Whitefield & Wesley on the New Birth
Book Review
Historian Timothy Smith focuses in on the George Whitefield's and John Wesley's development of the doctrine of the New Birth in connection to their context of coming from the Anglican Church and the development of early Methodism. With it's narrow focus along with the inclusion of several of Whitefield's and Wesley's sermons, it is a little tedious to read. However, it does make for a good reference work.
Smith also develops the interesting premise of how the doctrine of the new birth affected American Christianity:
Since colonial days, the idea of moral transformation, through what evangelicals have long called the new birth, has been one of the chief building blocks of American Christianity (28)
I hope to pick this back up someday and study Whitefield's and Wesley's sermons and think through their implications. A prominent feature Timothy Smith develops in this book is Wesley's transition over to a "second moment of faith" (92).
I am nuts about books. I read on all kinds of topics. I attempt to review each book I read for the sake of my own enrichment as well as conversation starters with others.
You never know what you will find in an attic! Usually there is a hodgepodge of things buried under dust.
Most of what is included here are notes to myself. The majority of folks will not find interest in these posts.