DOCSLIB.ORG

Pentecostal Responses to Fundamentalism in the United States, 1906-1943

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Pentecostal Responses to Fundamentalism in the United States, 1906-1943 Disfellowshiped: Pentecostal Responses to Fundamentalism in the United States, 1906-1943 by Gerald Wayne King A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham March 2009 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract This thesis examines the relationship between pentecostalism and fundamentalism in the United States from 1906-1943. Of particular interest is the formation of the National Association of Evangelicals, which combined these two movements (along with holiness churches), though their history was marked by dispute. On closer examination, the two groups held an evangelical heritage in common from the nineteenth century. Like a new species that is introduced into a particular ecological context, new religious movements grow and develop in response to their surrounding environment. This study divides pentecostalism’s growth (particularly that of the Assemblies of God and the Church of God [Cleveland, TN]) into three stages: genesis (the introductory period, 1906-1909), adaptation (the formative period, 1910-1924), and retention (the educational period, 1925-1943). Fundamentalism ‘leavened’ pentecostalism by the latter’s adoption of the ‘language’, the ‘content’ and the ‘rhetoric’ of fundamentalist theology, especially through the vehicle of dispensationalism. In the end, the hostility exhibited between them during this period was the result of religious proximity. Pentecostals were a threat to the power structures of fundamentalism by attracting parishioners to its form of revivalism. Acknowledgements First and foremost, I want to thank my parents, Jim and Joyce, for their love and support throughout this project. From my father I have derived an interest in history and from my mother an interest in religion; this study combines those two passions and is a tribute to them both. Second, I wish to thank my supervisor, Prof. Allan Anderson, and my advisor, Dr. Mark Cartledge. Allan has been a great encourager from the beginning stages and helped me avoid pitfalls along the way. I have also enjoyed the walks with him in the English countryside, sipping Olwen’s red bush tea and gaining a little perspective away from the busyness of the city and the business of the thesis. Mark has been a wonderful sounding board and has directed me to works that have enriched my study. I also appreciated the annual Thanksgiving celebration, even if this Yankee had to endure a horrendous recording of ‘O, Canada’ before partaking of Joan’s scrumptious turkey. Third, I wish to thank the Panacea Society in Bedford, England, for their generous grant which helped make this research possible. Fourth, I would be remiss if I did not mention the friendly staff at the Orchard Learning Resource Center in Selly Oak and the University of Birmingham main library and Special Collections staff on the Edgbaston campus. Fifth, I have numerous thanks to various archives around the US. At the top of the list is the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center in Springfield, Missouri, whose resources and staff were always helpful. Especially, I’d like to thank Darrin Rodgers for his generous hospitality during nearly two weeks of research split between two years and for the opportunity to chat with Wayne Warner, the retired director, over lunch. Glenn Gohr has been an invaluable resource through his detailed knowledge of AG history and by his eagerness to answer my inquiries as they surfaced. Janice Lee, Sharon Rasnake and the entire staff were unflappable in their willingness to locate materials and offer assistance if puzzlement even registered on my face. The staff at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, made my nine-month stay there in 2007 enjoyable and productive. Grace Yoder and her student helpers Tom and Carolyn helped sift through materials in the archives, and the library staff – Thad, Jared, Chris, Lee, Jessica, Don, David, Janice, Jennifer, Melinda (and anyone I may have left out) were equally efficient and friendly. Dorothy James amazed me with her ability at tracking down obscure articles and deserves encomium. The academic and housing staff were very accommodating in providing space to study and sleep, and for that I thank Dr. Bill Arnold, Sandy Martin, Korrie Harper and Sherry Peyton. I spent three weeks at the Crowell Library of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, so I have to thank my brother Bill for hosting me and Joe Cataio, Marian Shaw, Roger Van Olsen and the staff for access to volumes of periodicals, catalogues and collections of interesting and valuable materials. iii Dr. David Roebuck and staff at the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, allowed me access to archive material and reams of microfilm during my stay there. David was ever gracious, as was his assistant, Amy Fletcher, and were not even visibly upset when the microfilm snapped under my care. I’m relieved, and probably they are too, that these materials can now be had on CD-ROM. For other archives on shorter visits I wish to thank Dora Wagner at Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Wayne Weber at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, Illinois, for their assistance in locating materials at their respective institutions. I must also