20th Century North America Renewals

Question 1

Evangelicalism - David Bebbington Definition (CABC)

Answer 1

Conversionism - inward heart transformation from the preaching of the gospel - the moment of being changed. Think Peitism.
Activism - through intentional preaching of the gospel and through social change.
Biblicism - biblical authority. Fully Truthful (infallible) and without error (inerrant).
Crucicentralism - cross central to salvation - to receiving the person and work of Jesus. substitutionary atonement.

Question 2

Cultural Context

Answer 2

Back drop of the 19th Enlightenment. The age of reason, rational thinking and scientific imperialism.

Question 3

Evangelicalism beginnings

Answer 3

A renewal movement through Britain and North America

Begins in the early 18th century with Key figures John Wesley and Johnathan Edwards.

Informal mission based renewal

Question 4

substitutionary atonement.

Answer 4

Christ suffered in our place - taking Gods judgement on himself so we could receive his righteousness.

Question 5

Pietism

Answer 5

religion of the heart.
would come to be known in America as evangelicalism.
developed in a world of reason over spirit. Formal and external world.
breathed fresh life into the missionary heart of the church that had gone cold.

Question 6

Johnathan Edwards (1703-1758)

Answer 6

Born in New England
Studied theology and philosphopy at yale
Became a pastor in 1729. Over his time saw unexpected/unplanned revival break out in his town.
Intense personal devotion
Held Calvinist theological views.

Question 7

Great Awakenings

Answer 7

18th revivals that swept through New England.

Question 8

George Whitfeild

Answer 8

Another North American Evangelist in the 18th Century.

Question 9

Evangelicalism

Answer 9

Most influential and alive christian movement of the modern period.
Over the last 50 years has had the most influence on NZ christianity.

Question 10

Modernism

Answer 10

Enlightenment Mindset - human reason, faith in science, secularism.

Question 11

Fundamentalism

Answer 11

20th Century movement

General attitude against - militant resistance to modern theology and culture. Protective.

Supernatural over the natural

Straight lines, boxes or walls which protect.

• if you let go of the bible everything goes
• saw things very black and white.
• protection from enemies. But also mainstream church which they believed had drifted from the true faith.
• saw the world as moving toward quickly approaching judgement

emphasised high moral standards

Ironically a product of Enlightenment

Question 12

Key Doctrines of Fundamentalism

Answer 12

1. divinely guaranteed inerrancy of Scripture (used to measure the purity of denominations)
2. Divine creation over biological evolution (effort to perserve christian culture)
3. Dispensational-premillennial scheme to explain history in terms of divine control (a base of fellowship)

Question 13

Fundamentalists Two Core Enemies

Answer 13

1. Liberalism - 19th Diluting of the Bible.

2. Evolution

Question 14

Premillennial-dispensationalism

Answer 14

Developed in the 19th century (1820)
A picture of all of history and prediction of future events.
- history into seven ages.
- present age was the “grace age” which began at the death and ressurection. Kingdom was future.
Christ expected to return before the establishment of his 1000 year reign on earth.

Question 15

Fundementalist view on Bible

Answer 15

Literally inspired and interpreted
creation account as literal
Inerrant and infallible
Holding these view were crucial to christian identity in their view.
This is closely aligned with Evangelicalisms Biblicism.

Question 16

Primitivism

Answer 16

getting back to pure beginnings

Question 17

New Evangelicals

Answer 17

Emerged 1940s

1. wanted to recapture the earlier moderation and engagement of the evangelical movement which they saw was leaning toward fundamentalism.
2. Did not want to sit on the margins
3. wanted to form a coalition of orthodox protestants

Differed to Fundamentalists:

• Friendly toward sceince
• emphasis on scholarship
• re-opening conversation on biblical inspiration
• more conversation with liberal theologians
• Social responsiblity
• shift away from extreme dispensationalism and more tolerant to varying eschatologies.

Question 18

Christian Life 1956

Answer 18

Aimed at Defining the New Evangelicals - Going at it alone.
Identified the stigma around fundamentalist e.g. old fashion, narrow thinking.
Post war generation desired to reform fundamentalism to be less reactionary/ defensive. Returning to earlier desires of evangelicals around witnessing jesus christ.

This was a marking moment that two groups had emerged, from this point the new evangelicals were gaining follower and could be less concerned with reforming fundamentalism.

Question 19

Transistion between the two groups identified under conservative protestant religion?

Answer 19

Key was the transition from defensive protection reaction to more open dialogue and positive affirmation.