Methodism and the Southern Mind, 1770-1810
Methodism and the Southern Mind, 1770-1810

Author: Cynthia Lynn Lyerly

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1998-09-24

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 0195354249

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This book looks at the role of Methodism in the Revolutionary and early national South. When the Methodists first arrived in the South, Lyerly argues, they were critics of the social order. By advocating values traditionally deemed "feminine," treating white women and African Americans with considerable equality, and preaching against wealth and slavery, Methodism challenged Southern secular mores. For this reason, Methodism evoked sustained opposition, especially from elite white men. Lyerly analyzes the public denunciations, domestic assaults on Methodist women and children, and mob violence against black Methodists. These attacks, Lyerly argues, served to bind Methodists more closely to one another; they were sustained by the belief that suffering was salutary and that persecution was a mark of true faith.

The Gospel of Freedom
The Gospel of Freedom

Author: Alicestyne Turley

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2022-08-16

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 0813195497

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Wilbur H. Siebert published his landmark study of the Underground Railroad in 1898, revealing a secret system of assisted slave escapes. Siebert's research relied on the accounts of northern white male abolitionists, and while useful in understanding the northern boundaries of the journey, his work omits the complicated narrative of assistance below the Mason-Dixon Line. In The Gospel of Freedom: Black Evangelicals and the Underground Railroad, author Alicestyne Turley positions Kentucky as a crucial "pass through" territory and addresses the important contributions of antislavery southerners who formed organized networks to assist those who were enslaved in the Deep South. Drawing on family history and lore as well as a large range of primary sources, Turley shows how free and enslaved African Americans developed successful systems to help those enslaved below the Mason-Dixon Line. Illuminating the roles of these Black freedom fighters, Turley questions the validity of long-held conclusions based on Siebert's original work and suggests new areas of inquiry for further exploration. The Gospel of Freedom seeks to fill in the historical gaps and promote the lost voices of the Underground Railroad.

The Supernatural and the Circuit Riders
The Supernatural and the Circuit Riders

Author: Rimi Xhemajli

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2021-06-22

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1725269228

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In The Supernatural and the Circuit Riders, Rimi Xhemajli shows how a small but passionate movement grew and shook the religious world through astonishing signs and wonders. Beginning in the late eighteenth century, early American Methodist preachers, known as circuit riders, were appointed to evangelize the American frontier by presenting an experiential gospel: one that featured extraordinary phenomena that originated from God's Spirit. In employing this evangelistic strategy of the gospel message fueled by supernatural displays, Methodism rapidly expanded. Despite beginning with only ten official circuit riders in the early 1770s, by the early 1830s, circuit riders had multiplied and caused Methodism to become the largest American denomination of its day. In investigating the significance of the supernatural in the circuit rider ministry, Xhemajli provides a new historical perspective through his eye-opening demonstration of the correlation between the supernatural and the explosive membership growth of early American Methodism, which fueled the Second Great Awakening. In doing so, he also prompts the consideration of the relevance and reproduction of such acts in the American church today.

Respectable Methodism
Respectable Methodism

Author: Daniel F. Flores

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2023-03-07

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 1666713961

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The Wesleyan-Methodist movement entered American history as a fragment of British Methodism. It quickly took on a new identity in the early republic and grew into a vibrant denomination in the nineteenth century. The transitions from the rugged pioneer religion modeled by Bishop Francis Asbury to the urbane religion of industrial America was by design the goal of influential leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Nathan Bangs was perhaps one of the most significant of such leaders. He rose from obscurity to the ranks of power and influence by refining patterns of worship, expanding denominational publishing, and structuring ministerial education. This study is concerned with the development of respectability in American Methodism. It also explores questions on how Bangs and other leaders dealt with in-house conflicts on issues related to race, slavery, and the poor.