T. B. Maston

Thomas Buford Maston was a Christian ethicist and writer.

Thomas Buford Maston
Born(1897-11-26)November 26, 1897
Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States
DiedMay 1, 1988(1988-05-01) (aged 90)
Fort Worth, Texas, United States
NationalityAmerican
Occupationethicist, professor
Spouse(s)Essie Mae Maston (née McDonald)
(June 11, 1921)
ChildrenThomas McDonald Maston(1925), Harold Eugene Maston (1928)

He is the namesake of the T. B. Maston Foundation,[1] which was begun by several former students who received their doctorates in Christian Ethics under Dr. Maston, including A. Jase Jones, Bill Pinson, Jimmy Allen, James Dunn, and Foy Valentine.

Biography

[2]

Born of humble beginnings in Jefferson County, Tennessee, he also spent his childhood in College Corner, Ohio, and Fountain City, Tennessee.

In 1916 he enrolled in Carson-Newman College.

In 1920, he married Essie Mae McDonald, and enrolled in Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Fort Worth, Texas where he earned a Master of Religious Education. He later earned the first Doctor of Religious Education degree from Southwestern in 1925, then an M.A. from Texas Christian University in 1927.

In 1932 he entered Yale University where he majored in Christian ethics under H. Richard Niebuhr, and received a Ph.D. in 1939. He returned to Southwestern seminary where he developed a graduate Doctor of Theology degree in Christian Ethics.

Through his efforts and example, Christian ethics became a field of study in every Baptist seminary, Christian Life Commissions[3] became common nationally, and race relations, sensitivity to the poor, and women's rights in the Southern Baptist Convention improved as a result.

Maston wrote twenty-seven books on ethics. He was licensed to preach but was never ordained. He was a layman and deacon at Gambrell Street Baptist Church in Fort Worth.

One of the major influences in Maston's life was his invalid son, Thomas McDonald Maston. Speaking of the relationship of the Mastons to Tom Mc, Lloyd Elder, their pastor for seven years, said: "Both of them had an amazing commitment to the support system needed by Tom Mc. They chose to keep him in their home through all those years, rather than placing him in an institution." (William M. Pinson, Jr., Compiler/Contributor (1979). "An Approach to Christian Ethics: The Life, Contribution, and Thought of T. B. Maston." Broadman Press. 1979, p. 26.)

In 1979, nine years before Maston's passing, William M. Pinson, Jr., a former student and colleague and President of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, published a book about him entitled “An Approach to Christian Ethics,” which was divided into three sections: a brief biography, his many contributions, and his thought on numerous subjects. In the “Preface,” Pinson said it “presents a model for doing Christian ethics.” (Ibid. p. 5.)

Bill Moyers, former aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson and internationally known journalist who studied with T.B. Maston once said, “When I’m asked to define Christian ethics, my best answer is Tom Maston. What the Old Testament prophets taught, he lived. He showed us that the theatre of Christian ethics is not the pulpit, the classroom or the counselor’s corner, but all of life.” (“T. B.. Maston - Conscience for Southern Baptists.” Google.com. Retrieved August 20, 2019.) William Pinson, another former Maston student, added, “Frequently, he served as a conscience for Southern Baptists troubling us regarding our racism, materialism, and provincialism.” (Ibid.) But today in the 21st century, Pinson's words are no longer true for most Southern Baptists who have forgotten Maston's impact on Baptists in the 20th century and who disagree with his blending of social ethics and evangelism.

In 2018, James K. Hassell's book “Walk as Jesus Walked” seeks to revive Maston's “Both-And Framework” (BAF) for Christian ethics, which includes “the decision triangle” of the deontological (duty), the teleological (goals), and the relational (ethos), and discusses three dynamics of the BAF: biblical authority, the authority of God's will, and Christian spiritual maturity. (James E. Hassell (2018). “Walk as Jesus Walked: Reviving the Christian Ethics of T. B. Maston and the Theological Giants Who Shaped Him.” Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc. pp. 11–57.) He explores how the BAF was shaped by W. T. Connor, professor of systematic theology at Southwestern Theological Seminary, and H. Richard Niebuhr, professor of Christian ethics at Yale University, showing how both influenced Maston's BAF in action based on his teachings and writings. (Ibid., pp. 59-124.) Hassell cites Maston's small volume “Right or Wrong?” intended for young Christians, in which he helped them apply three tests of right or wrong to their perceptions of God's will: the test of secrecy, the test of universality, and the test of prayer, ultimately what H. Richard Niebuhr proposed as the responsible Christian within the community. (Ibid., pp. 27–31.) The book's title may be found in Maston's statement about the basis of what is called BAF: “To be a Christian is to walk in the way that he (Jesus Christ) walked. He did not and does not give detailed instructions about that way. The best instructions come from examining the life he lived.” (Ibid., pp. 111–112.)

Works
  • Biblical ethics: a guide to the ethical message of the Scriptures from Genesis through Revelation[4] (ISBN 0865543127)
  • Christianity and World Issues[5]
  • Right or Wrong[6] (ISBN 0805461167)
  • "Segregation and Desegregation: A Christian Approach." The Macmillan Company. New York. 1959.
  • "The Bible and Family Relations." With William M. Tillman, Jr. Nashville: Broadman. 1983.
  • "The Bible and Race." Broadman Press. 1959.
  • "The Conscience of a Christian." Waco, TX: Word. 1971.
  • "Why Live the Christian Life." New Orleans: Insight. 1996.
  • "A World in Travail." Nashville: Broadman. 1954.
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References
  1. "T. B. Maston Foundation - Home". www.TBMaston.org. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  2. Jimmy R. Allen (December 27, 2010). "Thomas Buford Maston: Baptist Apostle of Biblical Ethics". Christian Ethics Today. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
  3. The Organization Manual of the Southern Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Convention website, Accessed September 23, 2012
  4. Maston, T. B. (1982). "Biblical Ethics: A Guide to the Ethical Message of the Scriptures from Genesis Through Revelation". Mercer University Press. Retrieved December 28, 2017 – via Google Books.
  5. "Christianity and world issues". Google.com. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  6. Maston, T. B. (May 1, 1971). "Right Or Wrong". B&H Publishing Group. Retrieved December 28, 2017 – via Google Books.
  • bio, from the T. B. Maston Foundation web site


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