High Calvinists in Action
Calvinism and the City - Manchester and London, c. 1810-1860
Published on 6. February 2003
Book
Hardback
428 pages
978-0-19-925077-6 (ISBN)
Description
This valuable contribution to the debate about the relation of religion to the modern city fills an important gap in the historiography of early nineteenth-century religious life. Although there is some evidence that strict doctrine led to a more restricted response to urban problems, extensive local and personal variations mean that simple generalizations should be avoided. Ian J.Shaw argues against earlier prejudiced views and shows that high Calvinists played a vigorous and successful part in the response of early nineteenth-century churches to the process of urbanization. The study includes six substantial case studies of ministers and their churches in Manchester and London. Four high Calvinist ministers are considered, with two studies of ministers holding to an evangelical Calvinist doctrine also included to provide instructive contrasts. Detailed social analysis of the congregations is based upon extensive use of manuscript and printed sources, sermons, and local and denominational press.
Reviews / Votes
...thoroughly researched and convincingly argued study of urban High Calvinism, Shaw seeks to challenge this stereotype and to paint an alternative picture ... important points about the robustness of early nineteenth-century working-class religiosity and the difference between metropolitan and regional ecclesiastical cultures ... It will provide valuable reading, not only for those with an interest in the application of Calvinist theology but also for historians of urban religion and nineteenth-century urbanization more generally. * Mark Smith, The Journal of Theological Studies * ... well-researched and carefully argued. * Journal of Ecclesiastical History * Ian Shaw has put us in his debt by this exploration of the social and political actions of six ministers of the early nineteenth century ... This is a rich book, meticulously researched and well written. It casts light on what has often been a dark corner of evangelical history. * Baptist Quarterly * ... makes an important contribution ... this is rich and complex comparative history ... offers a powerful antidote to the stereotypes, simplifications and reductionism that have sometimes dogged scholarship on nineteenth-century religion. * Themelios *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
6 tables
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 145 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
732 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-925077-6 (9780199250776)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ian J. Shaw is Lecturer in Church History at International Christian College, Glasgow
Content
Introduction: People, Places, and Theology ; 1. The Development of High and Evangelical Calvinism to c. 1860 ; 2. The Responses of British Evangelicals to the Religious and Secular Problems of the Inner City c. 1800-1860 ; 3. The Manchester Context ; 4. William Nunn (1786 - 1840) ; 5. William Gadsby (1773 - 1844) ; 6. William McKerrow (1803 - 1878) ; 7. Joseph Irons (1785 - 1852) ; 8. James Wells (1803 - 1872) ; 9. Andrew Reed (1787 - 1862) ; 10. Conclusion