mention Jessica Steytler, archivist at Congregational Library, Boston, Massachusetts, for help in finding Dr. Blosser’s obscure pamphlet, and Dr. Lynn Anderson, archivist at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, for lunch and for access to the collection in the Pearlman Memorial Library. Sixth, I wish to thank former colleagues at Handong University in Pohang, South Korea, for their encouragement and interest in my work, particularly Dr. Ken and Pauline Grunden, Dr. Lisa Fishman Kim, and (hopefully someday soon Dr.) Deberniere Torrey, all of whom have helped in more ways than they can ever know. Seventh, I wish to thank my current colleagues at the University of Birmingham who have been fellow journeyists along the way. At the risk of neglecting some over the past few years, I should highlight some who have been especially encouraging; Kyu-Hyung Cho, Wessly Lukose, Vasile Marchis, Dan Walker, Tim Welch, Graham Smith, Doreen Morrison, Jen Miskov, Eric Williams, Connie Au, Richard Burgess, and Richard Bustraan. (I apologize if I have left anyone out.) Eighth, I have benefited from casual conversations with scholars at various conferences, some who no doubt do not remember the conversation, but have helped me to re-think critical issues (whether or not I heeded their advice). Dr. Harold Hunter, Dr. Mel Robeck, Dr. Calvin Smith, Dr. Stephen Hunt and Dr. Donald Dayton come to mind, though there are doubtless others. Last, and far from least, I wish to thank ‘the church on birch’, Celebration Community Church in Denver, Colorado, for their continuous encouragement by incarnating Christ’s love in tangible ways. Dale and Mickey Howard have been constant e-mail companions over the years, and Dale irreplaceable as a coffee partner and computer consultant. Others deserving special mention have helped in various ways with encouragement and prayers: Steve and Bonnie Garcia, Russ and Leslie Powell, Brad and Marcie Cornish, Jim and Mary Jo Peterson, John and Karen Schultz, Dan and Karen Hoglund, Jay and Teri Randall, and Bruce and Linda Johnson. To list everyone at the church who have shared their lives is impossible without adding more pages, so I can only add an et. al. for everyone else. You are in my heart always. GWK Selly Oak, March 2009 iv Table of Contents List of Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………….x Chapter 1 – Introduction 1.1 Introduction to the Study………………………………………………………….….1 1.2 Defining a Framework………………………………………………………………..2 1.3 Methodology and Limitations………………………………………….……………..5 1.4 Definitions…………………………………………………………………………….7 1.4.1 Pentecostalism……………………………………………………………………..7 1.4.2 Fundamentalism………………………………………………………………….12 1.4.3 Holiness Movement…………………...…………………………………………17 1.4.4 Modernism……………………………………………………………………….20 1.4.5 Evangelicalism……………………………………….…………………………..22 1.5 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………..25 Chapter 2 – Historical Background 2.1 A Survey of the Religious Landscape, 1860-1900………………………………….28 2.2 The Great Evangelical Empire, 1860………………………………………………..29 2.3 The Cultural Challenge to the Empire, 1865………………………………………..32 2.4 The Theological Challenge to the Empire, 1874……………………………………36 2.5 A Place for Pentecostalism, 1900…………………………………………………...42 2.6 The Holiness Conduit of Pentecostalism……………….…………………………...46 2.7 Summary and Conclusion…………………………………………………………...51 v Chapter 3 – Genesis: Emerging Pentecostalism (1906-1909) 3.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..53 3.2 Early Spread of Pentecostalism……………………………………………………..55 3.3 Initial Reaction of Fundamentalism…………………………………………………63 3.4.1 Pentecostal Defence of the Movement: Historical………………………………..77 3.4.2 Pentecostal
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Part Four - 'Made in America: Christian Fundamentalism' Transcript
    Part Four - 'Made in America: Christian Fundamentalism' Transcript Date: Wednesday, 10 November 2010 - 2:00PM Location: Barnard's Inn Hall 10 November 2010 Made in America Christian Fundamentalism Dr John A Dick Noam Chomsky: “We must bear in mind that the U.S. is a very fundamentalist society, perhaps more than any other society in the world – even more fundamentalist than Saudi Arabia or the Taliban. That's very surprising.” Overview: (1) Introduction (2) Five-stage evolution of fundamentalism in the United States (3) Features common to all fundamentalisms (4) What one does about fundamentalism INTRODUCTION: In 1980 the greatly respected American historian, George Marsden published Fundamentalism and American Culture, a history of the first decades of American fundamentalism. The book quickly rose to prominence, provoking new studies of American fundamentalism and contributing to a renewal of interest in American religious history. The book’s timing was fortunate, for it was published as a resurgent fundamentalism was becoming active in politics and society. The term “fundamentalism” was first applied in the 1920’s to Protestant movements in the United States that interpreted the Bible in an extreme and literal sense. In the United States, the term “fundamentalism” was first extended to other religious traditions around the time of the Iranian Revolution in 1978-79. In general all fundamentalist movements arise when traditional societies are forced to face a kind of social disintegration of their way of life, a loss of personal and group meaning and the introduction of new customs that lead to a loss of personal and group orientation.
