Category Archives: History

Twenty-two years ago I came to the conclusion that the perennial Evangelical (and Pentecostal) hunger for revival is, in effect, an attempt to put God in a box shaped like the First Great Awakening under Wesley, Whitefield and Edwards two centuries ago. In fact, in my view, this was a unique work of God for a particular time and circumstance, and not a biblical template for the renewal of Christianity. Indeed, like every work of God in history, it was in large part a psycho-social, as well as a spiritual, phenomenon, which was both a good thing and a bad thing in God’s providence.

In previous posts, I’ve shown how the Charismatic “second experience” of the Holy Spirit has radically changed its meaning over three centuries of Christian history, which makes it rather difficult to identify for certain as a work of God, rather than as a psycho-social phenomenon. This is especially so since it does not correspond to anything found in Scripture, but does strongly resemble an experience also seen in non-Christian religions. Is it for sinless perfection, as Wesley taught, or for the ability to resist temptation, as the Holiness Movement taught, or to provide power for service, as Jessie Penn-Lewis taught, or to provide “joy unspeakable,” as Martyn Lloyd-Jones taught, or … Continue reading →

I’m reading a book on eschatology, largely because it has a good chapter by Greg Smith (on the eschatology of the historical books of the Bible), who has read and appreciated my own books. So I thought I should return the compliment. I’m surprised to find I’ve never written on the topic of millennial theologies here, though I’ve done so quite extensively on it for local study guides on the Book of Revelation, etc, in the past.

Some of our local Anglicans recently held a meeting in support of Palestine, at which they were told not to separate Gaza from the West Bank, because they are both part of Palestine (presumably from the River to the Sea). The report in the parish mag made no mention of Hamas, October 7, tortured hostages, purloined aid, or, as far as I can tell, history. It was all about the “occupied land” narrative of the MSM and UN.

Preparing for a podcast with a guy in the US which may happen soon, I thought I’d try to understand a little more about the first wave of the Charismatic movement (aka the second wave of Pentecostalism) over here in England. The story is rather different from, though linked to, that in America, in that it arises firstly among conscientious and godly clergymen, predominantly Anglican and often Oxbridge trained, rather than among the entrepreneurial and often narcissistic characters so prevalent in America, from John Dowie through to Benny Hinn.

Part of my low output here recently (apart from a cold, driving my car into a ditch, and dealing with a broken washing machine) is down to transcribing the second volume of the proceedings book of my Baptist Church, 131 pages of hand-written entries from 1778-1904. It is generally in pretty legible copper-plate script compared to the mere 58 pages of Volume 1, from 1653, which are largely in the crabbed handwriting of that period and considerably more difficult for a modern transcriber.

It’s astonishing how Scripture surprises you every time you read it, even after a lifetime of familiarity.