Honored in 2006 as a "Year's Best Book for Preachers" by Preaching magazine. The word evangelical is widely used and widely misunderstood. Where did evangelicals come from? How did their influence become so widespread throughout the world? 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 maneuverings 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.
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About the Author
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).
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written, solid scholarship,
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This review is from: The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age of Spurgeon and Moody (History of Evangelicalism) (Hardcover)
David Bebbington brings us another admirable study in The Dominance of Evangelicalism, persuasively arguing that evangelicalism was a potent force in the late 19th century. This was in part because evangelicals successfully adapted (and adapted to) the assumptions of the age, especially those assumptions stemming from and reacting to the Enlightenment. This study also sets the stage for Pentecostalism's emergence around 1900 and other developments that the next book in this series will cover.
This book covers English-speaking evangelicalism from 1850 to 1900, complementing the wider chronology but narrower geography of his earlier book, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (Routledge, 1989). The two share the key (and very useful) definition of evangelicalism in terms of cross, conversion, Bible, and mission. In both books, Bebbington analyzes how evangelicals interacted with the intellectual and cultural currents of the day: Scottish common sense realism, Romanticism, evolution, respectability, and so on. But he approaches the present study thematically (as opposed to chronologically, as in the previous book), an approach that works well and isn't very redundant for this relatively short period. Bebbington writes clearly and concisely, supplying many and vivid illustrations drawn largely from primary periodicals. I highly recommend this book, for scholars and interested lay people alike, in addition to Evangelicalism in Modern Britain. Chapter summaries: The Prologue contains a discussion of the social and political context. 1. Bebbington overviews global evangelicalism, 1850 - 1900. 2. He describes the diversity of evangelicalism: social, denominational (Anglican, Presbyterian, Congregational, Baptist, Methodist, and others), and geographical (England, the rest of the British Isles, the rest of the British Empire, United States, and South Africa). But evangelicals bonded and cooperated across these divisions. 3. He describes evangelicals' spirituality, worship, home missions, Sunday schools, revivals, and foreign missions. 4. Evangelicals used Enlightenment ideas, especially the Scottish common sense philosophy associated with Francis Bacon. This had many results: attempting to reconcile science with religion, Calvinism decaying and Arminianism rising. Postmillennialism, missiology, and pragmatism in church structure are all discussed. 5. Romanticism influenced not only Catholic, Anglo-Catholic, and Unitarian thought, but also evangelical -- resulting in higher church liturgical forms, poetic and eloquent sermons, various theories of Biblical inspiration, favorable opinions toward evolution, and liberal trends in doctrine (e.g., emphasizing the Fatherhood of God and the Incarnation of Christ, and downgrading eternal punishment to conditional immortality). 6. There were conservative trends affected by Romanticism, too: faith missions (relying on God alone for support and not making collections), premillennialism (in both historicist and futurist flavors), and holiness thought (especially the Keswick and proto-Pentecostal forms). 7. Evangelicals interacted with social trends in important ways, especially feminine ascendancy and race relations. Also, they were generally conservative with respect to entertainment during the period at hand and crusaded against desecration of the Lord's day, Catholicism, sexual immorality, and alcohol. Included is a discussion of the social gospel movement. 8. Figures of denominational growth during the period are included in the conclusion.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ample information, less analysis,
This review is from: The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age of Spurgeon and Moody (History of Evangelicalism) (Hardcover)
The Dominance of Evangelicalism: The Age of Spurgeon and Moody is book three of a five-part series on the history of evangelicalism. The author, David Bebbington, is a professor of history who has focused much of his life studying British evangelicalism and culture during the last three centuries.
If you are looking for a biographical account of Spurgeon & Moody, along with a sketch of their times, this is not the book for you. On the other hand, if you want to read a thorough account of broad evangelical trends from the 1840s to the 1890s and are comfortable with a 'thick' read, then there is much to interest you in this book. Bebbington gives a survey of the movements of evangelicalism during that time, their effects on culture, and the degree to which culture may have influenced the development of evangelical theology and action. Though not a popular-level writer like the secular historical works of Stephen Ambrose and David McCollough, Bebbington provides a great deal of helpful information on Christianity in that day. At times, you may wish that he was more clear about certain trends being unbiblical and outside the pale of what is genuinely evangelical, for at the outset he defines 'evangelical' as (1) holding to a strong allegiance to the Bible, (2) attached to the cross and substitionary atonement, (3) concerned for personal conversion and regeneration, and (4) active, to the point of often being activists. However, as he proceeds to unfold history, the groups he ranks within the context of 'evangelical' appear separate from these four marks and no mention is made of the discrepancy. Bebbington's knowledge of that time period runs deep. It is too bad that there is not more analysis and evaluation within this volume to help the reader better understand the strengths and weaknesses that developed within evangelicalism in that time. Mark Noll, Iain Murray, S.M. Houghton, and David Wells are all good, if different, examples of how history can be analyzed and learned from. Bebbington's book provides ample information, with perhaps a slight emphasis on the sociological, as compared to the aforementioned authors, and largely leaves it to the reader to read critically and thoughtfully. - John Pleasnick, Christian Book [..]
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