Methodist Church history

The present work deals with the origin and development of the EMK Switzerland from its beginnings in the 18th and 19th centuries until today. The three branches Wesleyan Methodism (GB), Methodist Episcopal Church (BMK; USA) and "Evangelische Gemeinschaft" (EG; USA), which led to the unification of BMK and EG in Switzerland in 1971 to the present-day EMC, are presented.
In the second part, the focus is on the region of Schaffhausen and, through extensive source material, the emergence of the church in Schaffhausen in 1861 to its present form is traced.
Both on a national and regional level, the development of the membership figures is problematized and an attempt is made to classify them.
Finally, with a view to history and development, the question arises as to the raison d'être of the EMK on a national and regional level. The question is discussed on the basis of a fundamental paper by the first bishop in Switzerland (Nuelsen, 1931) in relation to the theology of the missio Dei and concretized by practical considerations with regard to the region of Schaffhausen.

Vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit Entstehung und Entwicklung der EMK Schweiz von ihren Anfängen im 18. und 19. Jh. bis heute. Die drei Zweige Wesleyanischer Methodismus (GB), Bischöfliche Methodistenkirche (BMK; USA) und Evangelische Gemeinschaft (EG; USA), die durch Vereinigung von BMK und EG 1971 in der Schweiz zur heutigen EMK führten,  werden dargestellt.
Im zweiten Teil wird auf die Region Schaffhausen fokussiert und durch umfangreiches Quellenmaterial die Entstehung der Kirche in Schaffhausen 1861 bis zu ihrer heutigen Gestalt nachgezeichnet.
Sowohl auf nationaler wie auch regionaler Ebene wird die Entwicklung der Mitgliederzahlen problematisiert und es erfolgt ein Versuch der Einordnung.
Mit Blick auf Geschichte und Entwicklung stellt sich schliesslich die Frage nach der Daseinsberechtigung der EMK auf nationaler und regionaler Ebene. Die Frage wird ausgehend von einem grundlegenden Referat des ersten Bischofs in der Schweiz (Nuelsen, 1931) in Bezug zur Theologie der missio Dei erörtert und durch praktische Überlegungen mit Blick auf die Region Schaffhausen konkretisiert.

The idea that certain iTaukei (formerly ‘Fijian’) clans are descended from the Jews, particularly through a Lost Tribe of Israel, is very strong among some contemporary clans and church groups in Fiji. The importance of the Lost Tribes was reinforced in the 1987 coups, when it formed part of the political rhetoric of the coup leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, who was also a lay preacher of the Methodist Church. In order to understand such claims, I review the historical record from 1835 to Cession in 1874 to evaluate when the idea of the Lost Tribes began to be used and, more broadly, the extent to which Christianity was the language for engagement and/or resistance between missionaries and Fijians. At the same time, I explore the developing missionary discourses and their relationship with newly emerging ideas about the science of origins. The evidence indicates that, as certain ideas became routinised around the time of Cession, Christianity and science together provided a grammar that enabled many Fijians to strongly identify with the Old Testament.

Oregon was the single most important missionary destination for the Methodist Episcopal missionary society in the 1830s and early 1840s.  This is true with regard to both financial expenditure and the number of personnel sent to this foreign land. Schoolmate sweethearts from Maine, Elvira and Henry Perkins, became the most culturally and linguistically adept missionaries working in Oregon during the initial phase of Methodism’s work in the Pacific Northwest. Henry Perkins’s journal reveals how he understood and carried out the work of Bible translation and evangelistic camp meetings among Native American groups along the Columbia River.  Large sections of the journal, clearly intended to be read by Methodists back east, also provide a glimpse into how Henry and perhaps also Elvira Perkins understood their work and how they believed it – and the missionary calling at large – should be valued by supporters.  I describe these sections as "recruitment discourses," and they illustrate how a few Methodists in the antebellum American west saw the theological and social obstacles which laid before them for the fulfillment of that mission.