    [Show full text]
  • “Prayer-Tongues” in Corinth?
    8. WHAT ABOUT THE “PRAYER-TONGUES” IN CORINTH? ​ THE CASE FOR SPEAKING IN UNKNOWN TONGUES ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ www.thebiblejesus.com aving looked at the three historic occasions in the Book of Acts when “tongues” were H ​ ​ us​ed to advance the Gospel of Christ in the world, we now come to exceedingly muddy waters! We are going to ask the question: What About the “Prayer-Tongues” in Corinth? ​ Those who believe the “tongues” in First Corinthians chapters 12 - 14 are “ecstatic ​ ​ utterances” with no recognisable language components of grammar and syntax, must explain that these “prayer tongues” are essentially a very different kind of language to what we have in Acts chapters 2, 10 and 19. ​ ​ ​ Recall that the Spirit-inspired “tongues” in Acts were languages always understood by an ​ ​ audience. Interpretation of the languages in Acts is not indicated as ever needed, for they ​ ​ were languages understood and addressed to men in the context of preaching the Gospel. ​ ​ It was always Tongues and Prophecy --- languages for preaching the Good News. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Can it be demonstrated then, that when we come to the “gift of tongues” at Corinth we meet a different genre altogether --- that of “unknown tongues” (as per KJV) ? If the ​ ​ ​ ​ modern practice of “speaking in unknown tongues” is to be justified, the case must be ​ ​ made that the various kinds of tongues (12: 10) are valid “heavenly tongues”. ​ ​ MY METHOD Before we get in earnest, I need to lay out how I am going to approach this hot-potato subject. It would literally take me an entire book to adequately deal with every aspect of the matter.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Come': Apologetics and the Witness of the Holy Spirit
    1 THE SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE SAY ‘COME’: APOLOGETICS AND THE WITNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Kevin Kinghorn and Jerry L. Walls In a word, Christian apologetics is a defense of Christian theism. The Greek word apologia may refer to the kind of reasoned case a lawyer provides in defending the innocence of an accused person. Or, more broadly, the word may refer to any line of argument showing the truth of some position. 1 Peter 3:15 contains the instruction to Christians: “Always be prepared to give an answer [apologia] to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”1 1. Testimony: human and divine Within the four Gospels one finds a heavy emphasis on human testimony in helping others come to beliefs about Christ. For example, St. Luke opens his Gospel by explaining to its recipient, Theophilus, that he is writing “an orderly account” of the life of Jesus “so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” Luke describes himself as drawing together a written account of things “just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the Word.”2 As Richard Swinburne remarks, “it is hard to read the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, and 1 Corinthians without seeing them as claiming that various historical events (above all, the Resurrection) occurred and that others can know these things on the testimony of the apostles to have seen them.”3 This passing down of apostolic testimony continued through the next generations of the early Christian Church.
