Austin McGary

Austin McGary (February 6, 1846 – June 15, 1928) was an American Restoration Movement evangelist and publisher of a periodical entitled Firm Foundation, which was first published on September 1, 1884.

Born in Huntsville, Texas, to Isaac and Elizabeth (Visier) McGary, McGary's father was said to have fought at the Battle of San Jacinto and to have guarded the recently captured Antonio López de Santa Anna. McGary's mother died while McGary was a child.

Before becoming an evangelist, McGary was elected sheriff of Madison County, Texas, a post he held for two years before resigning to work for the state of Texas in transporting prisoners to penitentiaries. This work took place near the United States-Mexico border.

McGary was married three times—to Narcissus Jenkins in 1866 (two children) until her death in 1872, Lucy Bettie Kittrell in 1875 (nine children) until her death in 1897, and finally to Lillian Otey.

McGary became interested in religion and studied the Alexander Campbell - Robert Owen debate of 1829.^[1] He was said to have been educated in part by Church of Christ ministers including Benton, Thomas, and Basil Sweeney.^[2]

McGary was converted to the Churches of Christ and baptized by Harry Hamilton after hearing sermons by the latter in Madisonville, Texas. The baptism took place on December 24, 1881.

He began publication of the Firm Foundation in 1884, in his own words:

"to oppose everything in the work and worship of the church, for which there was not a command or an apostolic example or a necessary scriptural inference."

In debates with David Lipscomb, editor of the rival publication Gospel Advocate, McGary advanced positions regarding the relationship between baptism and salvation, some of which were already seminal^[3] in the formation of the group of Christian churches known as the Churches of Christ, others of which would become the basis for continuing disagreement among members of that body.

マクゲイリーの議論の本質は、キリスト教会の信者に一般的に受け入れられている、人間の救済は洗礼を受けた瞬間に始まるという概念に基づいていた。しかし、マクゲイリーはさらに、信者が洗礼を受けた瞬間にこの考え（洗礼は罪の赦しを保証する）を知り、受け入れることが救済の別の条件であると主張し、この条件外で行われた洗礼は無効であり、そのような信仰状態がない状態で洗礼を受けた人々に救済をもたらさないと結論付けた。リップスコンブは反対の立場をとった。すなわち、聖書的な理由による洗礼は、その概念を志願者が完全に知り、受け入れているかどうかに関係なく、聖書的な洗礼として適格である、という立場である。マクゲイリーの立場は、批判者からしばしば「テキサスの異端」と呼ばれた。

再洗礼論争の規模と、その中でのマクギャリーの役割は、1990年に出版されたデイビッド・W・フレッチャー編集の432ページのエッセイ集『洗礼と罪の赦し：歴史的観点』の様々なエッセイで明らかである。 ^[4] 1930年代後半までに、マクギャリーの立場は中部テネシー（リップスコンブの影響が最も強かった地域）を除くすべてのアメリカキリスト教会を支配するようになったが、リップスコンブの見解はその後、全国的に同教会の一部でより人気が高まった。^[5]

1902年にファーム財団の編集長を辞任した後、^{[6]マクゲイリーは}カリフォルニアに住み、その後オレゴンに移り、その後テキサスに戻った。

マクゲイリーが後に発行した他の定期刊行物には、『The Lookout』や『The Open Arena』などがある。

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