Charles Wesley
Kenneth G. C. Newport (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198269496
- eISBN:
- 9780191600807
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198269498.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
Charles Wesley was a man with real hymnographic genius, and not surprisingly it is chiefly for his poetic legacy that he is remembered. However, he was much more than just a hymn‐writer, and along ...
More
Charles Wesley was a man with real hymnographic genius, and not surprisingly it is chiefly for his poetic legacy that he is remembered. However, he was much more than just a hymn‐writer, and along with his brother John, played a huge part in the birth and early growth of Methodism. To enable him to be assessed at his proper worth, major scholarship is required to bring all his prose works before a wider audience. Only twenty‐three sermons survive of the thousands he preached in his long life as a travelling evangelist, and as a more settled preacher. This volume collects together all these sermons, and presents a detailed text‐critical reading of them, with notes and indexes—including an index of the scripture quotations and allusions with which Wesley's work was totally saturated.There are four substantial introductory chapters, together making up a quarter of the book (90 pages out of 390). The first three examine in some depth the issues of Wesley and early Methodism; his preaching; and the theological characteristics and use of sources in his sermons. The fourth scrutinizes the sermon corpus in detail, considering the provenance and history of each of the twenty‐three sermons.Less
Charles Wesley was a man with real hymnographic genius, and not surprisingly it is chiefly for his poetic legacy that he is remembered. However, he was much more than just a hymn‐writer, and along with his brother John, played a huge part in the birth and early growth of Methodism. To enable him to be assessed at his proper worth, major scholarship is required to bring all his prose works before a wider audience. Only twenty‐three sermons survive of the thousands he preached in his long life as a travelling evangelist, and as a more settled preacher. This volume collects together all these sermons, and presents a detailed text‐critical reading of them, with notes and indexes—including an index of the scripture quotations and allusions with which Wesley's work was totally saturated.
There are four substantial introductory chapters, together making up a quarter of the book (90 pages out of 390). The first three examine in some depth the issues of Wesley and early Methodism; his preaching; and the theological characteristics and use of sources in his sermons. The fourth scrutinizes the sermon corpus in detail, considering the provenance and history of each of the twenty‐three sermons.
Gareth Lloyd
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199295746
- eISBN:
- 9780191711701
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199295746.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Charles Wesley has been a problem figure for church historians. The great hymn‐writer's contribution to Methodism and the 18th century Evangelical Revival has frequently been seen primarily in terms ...
More
Charles Wesley has been a problem figure for church historians. The great hymn‐writer's contribution to Methodism and the 18th century Evangelical Revival has frequently been seen primarily in terms of his poetic work. His vital role in other aspects has been undervalued and often seen through a filter imposed by denominational historians who have Charles's brother John Wesley as the main focus of attention.This book examines Charles's relationship with his brother and role in Methodist affairs. In particular, Charles has often been portrayed as being isolated and out of touch with the needs and wishes of the Methodist people during the last thirty years of his life. This book shows that this view is a distortion and that he was in fact representative of a considerable body of opinion within the Wesleyan societies. The Church‐Methodist viewpoint that he championed against those who wished to separate from the Anglican Church had as great an impact on Methodist evolution as the better‐known opinions of his opponents. Out of this struggle came a denomination with an identity that was rooted in its Anglican past but with an evangelical dynamic that produced one of the great success stories of the 19th century Christian Church. Extensive use is made of neglected primary sources to present a substantial reappraisal of Charles Wesley's ministry, which in turn permits a new interpretation of aspects of the history of early Methodism, the 18th century Church of England and the way that Methodists have viewed their Church's past.Less
Charles Wesley has been a problem figure for church historians. The great hymn‐writer's contribution to Methodism and the 18th century Evangelical Revival has frequently been seen primarily in terms of his poetic work. His vital role in other aspects has been undervalued and often seen through a filter imposed by denominational historians who have Charles's brother John Wesley as the main focus of attention.