    [Show full text]
  • William Booth Leader's Guide
    Leader’s Guide to accompany the DVD The Torchlighters: The William Booth Story Table of Contents Introduction to the Torchlighters Series . 3 Synopsis of The Torchlighters: The William Booth Story . 4 Teaching Plan for The William Booth Story . 5 Session 1 - No Compromise: Called! . 6-8 Session 2 - No Compromise: Courage! . 9 Session 3 - No Compromise: Commitment! . 10 Session 4 - No Compromise: Continue! . 11-12 Letter to Parents . 13 Supplementary Materials Key People in The William Booth Story . 14 The Nineteenth-Century World of William Booth . 15-16 Timeline of the Booths and The Salvation Army . 17-18 Additional Materials . 19 The Torchlighters Series . 20 Answer Key for Select Student Pages . 21 © Christian History Institute Learn more about The Torchlighters: Heroes of the Faith programs at www.torchlighters.org.2 Leader’s Guide to accompany the DVD The Torchlighters: The William Booth Story Introduction to the Torchlighters Series Torchlighter: One who commits to serving God and passing on the light of the Gospel, even if the going gets tough. Kids today have no shortage of heroes. From Hollywood celebrities to music artists and sports figures, it would seem that there are plenty of heroes to go around. The heroes being offered by popular culture are teaching children that physical perfection, financial success, and fame are the most important goals in life. The morals and values presented by these heroes are often in direct opposition to the standards parents want to pass on to their children. So, while there is no shortage of heroes, there is a dreadful shortage of heroes worth emulating.
    [Show full text]
  • Theodicy: an Overview
    1 Theodicy: An Overview Introduction All of us struggle at one time or another in life with why evil happens to someone, either ourselves, our family, our friends, our nation, or perhaps some particularly disturbing instance in the news—a child raped, a school shooting, genocide in another country, a terrorist bombing. The following material is meant to give an overview of the discussion of this issue as it takes place in several circles, especially that of the Christian church. I. The Problem of Evil Defined Three terms, "the problem of evil," "theodicy," and "defense" are important to our discussion. The first two are often used as synonyms, but strictly speaking the problem of evil is the larger issue of which theodicy is a subset because one can have a secular problem of evil. Evil is understood as a problem when we seek to explain why it exists (Unde malum?) and what its relationship is to the world as a whole. Indeed, something might be considered evil when it calls into question our basic trust in the order and structure of our world. Peter Berger in particular has argued that explanations of evil are necessary for social structures to stay themselves against chaotic forces. It follows, then, that such an explanation has an impact on the whole person. As David Blumenthal observes, a good theodicy is one that has three characteristics: 1. "[I]t should leave one with one’s sense of reality intact." (It tells the truth about reality.) 2. "[I]t should leave one empowered within the intellectual-moral system in which one lives." (Namely, it should not deny God’s basic power or goodness.) 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Miracle of Time
    MIRACLE OF TIME by Frank L. Paine Shiloah Ministries ii Shiloah Ministries c/o CCF Tapes 30 Crescent Road BOGNOR REGIS England PO21 1QG www.shiloah.co.uk [email protected] Copyright © Shiloah Ministries 1994, 2020 First published 1994 Published in this format 2020 All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The following exceptions apply: 1. Passages may be quoted freely as long as full attribution is given 2. Extracts may be used for review purposes. Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are from the Authorized Version of the Bible. Extracts from the Authorized Version of the Bible (the King James Version), the rights in which are vested in the Crown, are reproduced by permission of the Crown’s Patentee, Cambridge University Press. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0-9523323-0-2 iii MIRACLE OF TIME by Frank L. Paine ‘THE KEY OF DAVID’ TURNS PERFECTLY IN THE LOCK OF ISRAEL’S ANCIENT AND MODERN HISTORY SO AS TO OPEN THE DOOR THAT WE MIGHT UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES IN THE CLOSING DAYS OF OUR AGE ‘The thing that is hid bringeth He forth to the light’ Job 28:11 iv v Contents vi vii viii ix x The Background to the Book When Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, set His face to go up to Jerusalem He knew He must die there.
