George Whitefield and Welsh Calvinistic Methodism
| Author: | Clarkson, George | |
| Year: | 1996 | |
| Pages: | 160 | |
| ISBN: | 0-7734-8758-1 978-0-7734-8758-1 | |
| Price: | $139.95 + shipping | |
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This study deals with the Welsh revival movement of the 18th century and the remarkable way that George Whitefield fitted into it. He was a Calvinist who believed that one could be both a Methodist and a Calvinist. The leaders of the Welsh revival were also Calvinistic and welcomed him. The book traces the beginnings and development of the movement, carrying it up to the present day and showing changes in beliefs. A pocket of Welsh immigrants brought this church to America in upstate New York where it later (in the 20's) united with the Presbyterians.
Reviews
"Mr. Clarkson's book on Whitefield and the Welsh revival concentrates on that aspect of Whitefield's career which has been least studied by both English and American historians. It is a testimony to Whitefield's primacy in the early stages of the English revival that Welsh revivalists who had preceded him in time came to look to him for a while for leadership in their own movement, and that when they came to adopt what amounted to new denominational organisation, his Calvinist platform was incorporated in its title. All this Mr. Clarkson has studied freshly from original sources, and linked his work with the later history of Welsh religion not only in Wales but in the United States." - W.R. Ward
"This fine book distinguishes itself in three main ways. First, it is well focussed. . . . Clarkson ably delineates the career of Calvinism in its Welsh setting. . . . Second, it is well researched -- and that in a double sense: (a) in the obvious sense of making responsible use of the pertinent written and printed sources, but (b) also in the sense of establishing a partial 'you-are-there' ambiance. Clarkson has sojourned in the places he writes about and he has successfully derived thereby a 'feel' for his subject. Third, it is well written. Clarkson has struck a good balance between straightforward, traditional scholarship, on the one hand, and personal engagement on the other. The overall result is a highly readable fusion of the academic and the personal - i.e. sound scholarship that is fresh and alive in the telling, not dry-as-dust. In sum, this book is both enlightening and enlarging. It should prove a boon to its readers." - Chalmers MacCormick
"This fine book distinguishes itself in three main ways. First, it is well focussed. . . . Clarkson ably delineates the career of Calvinism in its Welsh setting. . . . Second, it is well researched -- and that in a double sense: (a) in the obvious sense of making responsible use of the pertinent written and printed sources, but (b) also in the sense of establishing a partial 'you-are-there' ambiance. Clarkson has sojourned in the places he writes about and he has successfully derived thereby a 'feel' for his subject. Third, it is well written. Clarkson has struck a good balance between straightforward, traditional scholarship, on the one hand, and personal engagement on the other. The overall result is a highly readable fusion of the academic and the personal - i.e. sound scholarship that is fresh and alive in the telling, not dry-as-dust. In sum, this book is both enlightening and enlarging. It should prove a boon to its readers." - Chalmers MacCormick