Offering a revisionist reading of American Methodism, this book
goes beyond the limits of institutional history by suggesting a new
and different approach to the examination of denominations. Russell
E. Richey identifies within Methodism four distinct "languages" and
explores the self-understanding that each language offers the early
Methodists. One of these, a pietistic or evangelical vernacular,
commonly employed in sermons, letters, and journals, is Richey's
focus and provides a way for him to reconsider critical
interpretive issues in American religious historiography and the
study of Methodism. Richey challenges some important historical
conventions, for instance, that the crucial changes in American
Methodism occurred in 1784 when ties with John Wesley and Britain
were severed, arguing instead for important continuities between
the first and subsequent decades of Methodist experience.
As Richey shows, the pietistic vernacular did not displace other
Methodist languages Wesleyan, Anglican, or the language of American
political discourse nor can it supplant them as interpretive
devices. Instead, attention to the vernacular severs to highlight
the tensions among the other Methodist languages and to suggest
something of the complexity of early Methodist discourse. It
reveals the incomplete connections made among the several
languages, the resulting imprecisions and confusions that derived
from using idioms from different languages, and the ways the
Methodists drew upon the distinct languages during times of stress,
change, and conflict."
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!