The Elect Methodists

The Elect Methodists
Author: David Ceri Jones
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 363
Release: 2012-04-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1783165057

The Elect Methodists is the first full-length academic study of Calvinistic Methodism, a movement that emerged in the eighteenth century as an alternative to the better known Wesleyan grouping. While the branch of Methodism led by John Wesley has received significant historical attention, Calvinistic Methodism, especially in England, has not. The book charts the sources of the eighteenth-century Methodist revival in the context of Protestant evangelicalism emerging in continental Europe and colonial North America, and then proceeds to follow the fortunes in both England and Wales of the Calvinistic branch, to the establishing of formal denominations in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Regeneration, Revival, and Creation

Regeneration, Revival, and Creation
Author: Chris Chun
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2020-07-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1532696221

Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) is considered one of the greatest theologians and philosophers of evangelicalism, who also served as a pastor, missionary, and revival leader. By underscoring “Regeneration, Revival, and Creation” in Edwards’s thought, this volume uniquely captures the need to delve into Edwards’s theological and philosophical rationale for the revivals, alongside key questions concerning the historical context and Edwards’s standing in his own tradition. This book gathers the work of scholars working in the areas of historical, systematic, and analytic theology, church history, psychology, and biology. It contains papers presented at the inaugural conference of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Gateway Seminary (JEC West). Bringing together some of the leading authorities as well as up-and-coming Edwards scholars working today, this collection advances the questions of regeneration, revival, and creation in fresh new ways. With contributions from: Adriaan Neele, Douglas Sweeney, Chris Woznicki, Obbie Tyler Todd, Peter Jung, Michael Haykin, Ryan J. Martin, Mark Rogers, Allen Yeh, Oliver Crisp, Walter Schultz, John Shouse, Rob Boss, Lisanne Winslow, and Robert Caldwell.

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages
Author: John Butler
Publisher: Lutterworth Press
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2013-06-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0718841816

Far from being the immutable Rock of Ages He is often assumed to be, the God of Christian history and tradition has had many different and often conflicting faces. 'Rock of Ages?' opens with the emergence of the Biblical God from the pantheon of deities in bronze age Canaan, and culminates in the radical images of God that were appearing at the end of the twentieth-century, providing a historical overview of the different and sometimes conflicting ways in which He has been understood. By examining the ideas of key writers down the ages, whose ecclesiastical or intellectual power has allowed their insights to become embedded in the mainstream traditions of the Christian churches, Butler seeks to answer one central question: Why is it that people across the ages have claimed to have seen so many different and sometimes contradictory faces of the Christian God? Or more specifically: If there is one true God, and if He is known to those who believe in him through the revelation of Himself in history, why hasn't a consistent and unified understanding of Him emerged in the witness and testimony of those who claim to have seen his face? In the best of scholarly traditions, Butler presents his work as a clear account of his own quest for an answer; but although suggesting possibilities, he leaves others to come to their own judgements using the evidence available. Written in a clear and attractive style, this is a book for anyone without any prior knowledge of history, theology or philosophy, be they atheists, Christians looking to explore their faith, students or simply anyone interested in the history of religion.

George Whitefield

George Whitefield
Author: Geordan Hammond
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2016-05-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0191064130

George Whitefield (1714-70) was one of the best known and most widely travelled evangelical revivalists in the eighteenth century. For a time in the middle decades of the eighteenth century, Whitefield was the most famous person on both sides of the Atlantic. An Anglican clergyman, Whitefield soon transcended his denominational context as his itinerant ministry fuelled a Protestant renewal movement in Britain and the American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism, establishing a distinct brand of the movement with a Calvinist orientation, but also the leading itinerant and international preacher of the evangelical movement in its early phase. Called the 'Apostle of the English empire', he preached throughout the whole of the British Isles and criss-crossed the Atlantic seven times, preaching in nearly every town along the eastern seaboard of America. His own fame and popularity were such that he has been dubbed 'Anglo-America's first religious celebrity', and even one of the 'Founding Fathers of the American Revolution'. This collection offers a major reassessment of Whitefield's life, context, and legacy, bringing together a distinguished interdisciplinary team of scholars from both sides of the Atlantic. In chapters that cover historical, theological, and literary themes, many addressed for the first time, the volume suggests that Whitefield was a highly complex figure who has been much misunderstood. Highly malleable, Whitefield's persona was shaped by many audiences during his lifetime and continues to be highly contested.