This paper considers the religious aspects of the life of Ned Kelly, in dialogue with Russel Ward’s Australian Legend, in order to explore the relatively unexamined religious dimensions of the Australian national myth. Religious leaders could be surprisingly sympathetic toward Kelly, with the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, James Moorhouse, urging congregants to pray for the outlaws as they cowered in the bush on the run from the law. Kelly was an Irish Catholic, of course, but there are also interesting Methodist connections. His widowed mother Ellen married the Californian miner George King in the home of a  Primitive Methodist minister, a perhaps surprising thing for an Irish Catholic to do in a sectarian age that frowned on such ‘mixed marriages’. The Wesleyan Methodist preacher John Cowley Coles visited Kelly in the Melbourne Gaol in September and October 1880 while Kelly awaited execution. Kelly the penitent Catholic Christian knelt beside Coles the forthright Wesleyan preacher, together calling upon God to grant mercy to a fallen sinner. An examination of the response of religious leaders to the Kelly Outbreak as well as Kelly’s own religious sentiments can inform and enlarge our understanding of one of Australia’s most enduring cultural icons.

This paper explores the murder of Mrs Hattie Pettit by her husband, the Rev William F Pettit in 1889. In doing so it lays out the tensions between notions of popular and official justice that surrounded the celebrated case. It also highlights the varying responses of the Rev Pettit's fellow Freemasons to his case

John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, loudly and strongly renounced the evils of warfare, yet never committed himself to a pacifist position.  In this paper, I argue that interpreting Wesley's stance regarding war is best understood through his doctrine of divine providence.  Since God controls the fate of nations, war must be seen as God's will on the one hand, yet also as the result of original sin on the other.  This tension informs Wesley's vision of history as well as the ethics of war and peace.

Protestantism, has been losing members at an alarming rate for over the last 50 years. In fact, currently at just over 7 million members, the United Methodist Church has lost around one third of its membership over that 50 year span beginning in 1965. 1 The decline of the UMC is not late breaking news. We have hopelessly watched this melting iceberg, as Lyle Schaller had called it, for years. We have watched it in our local church, in our annual conference and General church reports. 2 Even though United Methodism and mainline Protestantism, or rather flatllne Protestantism, has been in systemic decline for over a half century, it has not been the case for more conservative Wesleyan holiness and Pentecostal denominations, such as the Wesleyan Church has experienced a 75% increase, the Church of the Nazarene has experienced a 50% increase, the Free Methodist Church has had a 25% increase, and the Assemblies of God have experienced an astounding 500% increase over the same 50 year span. 3 We have heard these type of figures before and shake our heads. How can this be? We have the right theology, the right denominational structure and programming, a well-trained clergy, churches on every corner, and an unmatched zeal for social justice. How can these things be? There have been a multitude of explanations, diagnoses, prognoses, remedies and programs thrown at this problem in a desperate attempt to cure the disease, and this article may be another good intentioned, short-sighted attempt. Here goes.

John Wesley considered the slave trade to be a national disgrace. However, while the American Methodist Church had initially made bold declarations concerning the evils of slavery, the practical application of this principled opposition was seriously compromised, obstructed by the leviathan of the plantation economy prominent in this period of American history. This paper surveys a variety of Methodist responses to slavery and race, exploring the dialectical germination of ideas like holiness, liberty and equality within the realities of the Antebellum context.

Within the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church, women hold the majority demographic of membership across the jurisdiction’s churches. However, the leadership does not fully reflect the membership of Methodists across the southeast. This project and recent research reflects on the earliest attempts and failures to place women into the role of the episcopacy and offers insightful strategies employed by three specific candidates, whose elections were groundbreaking and offered significant impact to the jurisdiction and United Methodist denomination as a whole. By expanding the diversity of the episcopal role within the southeast, the leadership is beginning to look more like its membership. This research identifies specific election strategies that might be executed by others seeking the office, as a way to bring even more equity to the episcopacy.

