John L. Dagg from Noble Company, volume 9, by Jared Longshore

"John L. Dagg [1794-1884] stands out as one who loved God in the midst of nineteenth-century America. He was a significant figure in Baptist life in his day. He has been deemed America’s first Baptist systematic theologian, a title which, in and of itself, beckons for attention, and as the representative figure of Baptists in the South during the nineteenth century. He has also been heralded as “one of the most profound thinkers produced by his denomination.” His theology has been marked as one that centered on obedience to the Great Commandment. Yet, his significance lies not only in his depth of thought, but his piety as well. Dagg has been regarded as a theologian unsurpassed when it comes to the devotional use of doctrine. In his Manual of Theology, he asserted again and again that theology must engage the heart and life. It is no surprise that First Timothy 6:3 finds a place on the title page of his main theological work, 'the teaching that accords with godliness.' " --from the essay on Dagg in A Noble Company, volume 9, by Jared R. Longshore