This book examines Charles's relationship with his brother and role in Methodist affairs. In particular, Charles has often been portrayed as being isolated and out of touch with the needs and wishes of the Methodist people during the last thirty years of his life. This book shows that this view is a distortion and that he was in fact representative of a considerable body of opinion within the Wesleyan societies. The Church‐Methodist viewpoint that he championed against those who wished to separate from the Anglican Church had as great an impact on Methodist evolution as the better‐known opinions of his opponents. Out of this struggle came a denomination with an identity that was rooted in its Anglican past but with an evangelical dynamic that produced one of the great success stories of the 19th century Christian Church. Extensive use is made of neglected primary sources to present a substantial reappraisal of Charles Wesley's ministry, which in turn permits a new interpretation of aspects of the history of early Methodism, the 18th century Church of England and the way that Methodists have viewed their Church's past.
R. R. Davies
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198208785
- eISBN:
- 9780191678141
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198208785.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Medieval History
In the two and a half centuries before the Black Death of 1349, Wales underwent economic, social, and ecclesiastical changes arguably more profound and far-reaching than any it experienced prior to ...
More
In the two and a half centuries before the Black Death of 1349, Wales underwent economic, social, and ecclesiastical changes arguably more profound and far-reaching than any it experienced prior to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Methodism. The extent and character of those changes have tended to be underestimated for several reasons. One such reason is that the clatter of battle and conquest has so engaged the attention of the historian, as indeed it did that of contemporary annalists and chroniclers, that it diverts attention from the much less obtrusive and slow-moving changes within society. All medieval societies were localized; few more so than medieval Wales. Such hints of change as survive are, therefore, of their nature fragmentary and localized. No Domesday Book or foreign trade statistics survive, as in England.Less
In the two and a half centuries before the Black Death of 1349, Wales underwent economic, social, and ecclesiastical changes arguably more profound and far-reaching than any it experienced prior to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Methodism. The extent and character of those changes have tended to be underestimated for several reasons. One such reason is that the clatter of battle and conquest has so engaged the attention of the historian, as indeed it did that of contemporary annalists and chroniclers, that it diverts attention from the much less obtrusive and slow-moving changes within society. All medieval societies were localized; few more so than medieval Wales. Such hints of change as survive are, therefore, of their nature fragmentary and localized. No Domesday Book or foreign trade statistics survive, as in England.
J. T. Vallance
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198242482
- eISBN:
- 9780191680489
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198242482.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Ancient Philosophy
An ancient doctor who advocated the therapeutic benefits of wine and passive exercise was bound to be successful. However, Asclepiades of Bithynia did far more than reform much of traditional ...
More
An ancient doctor who advocated the therapeutic benefits of wine and passive exercise was bound to be successful. However, Asclepiades of Bithynia did far more than reform much of traditional Hippocratic therapeutic practice; he devised an extraordinary physical theory which he used to explain all biological phenomena in uniformly simple terms. His work laid the theoretical basis for the anti-theoretical medical sect called Methodism. For his trouble he was despised by his intellectual progeny and, more importantly perhaps, by Galen. None of his work survives intact, but copious ancient testimonia relating to him allow us to reconstruct many details of the theory. His ideas offer us a fascinating glimpse of how Hellenistic philosophy and medicine interacted, and provide an introduction to one of the most intriguing doctrinal disputes in Greek science.Less
An ancient doctor who advocated the therapeutic benefits of wine and passive exercise was bound to be successful. However, Asclepiades of Bithynia did far more than reform much of traditional Hippocratic therapeutic practice; he devised an extraordinary physical theory which he used to explain all biological phenomena in uniformly simple terms. His work laid the theoretical basis for the anti-theoretical medical sect called Methodism. For his trouble he was despised by his intellectual progeny and, more importantly perhaps, by Galen. None of his work survives intact, but copious ancient testimonia relating to him allow us to reconstruct many details of the theory. His ideas offer us a fascinating glimpse of how Hellenistic philosophy and medicine interacted, and provide an introduction to one of the most intriguing doctrinal disputes in Greek science.
Colin Podmore
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207252
- eISBN:
- 9780191677588
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207252.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, History of Religion
Without the Moravians, English Church history would have been very different. It was the influence of a Moravian, Peter Böhler, that prompted the heartwarming experience that transformed John Wesley ...
