Tonight I watched The Apostle, a fascinating film that portrays American religion. The film (1997 / PG-13) stars Robert Duvall, who also wrote, directed, and financed it. Duvall plays a Holiness preacher who, after fleeing Texas because he killed his wife’s lover, starts a new congregation in a backwater Louisiana town. The plot is pretty thin, but Duvall delivers a powerful performance as the ecstatic preacher and religious entrepreneur Sonny, or “the Apostle E.F.”

I intend to write a post or two about the film’s portrayal of American religion, and in particular how it might be useful in the classroom. If you wish, you can watch the film at Hulu, or embedded below.

http://www.hulu.com/embed/HbO4cqOue5Acp5K3ZjGdbA/i965

You can also see the trailer at YouTube. (Don’t be disappointed by the trailer. Like most trailers, it emphasizes plot and hype more than acting.)

Naselli, Andrew David. Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, forthcoming. 459 pages.

Andrew Naselli has an educational background shared by few theologians. He earned his BA at Baptist College of Ministry (2002), his MA and first PhD at Bob Jones University (2003, 2006), and a second PhD at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where he was an assistant to prominent Reformed theologian D. A. Carson.

Let Go and Let God? is a rewrite of Naselli’s dissertation published by the popular Bible study software company Logos. As such, it is targeted at an audience composed mostly of seminarians, pastors, and Bible scholars. And although the first section of the book is a survey of the history of the Keswick Movement, the meat of the book is dedicated to critiquing Keswick theology from a Reformed theological perspective. In short, it is a polemic.

It may seem strange for Religion in America to feature Let Go and Let God?. We normally choose works of history, not theology. That being so, this review will focus on the historical rather than the polemical aspects of Let Go and Let God?; it is not our job as historians to make value judgments on the relative merits of the Reformed and Keswickian views of sanctification.

After Naselli’s introduction, he begins with a 94 page survey of the history of the Keswick movement. Naselli’s task is complicated by the nature of the movement as a loosely formed network of hymnwriters, evangelists, and lay authors. The name Keswick comes from the town of Keswick in the Lake District of northern England where the Keswick Convention Trust has held annual conferences from 1875 to the present. Many, though not all, adherents of Keswick theology attended these conferences.

During the meetings, conference attendees sought to consecrate themselves to God. Although they had accepted Christ as their Savior in the past, they still needed to have an additional consecration where they fully yielded themselves to God. Salvation and consecration were separate, non-contiguous events. A newly converted believer who had yet to yield his will to God was labeled a “carnal Christian” for whom sanctification had not yet begun. His life would be characterized by sinful struggles, spiritual defeat, and a lack of Spirit-given power for service. But by “letting go and letting God” that carnal Christian could begin the process of sanctification, gain victory over sin in his life, and receive Spirit-empowerment for ministry.

At the annual conference, prominent pastors, missionaries, and lay leaders would share testimonies about their personal consecration experiences. Indeed, the list of people connected to Keswick theology reads like a Who’s Who of nineteenth century evangelicalism: F.B. Meyer, Charles Armstrong Fox, Andrew Murray, Hudson Taylor, Frances Havergal, and A.T. Pierson. These men and women were representative of Keswick theology at its height. But Naselli traces the origins of Keswick theology back much earlier, through the Higher Life Movement, Oberlin Perfectionism, the Holiness Movement, and Wesleyan Perfectionism. He also describes the influence of Keswick theology in the twentieth century, on institutions like Moody Bible Institute and Dallas Theological Seminary, in the rise of Pentecostalism, and on later evangelicals like R. A. Torrey, C. I. Scofield, Lewis Sperry Chafer, John Walvoord, and Charles Ryrie.

Prior to reading Let Go and Let God? I would have been unable to define Keswick theology, let alone explain the wide-reaching Keswickian influence on evangelical theology. Assuming that other religious historians share my weakness, scholars of recent American religious history should be interested in reading Naselli’s work. Further adding to the value of Let Go and Let God? as a reference work, Naselli has included a thorough, 127-page bibliography on all things Keswick, making it a good starting point for both seminarians and historians who are interested in the Keswick movement.

Grigg, John A. The Lives of David Brainerd: The Making of an American Evangelical Icon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 276 pages. ISBN: 978-0-19-537237-3.

As John Grigg observes, David Brainerd is second only to Jonathan Edwards in evangelicals’ memory of the Great Awakening. His often-republished diary has been a staple of evangelical devotional literature since Edwards published his Life of Brainerd in 1749. Academic historians take note of Brainerd too, both for his role in the controversies surrounding the Awakening and for his missionary efforts among the Delaware Indians. Grigg’s The Lives of David Brainerd is a history of both Brainerds. The book’s first section contains a careful reconstruction of Brainerd’s life, while the second section examines the memory of Brainerd since his death.

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Each year that July 4th falls on a Sunday, church leaders have to make a series of decisions. Sould we place an American flag on the podium? Should we sing God Bless America or My Country Tis of Thee during the worship service? Do we include a tribute to our military servicemen and servicewomen? Do we recite the Declaration of Independence? The manner in which churches celebrate July 4th depends in large part upon their understanding of American history. Clergy who believe that Revolutionary America was a Christian nation led by orthodox or evangelical founding fathers are far more likely to incorporate the pomp and circumstance of Independence Day celebrations into their congregational worship.

The subject of the Christian roots of America is a contentious issue today. Politicians invoke it in an attempt to curry favor with voters. Schoolboards fight over its inclusion in curricula. This blog has no intention of addressing the rights or wrongs of such a politicized topic.

Politicians and historians ask very different questions. For politicians history often becomes a tool for gaining cultural and political power. The past becomes the servant of the present. Politicized history is simplified history told in stark monochrome, a tale inhabited by clear heroes and obvious villains. But for historians, history comes in shades of grey; we seek to show historical events in their complexity. We try to understand the past on its own terms. Thus the politically-charged question, “Was America a Christian nation?” cannot be answered with a simple yes or a no.

If you’d like to explore the historical role of Christianity in the founding of America, I’d recommend The Search for Christian America. Mark Noll, Nathan Hatch, and George Marsden approach the topic from a historian’s perspective. The Search for Christian America is a golden oldie by now (1983), but it remains the must-read book for understanding the role of Christianity in the founding of the United States. Noll, Hatch, and Marsden – each of whom is an evangelical Christian and a well regarded historian – carve out a middle ground between advocates of an essentially Christian America and those who believe that America was founded purely upon secular, Enlightenment ideals. Pick up a copy for your summer vacation reading list.