The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age of Spurgeon and Moody (A History of Evangelicalism Series)

by David Bebbington

Publisher:

IVP

, 2005

Overview

This book continues a compelling series of books charting the course of English-speaking evangelicalism over the last three hundred years. Evangelical culture at the end of the nineteenth century is set against the backdrop of imperial maneuvering in Great Britain and populist uprisings in the United States. Meanwhile, the industrialized West begins to enjoy the fruits of the Industrial Revolution, as British and American commerce become unstoppable forces on economies worldwide.

The rising tide of respectability that accompanied the affluence of the late nineteenth century West exercised great influence over religion. The plight of those who shared little in the abundance of the period likewise stirred the Christian conscience of some, turning them ultimately toward a social gospel. Better communication, together with widespread education, meant that the latest news and novel ideas spread rapidly. Evangelicals knew what was happening among their fellow believers on the other side of the globe and were often swayed by their opinions or inspired by their schemes. Already during the later nineteenth century, evangelicalism was contributing in a major way to globalization.

Theology, hymnody, gender, warfare, politics and science are all taken into consideration in this sweeping discussion of a critical period in religious history, but the focus of The Dominance of Evangelicalism is on the landmark individuals, events and organizations that shaped the story of a high-water mark of this vibrant Christian movement.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Another doctrinal position associated with Enlightenment optimism was the belief that the world was steadily advancing towards a future millennium.” (Page 130)

“Evangelicalism typically chose to give prominence to conversion, the Bible, the cross and missionary activity” (Page 21)

“Those who supported faith missions were to become the backbone of inter-war Fundamentalism; the premillennial Second Coming was the ideological glue of most of the Fundamentalist coalition; and the holiness movements, together with the Pentecostalism to which they so largely contributed, were to provide the shock troops of conservative evangelicalism during the twentieth century. Fundamentalists often went into battle for beliefs which they perceived to be part of the ancient deposit of faith but which in reality went back for less than a hundred years. It was a number of novelties from the nineteenth century rather than traditional convictions that did most to stiffen theological conservatism in the next.” (Page 200)

“Admiration for the spirit of the folk, often a particular nation, became a common theme. Those affected by the Romantic temper commonly insisted on the importance of corporate identities. There was a strong awareness of the solidarity of the group, a sense (against the Enlightenment) that individuals could not flourish outside their social context.” (Page 140)

“Spurgeon professed a version of egalitarianism that made him seem the champion of the common man” (Page 40)

Product Details

• Title: The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age of Spurgeon and Moody
• Author: David Bebbington
• Series: A History of Evangelicalism
• Publisher: IVP
• Print Publication Date: 2005
• Logos Release Date: 2019
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Evangelicalism › History--19th century
• ISBNs: 9781844740706, 1844740706, 9781844740703
• Resource ID: LLS:HISTEVGDOMNCE
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:31:09Z

About David Bebbington

David W. Bebbington (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is professor of history at the University of Stirling in Scotland and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His principal research interests are in the history of politics, religion and society in Britain from the eighteenth to the twentieth century and in the history of the global evangelical movement. His recent books include Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (1989), Victorian Nonconformity (1992), William Ewart Gladstone: Faith and Politics in Victorian Britain (1993) and Holiness in Nineteenth-Century England (2000). He has edited The Baptists in Scotland (1988), Evangelicalism: Comparative Studies of Popular Protestantism in North America, the British Isles and Beyond, 1700-1990 (1994), Gladstone Centenary Essays (2000), The Gospel in the World: International Baptists Studies (2002) and Modern Christianity and Cultural Aspirations (2003).