More
Without the Moravians, English Church history would have been very different. It was the influence of a Moravian, Peter Böhler, that prompted the heartwarming experience that transformed John Wesley from a tortured High-Church Oxford don into a revivalist leader, and it was from the Fetter Lane Society which Böhler founded that the Revival burst out in 1739 to spread throughout England. The Moravians remained a key force in the English Revival throughout its initial years, until in the 1750s they withdrew into obscurity. However, despite general acceptance of the Moravians' importance in eighteenth-century English Church history and interest in their relationships with Methodism, the Church of England, and Parliament, the early English Moravians have remained something of an enigma; at best, they have been but imperfectly understood, and misunderstandings still surround their history. This book examines the Moravian Church's external relations within the Evangelical Revival and with the Church of England, Parliament, and public opinion.Less
Without the Moravians, English Church history would have been very different. It was the influence of a Moravian, Peter Böhler, that prompted the heartwarming experience that transformed John Wesley from a tortured High-Church Oxford don into a revivalist leader, and it was from the Fetter Lane Society which Böhler founded that the Revival burst out in 1739 to spread throughout England. The Moravians remained a key force in the English Revival throughout its initial years, until in the 1750s they withdrew into obscurity. However, despite general acceptance of the Moravians' importance in eighteenth-century English Church history and interest in their relationships with Methodism, the Church of England, and Parliament, the early English Moravians have remained something of an enigma; at best, they have been but imperfectly understood, and misunderstandings still surround their history. This book examines the Moravian Church's external relations within the Evangelical Revival and with the Church of England, Parliament, and public opinion.
Gareth Lloyd
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199295746
- eISBN:
- 9780191711701
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199295746.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The most important relationship of Charles Wesley's life was with his brother John. From their days at Oxford University and involvement with the holy club, John and Charles forged an exceptionally ...
More
The most important relationship of Charles Wesley's life was with his brother John. From their days at Oxford University and involvement with the holy club, John and Charles forged an exceptionally strong bond that was to become one of the most important contributory factors to the success of Wesleyan Methodism. Even though John was the dominant partner until 1749, Charles played an invaluable role in the birth and early years of the Methodist movement and in some aspects of ministry, he was his brother's superior.Less
The most important relationship of Charles Wesley's life was with his brother John. From their days at Oxford University and involvement with the holy club, John and Charles forged an exceptionally strong bond that was to become one of the most important contributory factors to the success of Wesleyan Methodism. Even though John was the dominant partner until 1749, Charles played an invaluable role in the birth and early years of the Methodist movement and in some aspects of ministry, he was his brother's superior.
Gareth Lloyd
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199295746
- eISBN:
- 9780191711701
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199295746.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
One of the ways in which the strength of the Wesley brothers' partnership proved of fundamental importance to the future of Methodism was in the controversies that plagued the Evangelical Revival ...
More
One of the ways in which the strength of the Wesley brothers' partnership proved of fundamental importance to the future of Methodism was in the controversies that plagued the Evangelical Revival virtually from its beginnings. The Wesley brothers engaged in conflict with other evangelical groups as well as the parent Church of England and it was in this struggle that Wesleyan Methodist identity was forged. The brothers' combined strength of character and combative nature proved decisive in elevating the Wesleyan movement to the forefront of the Evangelical Revival.Less
One of the ways in which the strength of the Wesley brothers' partnership proved of fundamental importance to the future of Methodism was in the controversies that plagued the Evangelical Revival virtually from its beginnings. The Wesley brothers engaged in conflict with other evangelical groups as well as the parent Church of England and it was in this struggle that Wesleyan Methodist identity was forged. The brothers' combined strength of character and combative nature proved decisive in elevating the Wesleyan movement to the forefront of the Evangelical Revival.
Michael E. Putney
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199216451
- eISBN:
- 9780191712173
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216451.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Religion and Society
This chapter looks at the Methodist–Catholic dialogue over the past forty years to show the relationship between divided Christians and the potential for a new way of reconciling them. The most ...
More
This chapter looks at the Methodist–Catholic dialogue over the past forty years to show the relationship between divided Christians and the potential for a new way of reconciling them. The most recent phase of the dialogue sought to harvest the work of previous phases and, in the light of what has been achieved, to deepen and extend the recognition that each communion is able to offer the other. A deliberate attempt has been made to describe the elements of each communion which represent to the others' eyes, genuine elements of the church of Christ. This recognition is of an extraordinary depth and breadth which none would have imagined even a few decades ago.Less
This chapter looks at the Methodist–Catholic dialogue over the past forty years to show the relationship between divided Christians and the potential for a new way of reconciling them. The most recent phase of the dialogue sought to harvest the work of previous phases and, in the light of what has been achieved, to deepen and extend the recognition that each communion is able to offer the other. A deliberate attempt has been made to describe the elements of each communion which represent to the others' eyes, genuine elements of the church of Christ. This recognition is of an extraordinary depth and breadth which none would have imagined even a few decades ago.
