The Life of the Rev. John Owen, Abridged: and The Mortification of Sin

The author of Owen’s biography, William Orme, (1787–1830) was a Scottish Congregational minister and biographer who is remembered also as the biographer of Richard Baxter. This volume is two books in one: “Life of Owen,” and Owen’s famous treatise, “The Mortification of Sin in Believers.” “The Life of Owen,” is an 1840 Presbyterian Board of Publication abridgement of the lengthy original biography in several volumes which was published by the author in 1820. This was the first serious attempt at a complete account of the life of John Owen. There have been few biographies of the “prince of theologians.” According to Peter Toon, (1939-2009) theologian and advocate of traditional Anglicanism, there are two major reasons for this. First, there is a scarcity of information about Owen. Secondly, it is “exceedingly difficult to get to know John Owen as a man, a father, a college principal, or a pastor. It is problematic, as it were, to get beneath the views of the great theologian to the human being himself,” but Orme performed a brilliant task and has collected much useful and interesting information.John Owen (1616- 1683) lived a life of great worth, and his work survives until this present day. He is considered to be the ‘the greatest British theologian of all time;’ and ‘the theologian’s theologian.’ His accomplishments are legion.