The Form and Function of Prayer in the Student Volunteer Movement, 1886–1914

The founders of the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions (SVM) repeatedly affirmed that prayer as a means of accessing the power of the Almighty God was at the foundation of its success. An examination of original sources for the SVM shows that many forms of prayer were practised and encouraged by the movement. Members of the movement sought to make formal prayer meaningful. Participants described how their prayers for provision were answered along the lines of the faith ministries of George Muller and Hudson Taylor. They described how prayer enabled them to be connected to other Christians from around the world. Prayer enabled them to experience community support and was the focus of personal communion with God. However, the prayer of surrender was at the heart of the SVM experience and finds a parallel in the experience of a ‘second blessing’ advocated by the Keswick Movement. Numerous points of contact occurred between the SVM and Keswick, suggesting that second-blessing experience of holiness prepared a person for the commitment represented by signing the SVM pledge to give oneself in the service of foreign missions.

Holiness in Victorian and Edwardian England: Some ecclesial patterns and theological requisitions

This essay begins by offering some observations about how holiness was comprehended andexpressed in Victorian and Edwardian England. In addition to the ‘sensibility’ and ‘sentiment’that characterised society, notions of holiness were shaped by, and developed in reaction to, dominant philosophical movements; notably, the Enlightenment and Romanticism. It thenconsiders how these notions found varying religious expression in four Protestant traditions – he Oxford Movement, Calvinism, Wesleyanism, and the Early Keswick movement. Injuxtaposition to what was most often considered to be a negative expression of holinessassociated primarily with anthropocentric and anthroposocial behaviour as evidenced in thesetraditions, the essay concludes by examining one – namely, P.T. Forsyth – whose voice calledfrom within the ecclesial community for a radical requisition of holiness language as afundamentally positive reality describing the divine life and divine activity. The relevance of astudy of the Church’s understanding of holiness and how it sought to develop its doctrinewhile engaging with larger social and philosophical shifts endure with us still.

Victory in Jesus: Perfectionism, Pentecostal Sanctification, and Luther’s Theology of the Cross

This paper examines perfectionist motifs in baptistic Pentecostal notions of sanctification, and asks whether resources to solve this quandary may be found within the tradition itself. Tracing these motifs back to the ‘Finished Work’ theology of William Durham, variations on themes of the Keswick movement are noted. These parallels continue through the institutional period, and recurrence of ‘union with Christ’ and ‘crucifixion with Christ’ tropes are discovered, particularly in the Assemblies of God Pentecostal Evangel. Keswick leader L.E. Maxwell’s classic The Crucified Life provides a direct connection between Pentecostal and Keswick treatments of sanctification. While Pentecostal applications of identification with Christ have led some to draw connections with the Orthodox doctrine of theosis, this paper asserts a closer relationship to Luther’s theology of the cross and offers a means of using resources within the Pentecostal tradition to redefine a non-perfectionist model of sanctification that remains dynamic and cross-centred.

Theological Influences on the Teachings and Practices of John Alexander Dowie

John Alexander Dowie has long been known as a theological forebear of the Pentecostal Movement. What has been less known is the extent to which he was influenced by the theology and practices of the Mormon tradition. This article seeks to identify these influences and place them in the historical/theological context of Dowie's life and ministry. The article goes on to show that Dowie operated within the broad theological context of the Calvinistic wing of 19th Century Perfectionism known as the Keswick Movement. His theological understanding was modified by insights drawn from Edward Irving and the Catholic Apostolic Church. Within this theological framework, parallels with Mormon teaching can be detected in his utopian vision, evangelistic strategy, and proposed ecclesiastical structures.