Religion and Violence in Early American Methodism

Jeffrey Williams is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University.

"Though a goodly number of libraries will buy this book just for the title, which conjures up scenes of primly dressed church folks whacking one another with their King James Bibles (red letter edition), the actual focus of this well-researched and well-written . . . monograph is on the language of violence in American Methodist literature from the time of Methodist founders John and Charles Wesley to the Civil War. By 'violence,' Williams (Texas Christian Univ.) does not mean physical force or injury . . . . What he terms 'violence' should more properly be called 'spiritual warfare' or 'struggle,' the Methodists' very real fight against sin in which 'the body became engulfed in the bitter and destructive contest for salvation' (p. 14). For early Methodists, spiritual warfare manifested itself in a believer's life, producing physical responses within those who experienced not only the presence of God but also the spiritual attacks of Satan. Williams's book reminds readers that Methodist religious experience was not always warm and sentimental but was originally one in which believers were at war within themselves and against sin in the world. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers. —Choice"—J. R. Stone, California State University, Long Beach, December 2010"Williams sets out to remedy a perceived lack of attention to Methodist history. He provides an important contribution not only to Methodist history but to american religious and social history more broadly.June 2011"—American Historical Review"[T]his well-researched and well-written . . . monograph [focuses] on the language of violence in American Methodist literature from the time of Methodist founders John and Charles Wesley to the Civil War. Williams's book reminds readers that Methodist religious experience was not always warm and sentimental but was originally one in which believers were at war within themselves and against sin in the world. . . . Highly recommended."—Choice"Those interested in religion and violence, and in locating a 'Methodist' strain in American culture, should read this book. Vol. 108, No. 3 Summer 2010"—Register of the Kentucky Historical Society"Engages a different literature on spirituality, namely its violent dimensions . . . extraordinarily well written, immensely important, and groundbreaking work."—Russell E. Richey, Candler School of Theology, Emory University

• Foreword by Catherine L. Albanese and Stephen J. SteinAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Fighting the Good Fight2. Contesting the Good Fight: Warfare and the American Revolution3. The Power to "Kill and Make Alive": The Spiritual Battle and the Body in Post-Revolutionary America4. Beating Their Plowshares into Swords: Methodists and Violence in Antebellum America5. Methodist Respectability and the Decline of the Good Fight for Salvation6. The Christian's Warfare and Social ViolenceNotesBibliographyIndex