    [Show full text]
  • Comment Fundamentalism and Science
    SISSA – International School for Advanced Studies Journal of Science Communication ISSN 1824 – 2049 http://jcom.sissa.it/ Comment Fundamentalism and science Massimo Pigliucci The many facets of fundamentalism. There has been much talk about fundamentalism of late. While most people's thought on the topic go to the 9/11 attacks against the United States, or to the ongoing war in Iraq, fundamentalism is affecting science and its relationship to society in a way that may have dire long-term consequences. Of course, religious fundamentalism has always had a history of antagonism with science, and – before the birth of modern science – with philosophy, the age-old vehicle of the human attempt to exercise critical thinking and rationality to solve problems and pursue knowledge. “Fundamentalism” is defined by the Oxford Dictionary of the Social Sciences 1 as “A movement that asserts the primacy of religious values in social and political life and calls for a return to a 'fundamental' or pure form of religion.” In its broadest sense, however, fundamentalism is a form of ideological intransigence which is not limited to religion, but includes political positions as well (for example, in the case of some extreme forms of “environmentalism”). In the United States, the main version of the modern conflict between science and religious fundamentalism is epitomized by the infamous Scopes trial that occurred in 1925 in Tennessee, when the teaching of evolution was challenged for the first time 2,3. That battle is still being fought, for example in Dover, Pennsylvania, where at the time of this writing a court of law is considering the legitimacy of teaching “intelligent design” (a form of creationism) in public schools.
    [Show full text]
  • Hindu Fundamentalism and Christian Response in India
    HINDU FUNDAMENTALISM AND CHRISTIAN RESPONSE IN INDIA Rev. Shadakshari T.K. (Bangalore, India and Pastoring Divyajyothi Church of the Nazarene) Introduction One of the purposes of religion, humanly speaking, is to enable people to live a responsible life. One desire is that religious people may not disturb the harmonious life; rather, they may contribute towards it. Today, religions have become a source of conflict and violence in many Asian societies. This is very evident in India where the inter-relationship among religions is breaking up. The contemporary problem in India is the question of nationalism and the issue of marginalized identities. Christians are caught between two: participation in the nationalism in the one hand and commitment to the cause of the marginalized on the other. There is an awakening of nationalism, which bears strong religious stamp, which is strongly promoted by the Hindutva ideology. At the same time there is a strong awakening of the Tribals and Dalits. In this context, the question comes to our mind: how do Christians in India serve both nationalism and marginal groups when both of them are opposing each other? I am not promising the absolute answer for the question raised. However, this article provides some clues by analyzing the historical development of religious fundamentalism and suggesting an appropriate response for Christians. Though there are several religious fundamental groups in the history of India (including Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and others), this article limits its study to the religious fundamentalism of Hinduism. The importance of Hindu fundamentalism lies in its very contemporary and nationalistic scope, compared to other, more regional expressions.
    [Show full text]
  • The Bible Code: “Teaching Them [Wrong] Things” Richard A
    JETS 43/4 (December 2000) 619–636 THE BIBLE CODE: “TEACHING THEM [WRONG] THINGS” RICHARD A. TAYLOR* I. INTRODUCTION Michael Drosnin, author of the 1997 New York Times best-selling book entitled The Bible Code, tells of ˘ying to Israel on 1 September 1994 in order to convey to then Israeli prime minister Rabin an urgent and sober warning. Drosnin had learned that the only time the name Yitzhak Rabin appeared in the Bible code it intersected the words “assassin that will assassinate.” Drosnin had therefore concluded that the life of the Prime Minister was in grave danger. But he also thought that if immediate action were taken this imminent catastrophe could perhaps be avoided. When he arrived in Israel, Drosnin met with Israeli poet Chaim Guri, a close friend of the prime min- ister, who in turn conveyed Drosnin’s message to Rabin. Drosnin urged that the Bible code message concerning Rabin be taken seriously, especially in light of the fact that the same Bible code had also accurately announced the prior assassinations of Anwar Sadat, John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, and Mahatma Gandi. Drosnin’s mission, however, did not meet with success. Less than a year later, on 4 November 1995, Yitzhak Rabin was unexpectedly killed by a Jewish assassin.1 * Richard A. Taylor is professor of Old Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, 3909 Swiss Avenue, Dallas, TX 75204. Editor’s Note: The theme of the ˜ftieth-anniversary conference of the Evangelical Theological Society where this paper was ˜rst presented was “teaching them all things” (Matt 28:20).