This work explores the efficacy of John Wesley’s theories and praxes concerning religious education in eighteenth-century England. Wesley theorized that children should be taught early on to love God, live in His image, and strive for a life of holiness. His theories were not exclusive to children but applied to all people including the illiterate and unlearned working class of England. As the Methodist movement expanded, Wesley’s unique methodology evolved to facilitate a more effective educational process. This methodology was grounded in his upbringing, influenced by his life experiences, and refined by his educational experiments. The outflow of his methodology was his various practices, namely, class meetings and Sunday schools. Religious education became the catalyst for social, moral, and religious change in Britain’s working class of the eighteenth century.

From the outset of the Evangelical Revival it was more than apparent that John Wesley “saw himself as having a particular mission to the poor people.”  Wesley dedicated almost seventy years towards helping the poor. His ethics sought to impact and transform the underprivileged and deprived parts of society, and thus, “one would be hard put to find many examples of people who gave away more of their adult resources of time and money than Wesley did.”  While his ethics cover a broad array of themes—including his views on slavery, war, education and community—it can be argued that Wesley’s ministry to the poor received a significant amount of attention.

Although the poor faced numerous disadvantages during the eighteenth-century, there remained three prevalent disadvantages that Wesley specifically addressed.  This article will suggest that these three were social, economical, and medical. With the social part, it will be important to explore contextual issues and Wesley’s own personal imitation of the poor. With economical, Wesley’s financial ethics will be examined, as well as how he attempted to assist the poor financially through various means. Finally, with health, the problem of disease within this era will be looked at too, as well as how Wesley’s Primitive Physic and his overall holistic soteriology attempted to restore health to the poor. Consequently, the following article will argue that John Wesley’s ethics helped to improve the lives of the poor on a substantial level.
According to Richard Heitzenrater, the question of ‘who were the poor in eighteenth-century England?’ has been a question which Wesleyan scholarship has failed to answer, or alternatively, “avoided asking.”  Poverty within an eighteenth-century context, therefore, needs to be addressed if Wesley’s ethics are to be understood. After all, “the concept of poverty and the nature of the problem in eighteenth-century England – is largely unknown to most Methodists today.”

Harvest Thanksgiving rests at the junction of liturgy, nature and memory. From the late-nineteenth century it was a major event on Nonconformist church calendars, drawing crowds well beyond regular attendance. Yet it was the Nonconformist churches’ uneasy relationship with icons, visual display and imagery of all sorts that made the spectacular displays of fruit and vegetables associated with Harvest Thanksgiving so memorable, so marvellously out of the ordinary. Photographs were taken and treasured and these offer a glimpse into a rich and peculiar world of food and display that is at once consonant and disconsonant with Nonconformity’s professed and assumed theological stances on the use of imagery. In this time of celebration and thanksgiving, of spectacle and transformation, how were Nonconformist prohibitions on display, materiality and excess so extravagantly overcome? How was the divide between the sacred and profane so colourfully rearranged? This article explores the histor...

In an effort to remain relevant and a moral authority during the 1960s, the Methodist Boards of Education and of Social Concerns adapted a popular situational ethic, “the new morality,” as a tool for the Methodist Church to address the ongoing sexual revolution.  At its most basic, the new morality was a situational ethic that allowed well-informed persons to make their own determination of what sexual acts were good or bad.  However, instead of providing Methodists with a new model for moral decision making, the new morality encouraged self-proclaimed evangelical Methodists to reinforce a rules-based ethic.  What began as an innovative lens through which to examine sex education and Christian morality ended up sparking the debate on sexuality that has plagued Methodists ever since.

I have had this resource available on my personal website (missionandmethodism.net) for several years.  Its purpose is to assist United Methodist candidates for commissioning in the process of writing their doctrinal examination paper (¶324.9).  It is intended to provide suggestive guidance as to the form and content of the doctrinal examination paper without being too directive as to the specifics of a particular theological point of view – except to the extent that a Wesleyan theological outlook is assumed for ordained persons in the UMC.  It is hoped that the bibliographical resources identified here – from across a generous Wesleyan theological spectrum – will assist candidates in further developing their habit of Wesleyan theological reflection.  To my knowledge, no Board of Ordained Ministry in the United Methodist Church has approved this resource as a helpful guide, although a fair number of my own students at Palmer Theological Seminary and United Methodist colleagues at other institutions have expressed their gratitude for it.

