Bashford, James Whitford

BASHFORD, JAMES WHITFORD: Methodist Episcopal bishop; b. at Fayette, Wis., May 25, 1849. He was educated at the University of Wisconsin (B.A., 1873), the Theological School of Boston University (B.D., 1876), the School of Oratory in the same institution (1878), and Boston University (Ph.D., 1881). He was tutor in Greek at the University of Wisconsin in 1873-74, and held successive pastorates at Harrison Square Methodist Episcopal Church, Boston (1875-78), Jamaica Plain, Boston (1878-81), Auburndale, Mass. (1881-84), Chestnut Street, Portland, Me. (1884-87), and Delaware Ave., Buffalo, N. Y. (1887-89). He was president of Ohio Wesleyan University in 1889-1904, and in the latter year was chosen bishop, and in this capacity went to Shanghai, China. In theology he is distinctly liberal, believing that Christianity can be better interpreted from the point of view of evolution than from the older standpoint, and being confident that higher criticism, if used with sound scholarship, will not endanger the fundamentals of Christianity. He has written: Science of Religion (Delaware, O., 1893); Wesley and Goethe (Cincinnati, 1903); and Methodism in China (1906).