David M. Chapman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199216451
- eISBN:
- 9780191712173
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216451.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Religion and Society
This chapter affirms Pope John Paul II's description of ecumenical dialogue as involving ‘an exchange of gifts’ in order to identify a number of characteristic ecclesial endowments present in ...
More
This chapter affirms Pope John Paul II's description of ecumenical dialogue as involving ‘an exchange of gifts’ in order to identify a number of characteristic ecclesial endowments present in Methodism which Catholics might fruitfully receive in the process of Receptive Ecumenism. Methodism claims no special gifts, beyond those ordinarily bestowed on the church by the Holy Spirit for the sake of its mission, but has been raised up by God to spread scriptural holiness. Arising out of its historic mission and fruitfulness, Methodism has various ecclesial endowments to offer Catholics in any mutual exchange of gifts. These are considered here under six headings: Corporate Christianity (the nature of Christian community); Watching Over One Another in Love (discipline); Connexionalism and Christian Conference; The Contribution of Laypeople; The Call to Holiness; and The Means of Grace.Less
This chapter affirms Pope John Paul II's description of ecumenical dialogue as involving ‘an exchange of gifts’ in order to identify a number of characteristic ecclesial endowments present in Methodism which Catholics might fruitfully receive in the process of Receptive Ecumenism. Methodism claims no special gifts, beyond those ordinarily bestowed on the church by the Holy Spirit for the sake of its mission, but has been raised up by God to spread scriptural holiness. Arising out of its historic mission and fruitfulness, Methodism has various ecclesial endowments to offer Catholics in any mutual exchange of gifts. These are considered here under six headings: Corporate Christianity (the nature of Christian community); Watching Over One Another in Love (discipline); Connexionalism and Christian Conference; The Contribution of Laypeople; The Call to Holiness; and The Means of Grace.
J. R. Watson (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198269731
- eISBN:
- 9780191600791
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198269730.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
Contains 19 hymns from the great hymn writer of the Methodist movement, beginning with one of the enthusiastic hymns written at the time of his conversion, and continuing with his hymns for the Great ...
More
Contains 19 hymns from the great hymn writer of the Methodist movement, beginning with one of the enthusiastic hymns written at the time of his conversion, and continuing with his hymns for the Great Festivals of the Christian year, and then his mature hymns on the love of God and on the Holy Spirit.Less
Contains 19 hymns from the great hymn writer of the Methodist movement, beginning with one of the enthusiastic hymns written at the time of his conversion, and continuing with his hymns for the Great Festivals of the Christian year, and then his mature hymns on the love of God and on the Holy Spirit.
John Wigger
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195387803
- eISBN:
- 9780199866410
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195387803.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Francis Asbury (1745–1816) is one of the most important religious leaders in American history. He guided the creation of the American Methodist church, the largest church in nineteenth-century ...
