THE DOMINANCE OF EVANGELICALISM
The Age of Spurgeon and Moody
By David W. Bebbington . IVP. 284 pages. £16.99
ISBN 1 84474 070 6
This, the third volume in the series ‘A History of Evangelicalism’, covers the years 1850s-1900s, not in chronological sequence but in eight chapters dealing with themes, of which the main one is the dominance of evangelical belief in the culture of the English-speaking world. The centrality of Britain in the international influence of evangelicalism is brought out well.
Chapter one covers what Dr. Bebbington sees as the four distinctives of evangelical Christians (‘the Bible, the cross, conversion and activism’) and gives summaries of Spurgeon and Moody. Chapter two puts evangelicals in their various denominational contexts. Chapter three describes the uppermost interests of evangelicals, namely, spirituality, worship (including the sermon and music) and methods of outreach (direct evangelism, literature, overseas mission, etc.). Chapters four and five explain, in the author’s view, why evangelicalism became as dominant as it did: it is argued that the success was closely connected to the influences of ‘the Enlightenment’ and of Romanticism. The concluding chapters address theological trends in the later 19th century (especially ‘the faith principle’, premillennial and holiness teaching), the social impact, and the strength of the influence.