18th century English reformer, John Wesley is one of the most influential figures in the history of Christianity. As a key theological leader behind the first religious awakening (1730-1760) in England and America, Wesley is often credited for setting the stage for the contemporary Charismatic and Pentecostal ideas. This article's purpose is to clarify John Wesley's attitude towards the doctrine of spiritual gifts and especially towards the more dynamic charismas such as the gifts of healing, the gift of prophecy, exorcism of evil spirits and speaking with tongues. Especially important for understanding Wesley's thought is his opposition to Calvin's cessationism, and the growing trends of rationalistic Deism, which were prominent in his time. At the same time Wesley emphatically challenged what he considered " fanatical " usage of spiritual gifts and charismas both outside and within the Methodist movement.

Keunikan Gereja Methodist salah satunya terletak pada Disiplin nya. Disiplin Methodist memberikan gambaran bahwa pelayanan itu tidak main-main, ada aturannya, dan bukan sekedar sukarela melayani.
Disiplin adalah buku yang berisi tata cara dan aturan- aturan Gereja Methodist.

Dengan cara memperbandingkan setiap Disiplin, maka kita akan dapat melihat sejarah Methodist terutama di Indonesia dan belajar dari sejarah tersebut. Karena setiap perubahan yang ada pastilah didasari dengan keadaan sejarah pada masa nya.

dalam makalah sederhana ini batasan membandingkan Disiplin itu terdiri dari Disiplin 1997, Disiplin 2013 dan Disiplin 2017. ketiga tahun ini menjadi tahun yang penting untuk perkembangan Gereja Methodist Indonesia.

VINTO, COCHABAMBA SEPTIEMBRE 2011 INTRODUCCIÓN Iglesias liberales, mientras que otras son conservadoras; algunas permisivas, otras legalistas; algunas formales, otras extasiadas. La pluralidad religiosa trae desafíos para el evangelismo. Porque cada religión, cristiana o no, posee características peculiares a ella. No con la intención limitada de solo conocer la historia, doctrina y práctica de las Iglesias Presbiterianas y Metodistas, empero conocer sus características marcadas, como fortalezas y debilidades, exentando conceptos preconcebidos al elaborar dicha presentación documentada.

The year 2021 marks the 179th year of Methodism in Nigeria through Badagry in Lagos State. A lot had been done in the area of propagation of the Gospel, civilization, and commerce which endear great influence in national development. This present study is germane, using Methodist Church Nigeria as a point of reference, being the pioneer of Christian mission on the shore of Nigeria, not forgetting the effort of the Catholic Church in the 15th century which was not so fruitful. It examines the contributions of the Methodist Church in the area of education, health, character moulding and morals, social concerns, social action, and social pastoralia. This paper, therefore, will examine the impact of the church on national development, and also reiterates the need for the church to reexamine its vision and mission to meet the challenges of the 21 st century. It recommends the unprecedented effort of the government to fully support the Church for sustainable development instead of obstructing the identity of Christian mission schools for Model schools, and also return mission schools to their owners instead of impressing philosophy of life that is unchristian.

This thesis examines the emergence of a number of North American Wesleyan-Holiness denominations in Australia, beginning in the years following the Second World War. They are the Church of God (Anderson), the Church of God (Cleveland), the Church of the Nazarene, and the Wesleyan Methodist Church. It will trace the manner in which some of these churches moved from being despised and marginalised sects to established denominations while others remained small and isolated, experiencing little growth.

The thesis demonstrates that the movement along the church-sect continuum is by no means a smooth and inevitable one. Immigrant dislocation may lead to a slowing down of change to preserve a sense of identity. A particular group may be found to be positioned toward the church end of the continuum in its place of origin and be positioned toward the sect end in its mission areas, or the reverse may be true. A particular movement may be seen as a ‘sect’ when compared to one group and a ‘church’ when compared to another.