    [Show full text]
  • The Governors of Connecticut, 1905
    ThegovernorsofConnecticut Norton CalvinFrederick I'his e dition is limited to one thousand copies of which this is No tbe A uthor Affectionately Dedicates Cbis Book Co George merriman of Bristol, Connecticut "tbe Cruest, noblest ana Best friend T €oer fia<T Copyrighted, 1 905, by Frederick Calvin Norton Printed by Dorman Lithographing Company at New Haven Governors Connecticut Biographies o f the Chief Executives of the Commonwealth that gave to the World the First Written Constitution known to History By F REDERICK CALVIN NORTON Illustrated w ith reproductions from oil paintings at the State Capitol and facsimile sig natures from official documents MDCCCCV Patron's E dition published by THE CONNECTICUT MAGAZINE Company at Hartford, Connecticut. ByV I a y of Introduction WHILE I w as living in the home of that sturdy Puritan governor, William Leete, — my native town of Guil ford, — the idea suggested itself to me that inasmuch as a collection of the biographies of the chief executives of Connecticut had never been made, the work would afford an interesting and agreeable undertaking. This was in the year 1895. 1 began the task, but before it had far progressed it offered what seemed to me insurmountable obstacles, so that for a time the collection of data concerning the early rulers of the state was entirely abandoned. A few years later the work was again resumed and carried to completion. The manuscript was requested by a magazine editor for publication and appeared serially in " The Connecticut Magazine." To R ev. Samuel Hart, D.D., president of the Connecticut Historical Society, I express my gratitude for his assistance in deciding some matters which were subject to controversy.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church in Zion
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Apollo Revisiting ‘Translatability’ and African Christianity: The Case of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church in Zion The example of Christian Zionism in South Africa seems to perfectly illustrate the scholarly vogue for portraying Christianity in Africa as an eminently ‘translatable’ religion. Zionism – not to be confused with the Jewish movement focused on the state of Israel – is the largest popular Christian movement in modern Southern Africa, to which millions in South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe belong; by the 1960s, 21% of Southern Africans were Zionist.1 However, with now over three thousand active Zionist churches in the Southern African region, there is no single Zionist organization. The biggest is the Zion Christian Church in northern South Africa, with six million members, while the vast majority of Zionist churches have between fifty and two hundred members.2 Adherents of this diffuse, decentralized movement have historically been drawn from South Africa’s working-classes; today, Zionists are still perceived as representative of the rank of minimally educated, economically marginalized black South Africans. And although thus vastly diverse, a unifying feature of Zionists across this region is their emphasis on health and healing. Almost uniformly, a Zionist service centers on a healing event during which congregation members receive prayer from a ‘prophet’ for a physical, emotional or psychological ailment. Some churches still eschew both Western and African medicine in favor of exclusive reliance upon prayer.3 Both scholarship and popular perception have largely understood Zionism as a uniquely Southern African phenomenon, entirely indigenous to the region.
    [Show full text]
  • Preaching and Sermons Robert Ellison Ph.D
    Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar English Faculty Research English Spring 5-4-2018 Preaching and Sermons Robert Ellison Ph.D. Marshall University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://mds.marshall.edu/english_faculty Part of the Liturgy and Worship Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Ellison, Robert H. “Preaching and Sermons.” The Oxford Handbook of Protestant Dissenting Traditions, vol. 3, edited by Timothy Larsen and Michael Ledger-Lomas, Oxford UP, 2017, pp. 369-386. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the English at Marshall Digital Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Faculty Research by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Preaching and Sermons Robert H. Ellison In the opening chapter of The Oxford Handbook of the British Sermon 1689-1901, William Gibson estimates that as many as ‘25 million unique sermon performances’ took place throughout the British empire between the end of the Glorious Revolution and the death of Queen Victoria.1 While only a fraction of these sermons were ultimately published, the corpus of available texts is massive as well: extrapolating from the data in John Gordon Spaulding’s Pulpit Publications (1996), Gibson estimates that some ‘80,000 individual…sermons’ were published during this period of time.2 Numbers like this are a mixed blessing for scholars. On the one hand, the sheer size of the canon suggests a virtually endless store of topics to pursue, and advances in digitization have made more texts readily available than ever before.
    [Show full text]