for scholars examining the historical development of American missionary ideology and its complex intersection with Chinese society during the nineteenth century.
From Fifty Years in China: An Eventful Memoir of Tarleton Perry Crawford
p. 11 There are but two chapters in ecclesiastical history. One of them deals with the brief times in which individual Christians and worshipping congregations were living beings, having Jesus as the head of the framework, which was also the shrine of the Holy Spirit who was ever present to guide and inform. Oneness of heart and soul was the characteristic of this heavenly phenomenon. "I and the Father are one." "That they may all be one even as Thou, Father, art in me and I in Thee, that they may also be one in us." They "shall become one flock, one shepherd." I Cor. xii : 27. In these first congregations, the abundant life and energy overshadowed mere organization ; and fraternal love with abounding charity was a stronger bond than external unity or loyalty to an institution. The ecclesias were electric lights, each distinct and separate, yet connected…
More from the opening, and the full contents →
Works in the Library 1
Browse the full Reformed theology catalog — 1,275 primary sources from Calvin to Spurgeon.
Search L. S. Foster on Commonplace
Ask any question and AI synthesizes answers from across L. S. Foster's works and the full library of 1,275 Reformed primary sources.