More
Francis Asbury (1745–1816) is one of the most important religious leaders in American history. He guided the creation of the American Methodist church, the largest church in nineteenth-century America and the foundation of much of the Holiness and Pentecostal movements. The United States remains a deeply religious nation and Asbury is an important reason why. Yet Asbury did not lead in ways that we expect. He did not look like the ministers of colonial America, nor does he look like many high profile religious leaders today. The son of an English gardener, he had only a few years of formal education before being apprenticed to a metalworker at age fourteen. He never wrote a book and was often a disappointing preacher. He never married or owned a home, rarely spoke at church conferences, and often felt insecure in public. Yet in this definitive biography Asbury emerges as an effective and influential leader. His life of prayer and voluntary poverty were legendary, as was his generosity to the poor. Offsetting his poor public speaking was his remarkable ability to connect with people one-on-one or in small groups as he crisscrossed the nation. Asbury rode more than 130,000 miles from 1771 to 1816, tirelessly organizing the church’s expansion into every state and territory. He traveled more extensively across the American landscape than anyone of his generation. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, John Wigger reveals how Asbury shaped Methodism to engage ordinary Americans, establishing patterns that are still evident today.Less
Francis Asbury (1745–1816) is one of the most important religious leaders in American history. He guided the creation of the American Methodist church, the largest church in nineteenth-century America and the foundation of much of the Holiness and Pentecostal movements. The United States remains a deeply religious nation and Asbury is an important reason why. Yet Asbury did not lead in ways that we expect. He did not look like the ministers of colonial America, nor does he look like many high profile religious leaders today. The son of an English gardener, he had only a few years of formal education before being apprenticed to a metalworker at age fourteen. He never wrote a book and was often a disappointing preacher. He never married or owned a home, rarely spoke at church conferences, and often felt insecure in public. Yet in this definitive biography Asbury emerges as an effective and influential leader. His life of prayer and voluntary poverty were legendary, as was his generosity to the poor. Offsetting his poor public speaking was his remarkable ability to connect with people one-on-one or in small groups as he crisscrossed the nation. Asbury rode more than 130,000 miles from 1771 to 1816, tirelessly organizing the church’s expansion into every state and territory. He traveled more extensively across the American landscape than anyone of his generation. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, John Wigger reveals how Asbury shaped Methodism to engage ordinary Americans, establishing patterns that are still evident today.
Alan Harding
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263692
- eISBN:
- 9780191601149
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263694.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion has been one of the neglected strands in the eighteenth-century Evangelical Revival. This is surprising, since the Connexion was one of the most significant of ...
More
The Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion has been one of the neglected strands in the eighteenth-century Evangelical Revival. This is surprising, since the Connexion was one of the most significant of the non-Wesleyan groups within the Revival. Its importance lay less in its ministry to the upper classes, than as a grass-roots religious movement. It had its own training college (one of the first such institutions in England specifically directed to the development of ministerial skills) and formed a network of chapels across the country. Like Wesley, Lady Huntingdon started her religious life as a member of the Church of England, and clergymen played an important part in her Connexion throughout her life. But events led the Connexion to secede from the Established Church and to establish its own ordination and articles of religion. Through its preachers, congregations, and example, the Connexion made a significant contribution to the revival of Dissent in England in the late eighteenth century. This book examines in detail how the Connexion worked: who its preachers were, where their hearers came from, how chapels came to be built, and who provided the money. It examines the relations between the Connexion and other religious groupings: with the Church of England, with Dissent, with other Calvinist evangelicals, and with the Wesleyans. It shows a popular religious movement in operation, and thereby provides an important insight into English religious life at the time.Less
The Countess of Huntingdon’s Connexion has been one of the neglected strands in the eighteenth-century Evangelical Revival. This is surprising, since the Connexion was one of the most significant of the non-Wesleyan groups within the Revival. Its importance lay less in its ministry to the upper classes, than as a grass-roots religious movement. It had its own training college (one of the first such institutions in England specifically directed to the development of ministerial skills) and formed a network of chapels across the country. Like Wesley, Lady Huntingdon started her religious life as a member of the Church of England, and clergymen played an important part in her Connexion throughout her life. But events led the Connexion to secede from the Established Church and to establish its own ordination and articles of religion. Through its preachers, congregations, and example, the Connexion made a significant contribution to the revival of Dissent in England in the late eighteenth century. This book examines in detail how the Connexion worked: who its preachers were, where their hearers came from, how chapels came to be built, and who provided the money. It examines the relations between the Connexion and other religious groupings: with the Church of England, with Dissent, with other Calvinist evangelicals, and with the Wesleyans. It shows a popular religious movement in operation, and thereby provides an important insight into English religious life at the time.
Kenneth G. C. Newport
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198269496
- eISBN:
- 9780191600807
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198269498.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
This chapter sets out the case for considering Wesley as much more than the ‘sweet singer’ of early Methodism. It sets his life within its context, and shows how his influence and leadership ...
More
This chapter sets out the case for considering Wesley as much more than the ‘sweet singer’ of early Methodism. It sets his life within its context, and shows how his influence and leadership abilities helped to shape the new Methodist movement. A brief but thorough summary of his life, and of his sometimes troubled relationship with his brother, is set out.Less
This chapter sets out the case for considering Wesley as much more than the ‘sweet singer’ of early Methodism. It sets his life within its context, and shows how his influence and leadership abilities helped to shape the new Methodist movement. A brief but thorough summary of his life, and of his sometimes troubled relationship with his brother, is set out.
