The American Holiness Movement and its Methodist Origins
HITH 545
Summary
Explore The American Holiness Movement and its Methodist Origins course and what you can expect to learn through the semester.
Course Overview
A study of the growth and development of American Holiness Movement and the origins of the doctrine of Christian perfection in Methodism.
Focused attention is given to the thought of John Wesley and the American modifications thereof, as well as the subsequent emergence of the National Holiness Association and its constituency proceeding to the Inter Church Holiness Convention and its supporting ideas and component organizations.
Textbooks
- See the current booklist.
Professor: Dr. William Snider
Intended Outcomes
You will appreciate
- the challenges that confronted our spiritual forebears in a New World.
- and realize the power of Methodism and the holiness message to transform human character.
- and come to believe that tenacity and dedication of the circuit riders and their leaders work.
You will be able to
- apply the principles of early Methodism to the solution of current challenges facing the church.
- help to clarify the confusion surrounding the ministry of the Holy Spirit in and through the church.
- articulate and develop current methodologies to address the church in an increasingly hostile political culture.
- teach others to give satisfactory solutions to the task of evangelism in a pagan culture.
- identify the characteristics of Asbury et al that so effectively enabled them to become skilled at administration, and then to incorporate such skills in leadership roles in the student’s current setting in life.
You will understand
- and to articulate the basic concepts of the Methodist understanding of Christian holiness.
- and be able to identify the major persons who formulated Wesleyan thought regarding Christian holiness.
- and be able to identify the primary personalities in American Methodism who promoted the Methodist understanding of Christian holiness.
- and be able to identify the distinctives of the theology of Phoebe Palmer and its modifications to traditional Wesleyan thought concerning Christian holiness.
- and be able to discuss the conflict between the Methodist Episcopal Church and the emerging American Holiness Movement.
- and be able to identify the role of the National Holiness Association in the emerging American Holiness Movement.
- and be able to identify the Inter Church Holiness Convention and the contributing factors in its development.