PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism 1750-1858
Marrying careful historical research to popular and relevant
presentation, Revival and Revivalism traces the spiritually epoch-making
events of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through the eyes of
those who lived at their centre. Fundamental to the book's thesis is a
rejection of the frequent identification of 'revival' with 'revivalism'.
The author demonstrates that a common understanding of the New
Testament idea of revival was prevalent in most denominations throughout
the period 1750-1858. Revivalism, on the other hand, is different both
in its origin and in its tendencies. Its ethos is mancentred and its
methods too close to the manipulative to require a supernatural
explanation. Iain Murray argues that an inability to recognize this
distinction has led many to ignore the new and different teaching on
evangelism and revival which began to be popularized in the 1820s. While
the case against that teaching was argued almost universally by the
leaders of the Second Great Awakening their testimony was submerged
beneath propaganda which promised a 'new era' if only the churches would
abandon the older ways.