The theme of Americanisation and anti-Americanism is examined, as the explicitly American origins of these churches was both the cause of their exclusion and at the same time a mechanism for their survival. The emergence of the Wesleyan-Holiness denominations in Australia is not an example of American cultural and religious imperialism. Rather it has been a creative partnership between like-minded evangelical Christians from two modern nations sharing a general cultural and social similarity and a common set of religious convictions.

The Wesleyan-Holiness churches saw increased growth from the late 1970s by welcoming into their membership a new wave of refugees from more liberal Protestant denominations. They are shown to be both a new religious movement, emerging out of the post-war context of greater engagement between Australians and Americans and at the same time a continuation of the long-standing ‘holiness’ and ‘revivalist’ strain within Australian evangelicalism.

abStract the year 2016 marks the fortieth anniversary of the ordination of women in the methodist church of Southern africa (mcSa). this, being a milestone worth celebrating and commemorating, highlights not only the gains but also the challenges that women face in the ministry of the methodist church. the implications of the ordination of women for the denomination (and its organisations) have yet to be fully grappled with, interpreted within the changing context of our present society, and understood in light of the patriarchal society within which the methodist church operates. the present article highlights the implications of the ordination of women for the Young men's Guild – a missional organisation of men in the mcSa. the article calls for inclusive and radical transformational activity within the Young men's Guild. It advocates for intentional implementation of the Gender action Plan that was approved by the methodist conference ten years ago (2006). It agitates for a Young men's Guild movement whose discomfort with its privilege propels it to live out the principles contained in the methodist rule of life. Young men's Guild members ought to actively pursue an agenda of inclusion in order for their organisation to reflect truly the vision and mission of the mcSa.

The paper examines the AB Xuma 6th President of Africn National Congress's approach to the politics of resistance against the colonil government. Of significance was his ability to mobilize other race groups such as the colords and the Indians to working with the ANC for the common goal of liberation.

Philip William Otterbein stands at the head of a German awakening in America, which occurred shortly after the Great Awakening begun by Jonathan Edwards, and slightly prior to the introduction of Methodism to the American Colonies. He and his followers organized the United Brethren in Christ, the first truly American Denomination, and while they arrived at a position nearly identical to the Methodists, they arrived by a different route.
The rich heritage of the United Brethren in Christ implemented the best of four major streams of the protestant reformation: Calvinism, Lutheranism, Anabaptism and Moravianism as well as the later developments of the Pietists. Although he was sometimes given the derogatory label of a “Dutch Methodist” Otterbein actually had a greater influence on the Methodists than vice versa. He had implemented many Methodist practices in the American colonies before they were established in the United States by the Methodists."

This ar ti cle sug gests that the as cen dance of Chris tian ity as a world faith might hold vi tal clues for United Meth od ism's on go ing ef fort to be come a "world wide" church. It sug gests that pre cisely this ef fort could serve as the cata lyst for the re newal United Meth od ists seek and need to day. How ever, longstand ing theo log i cal and ecclesial hab its-chief among these a pro cliv ity for "cen ter-pe riph ery" think ing, deeply em bed ded in West ern Chris ten domthwart such re newal. The es say il lus trates the cen ter-pe riph ery dy namic in several re cent de nom i na tional re newal ini tia tives, in clud ing leg is la tion for the 2012 Gen eral Con fer ence, and then draws on the work of United Meth od ist his to rian Rus sell Richey to ar gue for a "connectional theo log i cal imag i na tion" as an im por tant step in cul ti vat ing ecclesial hab its fit for an au then tic global United Meth od ist connectional cov e nant. 1

The Methodist Committee for Overseas Relief (MCOR) was one of the first and largest denominational relief and development agencies in the nation from 1940 to 1968. Its ecumenical engagement was robust from the start; it was one of the largest donors to United China Relief, Church World Service, and other ecumenical overseas relief organizations during this time. This article provides a decade by decade assessment of MCOR’s work with particular attention to (1) its ecumenical engagement in relief and development efforts; (2) the relationship of MCOR’s work to the wider con text of overseas relief and development efforts by nongovernmental, bilateral, and multilateral agencies; (3) the stated theological justification of MCOR’s work as it related to the wider mission of the church and specifically the Methodist Board of Missions and Church Extension. The article concludes with reflections on the implications of this study for the future work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

Pilley’s Island United (originally Methodist) Church was constructed in 1896 and opened in 1897 in Pilley's Island, Newfoundland, Canada. It is a wooden, vernacular Gothic Revival style church with steeple situated within a fenced churchyard. This report traces the architectural history of the building from the time of its construction to the conversion of the church into a museum, and is based on field research and interviews conducted by Dale Jarvis in Pilley’s Island, August 2017, and on subsequent archival research.

