Several recent outbreaks of Bibliophilia have resulted in additions to the recent acquisitions shelf. I’m already well into the most recent volume of the IVP History of Evangelicalism. One of the taunting howls of Aberdeen football supporters is ‘Who are ye?’. It isn’t a polite enquiry to ascertain the names of newly discovered acquaintances – it’s a demand for self-definition, with the assumption that whoever you are, you are of little consequence anyway.
The same question is often asked by and about evangelicals – ‘Who are ye?’ This history series is a major contribution to Evangelical definition and description through historical study. Here’s who the people who have used the term ‘evangelical’ are – as they have lived within the cultural and social context of their times from early 18th century to now.
The value of this series lies in the decision that all five volumes will explore the Evangelical movement internationally, in particular throughout the English speaking world – Britain, America, West Indies, Australia, New zealand and South Africa. The description and analysis of Evangelicalism as a movement reveals vitality and variety, and creates a quite different perspective on who are and who aren’t ‘evnagelical’. And this for me creates a wish that those who use the word ‘evangelical’ would have a greater awareness of a tradition so rich, adaptable and effective in its service to the Kingdom of God, and not hijack it for their own exclusive agendas.
The Rise of Evangelicalism, Mark Noll. Noll is the premier church historian in the US, and this book, along with the others in the series, maps the beginnings and progress of the Evangelical movement that emerged on both sides of the Atlantic from the early 18th Century onwards. Key figures are the Wesleys, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards
The Expansion of Evangelicalism, John Wolffe. Explores the social and political contexts within which Evangelicalism developed, looking at the consolidations of people like John Newton, Wilberforce, Charles Simeon, the revivalist Charles Finney, and Hannah More. Traces the growing influence of the evangelical voice in the areas of social policy and moral and cultural critique.
The Dominance of Evangelicalism, David Bebbington. The nonconformist conscience and the evangelical voice were dominant influences in Victorian society and in the years following the American Civil War. The age of Moody and Spurgeon is presented with verve and ease which don’t disguise the erudition of the acknowledged expert in the field of Evangelical history.
So, having read Noll and Bebbington earlier, I am now well into Wolffe’s volume and have enjoyed especially the descriptions of the early camp meetings on the American frontiers, and the in your face tactics of the itinerant preachers. And then to read about such exotic groups as the ‘Magic Methodists’ of Cheshire and the ‘Kirkgate Screamers’ of Leeds, is to realise that early charismatic expressions of faith earned such nicknames in a context of ridicule and rejection.
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