Pentecostal Origins : Early Pentecostalism in Ireland in the Context of the British Isles

by Robinson, James; Hudson, Neil

• ISBN13: 9781597527699
• ISBN10: 1597527696
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-01-19
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Pub

Summary

Harvey Cox describes Pentecostalism as "the fascinating spiritual child of our time" that has the potential, at the global scale, to contribute to the "reshaping of religion in the twenty-first century." This study grounds such sentiments by examining at the local scale the origin, development, and nature of Pentecostalism in Ireland in its first twenty years. Book jacket.

Author Biography

James Robinson is a graduate of Queen's University. Belfast, and before his retirement was a teacher. His denominational upbringing was Pentecostal within a church of which his father was the lay pastor. He was associated for many years with Scripture Union (N. Ireland) and is a former chairman of its Council. Research for his PhD thesis was completed at Union Theological College, Belfast.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xiii
Acknowledgements	p. xv
Abbreviations	p. xvii
Maps, Figures and Photographs	p. xix
Introduction	p. xxi
The Roots of British Pentecostalism	p. 1
Seminal People and Places	p. 1
Influences Shaping British Pentecostalism	p. 7
Edward Irving and the Catholic Apostolic Church	p. 7
The Keswick Convention	p. 9
The Welsh Revival	p. 13
Proto-Pentecostal Currents in Ireland	p. 16
The Arrival of the Holiness Message	p. 16
The Impact of the Welsh Revival	p. 25
The Faith Mission	p. 29
The Cooneyites	p. 33
The Christian Catholic Apostolic Church in Zion	p. 37
Zion Arrives in Ireland	p. 39
Zion and Pentecost	p. 44
Arthur Booth-Clibborn: Pentecostal Patriarch	p. 49
His Introduction to Pentecostalism	p. 49
Early Life in Ireland	p. 50
The Salvation Army Years	p. 51
Engagement with Dowieism	p. 54
Transition from Zionism to Pentecostalism	p. 58
The Pentecostal Experience in Family Life	p. 60
Pacifism and Pentecostals	p. 63
Booth-Clibborn's Contribution to Pentecostalism	p. 64
The Pre-Denominational Phase in Irish Pentecostalism	p. 68
The First Pentecostal Assembly	p. 68
Four Local Leaders: Their Background and Contribution	p. 73
Robert J. Kerr	p. 73
Alex Ferguson	p. 74
William J. Boyd	p. 77
James N. Arnold	p. 80
Spreading the Message	p. 82
Robert and Aimee Semple	p. 82
Jacob Nathan	p. 86
Preparing for Advance	p. 88
George Jeffreys: Background and Role	p. 90
George Jeffreys: Profile	p. 90
The Making of a Pentecostal Leader	p. 92
The Influence of Jeffreys' Background on his Future Ministry	p. 100
Two Influential Anglican Irish Pentecostals	p. 108
The Early Years of Elim (1915-18)	p. 120
Events and People Related to Monaghan	p. 120
The Role of Women	p. 132
Resource Problems	p. 134
Finance	p. 135
Premises	p. 137
The First Elim Constitution	p. 143
Elim Christ Church	p. 143
The Proselytism Issue	p. 145
Finance	p. 147
Church Government	p. 148
Belief and Practice	p. 160
Jeffreys in Action	p. 162
The Ballymena Mission	p. 162
Hunter Street Convention	p. 165
The Years of Expansion in Elim (1918-c.1923)	p. 171
Membership of the Elim Evangelistic Band	p. 171
Impact of Constitutional Changes	p. 179
The Initiation and Training of Band Members	p. 184
Informal Induction	p. 187
More Formal Induction	p. 189
The Contribution of the Elim Evangel	p. 194
The Spatial Distribution of Elim Work	p. 197
Outside Belfast	p. 198
Within Belfast	p. 212
Finance and Manpower Deployment	p. 218
The 'Troubles'	p. 220
The Nicholson Missions	p. 222
Conclusion: Vision and Achievement	p. 230
The Apostolic Church in Ireland	p. 233
Apostolic Distinctives	p. 233
The Origin of the Apostolic Church	p. 239
Establishing the Apostolic Church in Ireland	p. 245
The Earliest Apostolic Assemblies	p. 258
Assemblies Originating in Cottage Meetings	p. 258
Assemblies Developing through Personal Contact	p. 260
Independent Groups that Joined the Apostolic Church	p. 263
Factors Influencing the Development of the Apostolic Church	p. 265
The Separatist Nature of the Apostolic Church	p. 266
The Mix of Welsh Ethos and Bradford Control	p. 271
Considerations of Social Class and Status	p. 276
Contention over Prophecy	p. 279
The Operation of Prophecy in the Irish Apostolic Church	p. 283
The Significant Role of Prophecy	p. 283
The Range of Prophecy	p. 286
The Control Function of Prophecy	p. 288
The Apostolic Option within Pentecostalism	p. 293
Conclusion	p. 296
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