Book Review: The Expansion of Evangelicalism (Wolffe)

Title: The Expansion of Evangelicalism: The Age of Wilberforce, More, Chalmers, and Finney
Author: John Wolffe
Publisher: IVP (Intervarsity Press)
Year: 2007
ISBN: 9780830825820
Binding: Cloth
Pages: 280
Index: Yes
Reading Level: 3.5
Price: $23.00

Ephemeros’ Review: John Wolffe’s The Expansion of Evangelicalism contributes to the ongoing discussion of the history of Evangelical with penetrating insight and judicious detail. Covering the period from 1790 to 1850, Wolffe demonstrates the expansion of Evangelicalism into a virtual web of interconnected societies, movements. This book is volume two of a projected five part series titled A History of Evangelical: People, Movements and Ideas in the English-Speaking World.

This period of Evangelicalism is particularly important due to the movements rising influence and Christian activism at even the highest levels of government and cultural life. To a large degree, the Evangelical leaders of this period became (or at least joined) the social architects of their day—a became a cultural influence still felt today.

Wolffe does a masterful job in collecting and assembling the massive data available from this period. Evangelical Christians, on both continents, were thriving and active. Wolffe traces aspects of their religious life and worship, their influence on the family and society as a whole, and their flutter of political activism.

Though the subtitle of the book suggests Wolffe will be looking at the lives of four specific individuals, in actuality the author obscures these men in a mountain of detail. Every page is packed tight with names, dates, places, and events—forming a virtual maze which leaves the reader searching for an elusive string which she can follow to clarity. The reader should keep in mind that Wolffe’s giftedness is not in telling a story (nor does it seem that was his goal). A story-teller intentionally omits facts (however important) that do not directly lead the story forward. An historian, by contrast, recoils at the thought of excluding precious gems of information and would rather sacrifice the story than the fact. Put another way, the story-teller aims at the heart while the historian aims at the head. The author intends to set before us a thorough analysis of the period under discussion. In this regard Wolffe, as an historian, has done a marvelous job and has produced a work of lasting value for those interested in the history of Evangelicalism. After reading this work, one will better understand the period, but also wonder if its story is still untold.

The Expansion of Evangelicalism is a marvelous work that documents the ever-expanding Evangelical movement in the late 18th/early 19th centuries. As Evangelicalism struggles for a identity in the fast-faced and unmapped contemporary roadway, Wolffe adds a much-needed rear-view mirror to help us navigate the traffic.

Physical Copy: Cloth bound on blue board with glued binding and an attractive dust jacket. It is printed on off-white alkaline (acid-free) paper and the text is sharp and clean. Dimensions are 6 x 9 inches.