Perfecting Perfection
Essays in Honour of Henry D. Rack
Published on 28. July 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
312 pages
978-0-227-17588-0 (ISBN)
Description
Henry D. Rack is one of the most profound historians of the Methodist movement in modern times. He has spent a lifetime researching and writing about the rise and significance of John Wesley and his Methodist followers in the eighteenth century and has also uncovered the historical significance of the Methodist Church in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Collected in Perfecting Perfection are thirteen essays honouring the life and scholarship of Dr. Rack from a host of international scholars in the field. The topics range from Wesley's view of grace in the eighteenth century to the dynamic intersection of the Methodist and Tractarian movements in the nineteenth century. Ultimately, the collection of essays offered here in honour of Dr. Rack will be engaging and provocative to those considering Methodist Studies in the present and future generations.
Reviews / Votes
"This is an outstanding collection of essays that is indispensable reading for all students of Methodism and the Wesleyan tradition. Many of the essays break new ground for future research; all of them are a pleasure to ponder."William J. Abraham, Outler Professor of Wesley Studies, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
"It is so fitting that the leading British Methodist historian, Henry Rack, is being honoured in this eminently readable volume that includes contributions from such key American voices as Heitzenrater, Campbell, Wigger, and Watson. Broad in scope, and yet remarkably balanced in its overall composition, this collection of essays makes a splendid and engaging contribution to the field."
Kenneth J. Collins, Professor of Historical Theology and Wesley Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary
"Although this book's style is academic, there is, nevertheless, much Gospel warmth within these pages, especially in the references to hearts on fire and deeply rooted in the life of God. Leaving aside the doctrinal controversies that surrounded Wesley, of his abiding love for the Lord and the lost there can be no doubt - including his recognition that a yearning for holiness should be at the heart of every believer. I was glad to have had the opportunity to review this book."
-Peter Murcott, British Church Newspaper, 16th September 2016
"Unlike some Festschriften this is a valuable (and reasonably priced) collection which is considerably more than the sum of its parts, and a suitable tribute to an outstanding scholar."
-G.M. Ditchfield, The English Historical Review, Volume 133, Issue 560, 20 March 2018
'Perfecting Perfection is a fitting tribute to the author of such a considerable and influential output.'
- Robert Schofield, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Volume 68, Issue 4, October 2017
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 153 mm
Weight
460 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-227-17588-0 (9780227175880)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
07/2016
James Clarke & Co Ltd
€29.99
Available for download
Person
Robert Webster is currently Senior Minister in the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church and recently Professor of Methodist History and Theology at The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He is the author of Methodism and the Miraculous. In addition to publishing new articles in the field of Methodist Studies, he has also co-edited a special issue of the Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester devoted to the life of Charles Wesley.
Content
Abbreviations
Contributors
Introduction - Robert Webster
1 From Arminius (d. 1609) to the Synod of Dort (1618-1619) - W. Stephen Gunter
2 Robert Barnes and John Wesley's Reformation Heritage - David Lowes Watson
3 The Exercise of the Presence of God: Holy Conferencing as a Means of Grace - Richard P. Heitzenrater
4 Perfecting Plain Truth for Plain People: John Wesley's Sermons - Patrick Streiff
5 Mission Spirituality in the Early Methodist Preachers - Philip R. Meadows
6 Medicine on Demand: John Wesley's Enlightened Treatment of the Sick - Deborah Madden
7 Wesley's Invisible World: Witchcraft and the Temperature of Preternatural Belief - Owen Davies
8 John Wesley and Francis Asbury - John Wigger
9 Echoes of Wesley on the US Southwestern Frontier: The Autobiography of William Stevenson - Ted A. Campbell
10 'Did God Do That?': Common and Separating Factors of Eighteenth-Century Methodism and Contemporary Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal - Robert Webster
11 The Oxford Movement and Evangelicalism: Parallels and Contrasts in Two Nineteenth-Century Movements of Religious Revival - Peter B. Nockles
12 From The Soul of Dominic Wildthorne to the Wesleyan Guild of Divine Service: Some Methodist Responses to Anglo-Catholicism in Victorian and Edwardian England - Martin Wellings
13 Bibliography of the Principal Published Writings of Henry Denman Rack - Clive D. Field
Index
Contributors
Introduction - Robert Webster
1 From Arminius (d. 1609) to the Synod of Dort (1618-1619) - W. Stephen Gunter
2 Robert Barnes and John Wesley's Reformation Heritage - David Lowes Watson
3 The Exercise of the Presence of God: Holy Conferencing as a Means of Grace - Richard P. Heitzenrater
4 Perfecting Plain Truth for Plain People: John Wesley's Sermons - Patrick Streiff
5 Mission Spirituality in the Early Methodist Preachers - Philip R. Meadows
6 Medicine on Demand: John Wesley's Enlightened Treatment of the Sick - Deborah Madden
7 Wesley's Invisible World: Witchcraft and the Temperature of Preternatural Belief - Owen Davies
8 John Wesley and Francis Asbury - John Wigger
9 Echoes of Wesley on the US Southwestern Frontier: The Autobiography of William Stevenson - Ted A. Campbell
10 'Did God Do That?': Common and Separating Factors of Eighteenth-Century Methodism and Contemporary Pentecostal and Charismatic Renewal - Robert Webster
11 The Oxford Movement and Evangelicalism: Parallels and Contrasts in Two Nineteenth-Century Movements of Religious Revival - Peter B. Nockles
12 From The Soul of Dominic Wildthorne to the Wesleyan Guild of Divine Service: Some Methodist Responses to Anglo-Catholicism in Victorian and Edwardian England - Martin Wellings
13 Bibliography of the Principal Published Writings of Henry Denman Rack - Clive D. Field
Index