In recent times, the texts of Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 have attracted the attention of Old Testament scholars, clergy and the laity, alike. In my view, such an attention has been inspired by the readers' quest for a possible light that both biblical texts shed on the acceptance and practice of homosexuality among societies. Lately, homosexuality has been one of the topical and burning issues in the present day South Africa. Therefore it does not come as a surprise that interpreting texts such as Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 becomes pertinent in our society. This research aims to explore the inability of MCSA to provide a sound rationale to reject homosexuality. In addition, this study endeavours to establish that acceptance and or rejection of homosexuality as a love relationship cannot be based on Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. Using methodologies such as the literary, textual, canonical and socio-scientific criticism, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 will be examined, particularly in light of how MCSA read and interpret these texts. This argument is intended to make a necessary contribution to African biblical hermeneutics.

W hen the Catholic diocese of Memphis began to train perm a n e n t deacons in 1976, it was a fi rst ve n t u re of moving towa rd an ord a i n e d m i n i st ry for married and single persons for centuries in this ve n e rable ch u rch . L i kewise, it was a beachhead for the minist ries in the wo rld called out among the whole people of God since the initiation of the re fo rms of Vatican II. O ther We ste rn ch u rches have a longer histo ry of diaconal re flection, tra i n i n g , and ordination, on whose ex p e rience Catholics we re able to draw.

Although United Methodists today will rarely claim that they have had a confrontation with the demonic, let alone serve in a deliverance ministry, John Wesley and many early Methodists frequently encountered demons when ministering the gospel. They even had a deliverance ministry that effectively drove out demons. However, Wesley did not lay claim to any special gift of exorcism for combat in the preternatural fray. Wesley was convinced that ministers could expel demons by ordinary means, such as hearing the Word, repentance, prayer, and worship. Wesley would employ these ordinary means in his deliverance ministry. In part one of this article, we examined Wesley's ordinary means of deliverance and the various demonic manifestations he faced. In part two, we will

Methodists from various backgrounds and all around the world are united in the belief that another church and another world are not only necessary but possible. Holiness traditions, even though at times addressing matters too narrowly and at other times to triumphantly, are in agreement that the status quo in both church and world can be improved upon significantly. The question is not whether but how does this happen and how far does it go. Amidst ongoing discussions of reforms, reformations, and revolutions, this volume argues that comprehensive transformations are afoot.
Our expectations are not built on shallow optimism or wide-spread beliefs in progress; they are built on evangelical expectations and holiness histories as they have shaped up since the beginnings of evangelical holiness movements. Recent decades, in particular, have rekindled broader perspectives that push beyond reductionistic focuses on individuals, closed communities, or particular church bodies. The hope of the gospel that is at the heart of the Methodist evangelical holiness traditions needs to be tested and verified in concrete transformations, which will be spelled out in the chapters of this book.
Several chapters had their origin in one of the most productive workgroups in the history of the Oxford Institute in which both editors participated, and other chapters were added in order to broaden the horizons further.

Introduction
Reform, Reformation, and Revolution: The Differences Matter, Joerg Rieger and Upolu Luma Vaai

Historical Perspectives
1. The Revival of the Common: Spiritual Revival and Political Revolution in the Wesleyan Movement, Filipe Maia (Boston University)
2. Reconciliation as “Deep” Revolution: Atonement and the Overcoming of Enmity in a Brazilian Methodist Perspective, Helmut Renders (Methodist University, Sao Paulo, Brazil)