Kevin M. Watson
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- March 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190844516
- eISBN:
- 9780190844547
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190844516.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book argues that an initial moment of fragmentation occurred in American Methodism in the 1850s and 1860s. While a commitment to entire sanctification had been a core unifying doctrine within ...
More
This book argues that an initial moment of fragmentation occurred in American Methodism in the 1850s and 1860s. While a commitment to entire sanctification had been a core unifying doctrine within the broad American Methodist family up until the 1850s, the expulsion of Benjamin Titus (B.T.) Roberts from the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) and the subsequent formation of the Free Methodist Church (FMC) represent an initial fragmentation of what had been a coherent theological tradition. This detailed account of a crucial moment in American Methodist theology focuses on the ministries and theological emphases of Matthew Simpson, the influential MEC bishop best known for being a confidant of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, and B.T. Roberts, a pastor who was expelled from the MEC due to his harsh criticism of “New School Methodism.” Old or New School Methodism? is a detailed study that points to the need for a broader reevaluation of the history of American Methodism as a theological tradition. Previous historiography has often privileged big-tent visions of American Methodism in a way that has not taken with sufficient seriousness the disagreements such historical figures had with each other. By comparing and contrasting a key leader of the MEC with the founder of a holiness denomination, the book contributes to the history of American Methodism, and the broader study of religion in America, by widening the lens from what has often tended toward denominational history to a broader perspective that includes multiple denominations sharing a common heritage.Less
This book argues that an initial moment of fragmentation occurred in American Methodism in the 1850s and 1860s. While a commitment to entire sanctification had been a core unifying doctrine within the broad American Methodist family up until the 1850s, the expulsion of Benjamin Titus (B.T.) Roberts from the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) and the subsequent formation of the Free Methodist Church (FMC) represent an initial fragmentation of what had been a coherent theological tradition. This detailed account of a crucial moment in American Methodist theology focuses on the ministries and theological emphases of Matthew Simpson, the influential MEC bishop best known for being a confidant of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, and B.T. Roberts, a pastor who was expelled from the MEC due to his harsh criticism of “New School Methodism.” Old or New School Methodism? is a detailed study that points to the need for a broader reevaluation of the history of American Methodism as a theological tradition. Previous historiography has often privileged big-tent visions of American Methodism in a way that has not taken with sufficient seriousness the disagreements such historical figures had with each other. By comparing and contrasting a key leader of the MEC with the founder of a holiness denomination, the book contributes to the history of American Methodism, and the broader study of religion in America, by widening the lens from what has often tended toward denominational history to a broader perspective that includes multiple denominations sharing a common heritage.
Anne Stott
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199274888
- eISBN:
- 9780191714962
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199274888.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter deals with the most controversial episode in Hannah More's career: her quarrel with Thomas Bere, the curate of Blagdon — over the schoolmaster, Henry Young, who was accused of Methodism. ...
More
This chapter deals with the most controversial episode in Hannah More's career: her quarrel with Thomas Bere, the curate of Blagdon — over the schoolmaster, Henry Young, who was accused of Methodism. This fed into the anti-Jacobin panic of the 1790s. The controversy was taken up by the Anti-Jacobin Review, which accused More, Wilberforce, and the Clapham sect as being part of a conspiracy to undermine the Church of England. Eventually More was able to win round Richard Beadon, the bishop of Bath and Wells, and though the Blagdon school closed, the others survived. It is argued that to some extent More brought her troubles on her own head by her promotion of Evangelical clergy in ‘her’ parishes. She survived because she managed to win over a significant body of high-church opinion, but after this bruising experience she proceeded more cautiously.Less
This chapter deals with the most controversial episode in Hannah More's career: her quarrel with Thomas Bere, the curate of Blagdon — over the schoolmaster, Henry Young, who was accused of Methodism. This fed into the anti-Jacobin panic of the 1790s. The controversy was taken up by the Anti-Jacobin Review, which accused More, Wilberforce, and the Clapham sect as being part of a conspiracy to undermine the Church of England. Eventually More was able to win round Richard Beadon, the bishop of Bath and Wells, and though the Blagdon school closed, the others survived. It is argued that to some extent More brought her troubles on her own head by her promotion of Evangelical clergy in ‘her’ parishes. She survived because she managed to win over a significant body of high-church opinion, but after this bruising experience she proceeded more cautiously.
