history
An atypical Calvinist...
Michael Haykin
Date posted: 21 Oct 2026
Although the name of John Macgowan, a Baptist author of the long 18th century, is all but unknown today, many of his books went through numerous editions during his lifetime and in the decades immediately after his death that bespoke a wide popularity amongst a certain class of readers on both sides of the Atlantic.
With titles such as Death: A Vision (1766), Priestcraft Defended (1768) – a satirical attack on the University of Oxford for expelling six evangelical students – Infernal Conference: or, Dialogues of Devils (1772) – a forerunner of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters – and Socinianism Brought to the Test: or Jesus Christ Proved to be either the Adorable God, or A Notorious Impostor (1773), Macgowan was well-known for his hard-hitting and, at times caustic, defence of orthodox Christianity.