Contemporary Challenges
3. Queering Wesley, Queering the Church: Toward an Ecclesial Circumcision of the Heart, Keegan Osinski (Vanderbilt Divinity School Library)
4. Between the Encounter with others and the Other: The Renewing Experience of Divine Grace and its Problems, Pablo Oviedo (Methodist Church, Argentina)
5. Grace under Pressure: Wesleyan Moves from Charity and Advocacy to Deep Solidarity, Joerg Rieger (Vanderbilt University)
6. Dalit Women Searching for the Economy of Life: Exploring Insights from the Theology of John Wesley, Ivy Singh (Tamilnadu Theological Seminary, India) (not yet replied)

Ecological Perspectives
7. “Oceanising” John Wesley? Toward an Ecological-Ethical Reading of John Wesley for Contemporary Oceanic Methodists, Cliff Bird (Uniting Church Solomon Islands)
8. Sustaining the Planetary Household: Methodist Contributions to an Ecological Economy, Timothy Eberhard (Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary)
9. “Others are enjoying life from our death”: Eco-Relational Theology and a Methodist Ecological Revolution in Oceania, Upolu Luma Vaai (Pacific Theological College, Fiji)

Prima edizione: maggio 2017 Volume pubblicato dal Dipartimento di Storia, Culture, Religioni e con il contributo della Sapienza-Università di Roma I saggi contenuti nel volume sono stati sottoposti a procedura di peer review. www.morcelliana.com I diritti di traduzione, di memorizzazione elettronica, di riproduzione e di adattamento totale o parziale, con qualsiasi mezzo (compresi i microfilm), sono riservati per tutti i Paesi. Le fotocopie per uso personale del lettore possono essere effettuate nei limiti del 15% di ciascun volume/fascicolo di periodico dietro pagamento alla SIAE del compenso previsto dall'art. 68, commi 4 e 5, della legge 22 aprile 1941, n. 633. Le fotocopie effettuate per finalità di carattere professionale, economico o commerciale o comunque per uso diverso da quello personale possono essere effettuate a seguito di specifica autorizzazione rilasciata da CLEARedi, Centro Licenze e Autorizzazioni per le Riproduzioni Editoriali, Corso di Porta Romana n. 108, 20122 Milano, e-mail [email protected] e sito web www.clearedi.org.

This book examines the nature and significance of religious enthusiasm in early Enlightenment England. In the early modern period, the term ‘enthusiasm’ was a smear word used to discredit the dissenters of the radical Reformation as dangerous religious fanatics. In England, the term gained prominence from the Civil War period and throughout the eighteenth century. Anglican ministers and the proponents of the Enlightenment used it more widely against Paracelsian chemists, experimental philosophers, religious dissenters and divines, astrologers or anyone claiming superior knowledge. As a result, our understanding of enthusiasm is largely influenced by the hostile discourse of Augustan moralist and early Enlighteners. But who exactly were these enthusiasts? What did they believe in, how did they operate as a community and what impact did they have on their contemporaries? This book aims to answer these questions by concentrating on the notorious case of the French Prophets. It demonstrates how the understanding of enthusiasm evolved around 1700, designating anything from a religious fanaticism to a social epidemic and even a bodily disease. It offers the first comprehensive approach to enthusiasm, looking at this multifarious issue from a successively social, religious, cultural, political and medical perspective. Based on extensive archival research, it sheds new light on the reality of enthusiasm away from the hostility of Enlightenment discourse.

Racism is an issue which the activism of the Black Methodist Consultation (BMC) was set to address during the South African apartheid rule, a view which black theologians and church
historians generally accept. This observation brought to mind, in turn, the influence that the Black Consciousness philosophy and the black theology of liberation had on the establishment
of the BMC. Recounting such an influence, this article provides a reflection on the formation of the BMC in 1975. In such a reflection, the hypothesis is that the prophetic voice of the
BMC is crucial in post-apartheid South Africa. Firstly, the interconnectedness of the Black Consciousness philosophy, the black theology of liberation and the BMC is highlighted.
Secondly, the article proceeds to navigate the possible prophetic voice of the BMC in post-apartheid South Africa. In the end, this article sees the BMC as a crucial interlocutor of
liberation in present South Africa.