Jennifer M. Lloyd
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719078859
- eISBN:
- 9781781702574
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719078859.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
A response to the prominent Methodist historian David Hempton's call to analyse women's experience within Methodism, this book deals with British Methodist women preachers over the entire nineteenth ...
More
A response to the prominent Methodist historian David Hempton's call to analyse women's experience within Methodism, this book deals with British Methodist women preachers over the entire nineteenth century, with special emphasis on the Primitive Methodists and Bible Christians. The book covers women preachers in Wesley's lifetime, the reason why some Methodist sects allowed women to preach and others did not, and the experience of Bible Christian and Primitive Methodist female evangelists before 1850. It also describes the many other ways in which women supported their chapel communities. The second half of the book includes the careers of mid-century women revivalists, the opportunities, home and foreign missions offered for female evangelism, the emergence of deaconess evangelists and Sisters of the People in late century, and the brief revival of female itinerancy among the Bible Christians.Less
A response to the prominent Methodist historian David Hempton's call to analyse women's experience within Methodism, this book deals with British Methodist women preachers over the entire nineteenth century, with special emphasis on the Primitive Methodists and Bible Christians. The book covers women preachers in Wesley's lifetime, the reason why some Methodist sects allowed women to preach and others did not, and the experience of Bible Christian and Primitive Methodist female evangelists before 1850. It also describes the many other ways in which women supported their chapel communities. The second half of the book includes the careers of mid-century women revivalists, the opportunities, home and foreign missions offered for female evangelism, the emergence of deaconess evangelists and Sisters of the People in late century, and the brief revival of female itinerancy among the Bible Christians.
Anne Stott
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199274888
- eISBN:
- 9780191714962
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199274888.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
In 1789, Hannah More and her sister Martha (Patty) founded a Sunday school at Cheddar — the first of a series of schools in the Mendips — which marked a significant advance of elementary education in ...
More
In 1789, Hannah More and her sister Martha (Patty) founded a Sunday school at Cheddar — the first of a series of schools in the Mendips — which marked a significant advance of elementary education in Somerset. The schools are chronicled in Patty More's Mendip Annals. Sunday schools were the latest fashion in philanthropy. The pupils were the children of farmers, miners, and glass-workers. The schools have been criticized by E. P. Thompson and scholars influenced by Michel Foucault, but it is argued here that the Mendip peoples were not the passive recipients of class patronage. The success of the schools led to the setting up of women's benefit clubs in Cheddar and Shipham. The school and club feasts became a distinctive part of Mendip culture. Because of the problems of finding suitably Evangelical teachers, the sisters sometimes had take the potentially dangerous step of recruiting teachers with Methodist sympathies.Less
In 1789, Hannah More and her sister Martha (Patty) founded a Sunday school at Cheddar — the first of a series of schools in the Mendips — which marked a significant advance of elementary education in Somerset. The schools are chronicled in Patty More's Mendip Annals. Sunday schools were the latest fashion in philanthropy. The pupils were the children of farmers, miners, and glass-workers. The schools have been criticized by E. P. Thompson and scholars influenced by Michel Foucault, but it is argued here that the Mendip peoples were not the passive recipients of class patronage. The success of the schools led to the setting up of women's benefit clubs in Cheddar and Shipham. The school and club feasts became a distinctive part of Mendip culture. Because of the problems of finding suitably Evangelical teachers, the sisters sometimes had take the potentially dangerous step of recruiting teachers with Methodist sympathies.
Andrew O. Winckles
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781789620184
- eISBN:
- 9781789629651
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781789620184.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Women's Literature
Eighteenth-Century Women’s Writing and the Methodist Media Revolution argues that Methodism in the eighteenth century was a media event that uniquely combined and utilized different types of media to ...
