Religion and Violence in Early American Methodism: Taking the Kingdom by ForceEarly American Methodists commonly described their religious lives as great wars with sin and claimed they wrestled with God and Satan who assaulted them in terrible ways. Carefully examining a range of sources, including sermons, letters, autobiographies, journals, and hymns, Jeffrey Williams explores this violent aspect of American religious life and thought. Williams exposes Methodism's insistence that warfare was an inevitable part of Christian life and necessary for any person who sought God's redemption. He reveals a complex relationship between religion and violence, showing how violent expression helped to provide context and meaning to Methodist thought and practice, even as Methodist religious life was shaped by both peaceful and violent social action. |
Contents
| 1 | |
One Fighting the Good Fight | 13 |
Two Contesting the Good Fight | 41 |
Three The Power to Kill and Make Alive | 69 |
Four Beating Their Plowshares into Swords | 93 |
Five Methodist Respectability and the Decline of the Good Fight for Salvation | 131 |
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Religion and Violence in Early American Methodism: Taking the Kingdom by Force Jeffrey Williams No preview available - 2010 |