Reformation to Revival, 500 Years of God’s Glory

Reformation to Revival, 500 Years of God’s Glory
Author: Mathew Backholer
Publisher: ByFaith Media
Total Pages: 393
Release: 2018-01-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1907066616

Published to mark the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation, and updated in 2020. For the past five hundred years God has been pouring out His Spirit, to reform and to revive His Church. Reformation to Revival traces the Divine thread of God’s power from Martin Luther of 1517, through to the Charismatic Movement and into the twenty-first century, featuring 60 great revivals from 20 nations on five continents. Walk with George Fox during the Quaker Revival in Puritan England and into America; rejoice with Count Zinzendorf of the Moravian Revival and the great mission advance, and see America and Britain transformed under the preaching of Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, George Whitefield and friends during the Great Awakenings. Discover the depths of the great 1859 Revivals; labour with Jonathan Goforth of China, in Korea and Manchuria and see Wales transformed under the power of the Holy Spirit because of the faith of Evan Roberts. Read about the Pentecostal explosion of the Azusa Street Revival and the great works of God across Britain and America into the twenty-first century. Sixty revivals, awakenings and Heaven-sent visitations of the Holy Spirit in the nations of: Germany, Britain, America, Switzerland, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, China, Korea, Japan, Ghana etc., Manchuria (annexed by Russia), India, Australia, Ruanda, Argentina and Indonesia.

Reformed Evangelicalism and the Search for a Usable Past

Reformed Evangelicalism and the Search for a Usable Past
Author: Ian Hugh Clary
Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2020-09-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 3647567248

The question of how theology shapes a Christian historian's reading of the past has been debated thoroughly in various academic periodicals. Should historians recognise the role of providence in their accounts of past events? Should they sympathise with their subject's theology? Can objectivity be lost due to theological bias? And, last but not least, is there a compromise of faith if one writes "natural" instead of "supernatural" history? Such questions are important for understanding the historian's profession. Arnold Dallimore, who trained and specialised in pastoral ministry in Canada, wrote an influential biography of the revivalist George Whitefield, as well as others on Charles and Susanna Wesley, Edward Irving, and Charles Spurgeon. How did his Reformed theological perspective impact his historiography? How does his work fit into larger historiographical debates concerning the nature of Christian history? While other books look at Christian historiography using abstract and methodological approaches, this book examines the subject precisely by looking at the life and work of an individual historian. It does so by placing Dallimore in the context of being a minister in twentieth-century Canada as well as his role in the development of Reformed Theology in the Anglosphere. It also examines the quality of his various biographies focusing on key issues such as the nature of religious revival, the problem of Christianity and slavery, and the question of charismatic religious experience. His study concludes by examining the relationship between the discipline and profession of church history and asking what is required for one to be considered a church historian.

Jonathan Edwards’s Apologetic for the Great Awakening

Jonathan Edwards’s Apologetic for the Great Awakening
Author: Robert Davis Smart
Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books
Total Pages: 519
Release: 2011-06-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1601785828

In the 1740s Jonathan Edwards emerged as the New Light proponent of the claim that the Great Awakening was, in the main, a true work of the Spirit of God. Conversely, Charles Chauncy led the Old Lights in opposition by offering criticisms of the Awakening. In this book, Robert Davis Smart examines Edwards’s defense of the revival with particular attention to Chauncy’s criticisms, which have often been acknowledged but not previously subjected to thorough analysis. He sets forth historical and contextual factors that shaped Edwards and his generation, shows how Edwards emerged as a leader of the revival from its early days, and offers an updated survey of the modern attempts to interpret the Awakening theologically, sociologically, and historically. Here is a detailed treatment of the contrasting perspectives of Edwards and Chauncy, an extensive analysis of their major works regarding the revival, an able assessment of the essential issues raised by the debate, and an evaluation of the significant contributions of these men. Table of Contents: Introduction to Edwards’s Historical Context Chapter One: Jonathan Edwards and the Great Awakening Chapter Two: Interpretations of the Awakening Chapter Three: The Distinguishing Marks and Some Thoughts Chapter Four: Chauncy’s Seasonable Thoughts Chapter Five: Edwards’s Final Response to Chauncy Conclusion: The Debate and Its Legacy

Revival Preaching: With 12 Lessons from the Preaching of Jonathan Edwards During the First Great Awakening

Revival Preaching: With 12 Lessons from the Preaching of Jonathan Edwards During the First Great Awakening
Author: Ernie Klassen
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 304
Release: 2016-03-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1483447855

"There was a time when revival preaching was very common. People were hungry for a fresh work of God and they actually anticipated God's supernatural transformation in their lives, churches and communities. I am grateful to Ernie Klassen and his work on Revival Preaching. Using the backdrop of Jonathan Edwards's powerful preaching ministry, we are invited into a rich theological journey flavored with real life experiences. (David Hearn, President of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada). One of the great, though greatly overlooked, tools that Christian pastors have for bringing renewal and revival, is the past. One such figure in Christian tradition is Jonathan Edwards, the eighteenth-century North American theologian, preacher, revivalist, and missionary. Looking at the intersection of revival, preaching, and Edwards, Ernie Klassen provides "lessons" that religious leaders can take from Edwards' experiences and writings. (Dr. Kenneth P. Minkema, Jonathan Edwards Center, Yale University).

The Protestant Evangelical Awakening

The Protestant Evangelical Awakening
Author: William Reginald Ward
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 394
Release: 1992
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521892322

This book studies the early history of the Protestant revival movements of the eighteenth century.