More
Eighteenth-Century Women’s Writing and the Methodist Media Revolution argues that Methodism in the eighteenth century was a media event that uniquely combined and utilized different types of media to reach a vast and diverse audience. Specifically, it traces specific cases of how evangelical and Methodist discourse practices interacted with major cultural and literary events during the long eighteenth-century, from the rise of the novel to the Revolution controversy of the 1790’s to the shifting ground for women writers leading up to the Reform era in the 1830’s. The book maps the religious discourse patterns of Methodism onto works by authors like Samuel Richardson, Mary Wollstonecraft, Hannah More, Elizabeth Hamilton, Mary Tighe, and Felicia Hemans. This not only provides a better sense of the religious nuances of these authors’ better-known works, but also provides a fuller consideration of the wide variety of genres women were writing in during the period, many of which continue to be read as ‘non-literary’. The scope of the book leads the reader from the establishment of evangelical forms of discourse in the 1730’s to the natural ends of these discourse structures during the era of reform, all the while pointing to ways in which women—Methodist and otherwise—modified these discourse patterns as acts of resistance or subversion.Less
Eighteenth-Century Women’s Writing and the Methodist Media Revolution argues that Methodism in the eighteenth century was a media event that uniquely combined and utilized different types of media to reach a vast and diverse audience. Specifically, it traces specific cases of how evangelical and Methodist discourse practices interacted with major cultural and literary events during the long eighteenth-century, from the rise of the novel to the Revolution controversy of the 1790’s to the shifting ground for women writers leading up to the Reform era in the 1830’s. The book maps the religious discourse patterns of Methodism onto works by authors like Samuel Richardson, Mary Wollstonecraft, Hannah More, Elizabeth Hamilton, Mary Tighe, and Felicia Hemans. This not only provides a better sense of the religious nuances of these authors’ better-known works, but also provides a fuller consideration of the wide variety of genres women were writing in during the period, many of which continue to be read as ‘non-literary’. The scope of the book leads the reader from the establishment of evangelical forms of discourse in the 1730’s to the natural ends of these discourse structures during the era of reform, all the while pointing to ways in which women—Methodist and otherwise—modified these discourse patterns as acts of resistance or subversion.
Mark A. Noll
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195151114
- eISBN:
- 9780199834532
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195151119.003.0016
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Methodism became a great force in American life as a spiritual movement directed toward the salvation of souls. In its early American history, Methodism was mostly apolitical. Like their counterparts ...
More
Methodism became a great force in American life as a spiritual movement directed toward the salvation of souls. In its early American history, Methodism was mostly apolitical. Like their counterparts in Reformed circles, however, Methodists absorbed prevalent American principles of republicanism and commonsense moral reasoning. Unlike their Reformed counterparts, however, the Methodist absorption of these American ideologies occurred gradually and after they had spread widely in the country, rather than as part of the early Revolutionary struggle against Great Britain.Less
Methodism became a great force in American life as a spiritual movement directed toward the salvation of souls. In its early American history, Methodism was mostly apolitical. Like their counterparts in Reformed circles, however, Methodists absorbed prevalent American principles of republicanism and commonsense moral reasoning. Unlike their Reformed counterparts, however, the Methodist absorption of these American ideologies occurred gradually and after they had spread widely in the country, rather than as part of the early Revolutionary struggle against Great Britain.
Alan Harding
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198263692
- eISBN:
- 9780191601149
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198263694.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Eighteenth-century England presented a picture of substantial religious diversity. The Restoration Church of England had not regained all the ground lost after the Civil War, but despite some ...
More
Eighteenth-century England presented a picture of substantial religious diversity. The Restoration Church of England had not regained all the ground lost after the Civil War, but despite some evidence of laxity among its clergy and institutions, the Church of the eighteenth century was not moribund. Roman Catholics and the various groups of Protestant Dissenters pursued an active independent existence through the century, but some of the latter (like some sections of the Church of England) were subject to doctrinal heterodoxy. The Evangelical Revival that encompassed the Church of England and established Dissent, as well as spawning new denominations, was a reaction against spiritual and theological laxity, and elevated the doctrine of grace in preference to High Church religious austerities.Less
Eighteenth-century England presented a picture of substantial religious diversity. The Restoration Church of England had not regained all the ground lost after the Civil War, but despite some evidence of laxity among its clergy and institutions, the Church of the eighteenth century was not moribund. Roman Catholics and the various groups of Protestant Dissenters pursued an active independent existence through the century, but some of the latter (like some sections of the Church of England) were subject to doctrinal heterodoxy. The Evangelical Revival that encompassed the Church of England and established Dissent, as well as spawning new denominations, was a reaction against spiritual and theological laxity, and elevated the doctrine of grace in preference to High Church religious austerities.
