Culture, Spirituality, and the Brethren

‘It is impossible to understand the patterns of theological and ecclesiastical change without attention to the cultural context’, writes Professor David Bebbington in this book. The Brethren movement has often been associated with a hostile attitude to culture, but the chapters in this book also show that statements about the relationship of the movement to culture must be more finely nuanced. The second part of the book takes up this theme and offers pioneering studies of hymns and hymn books, individuals such as George Müller and Robert Rendall, and how the tensions of the mid-twentieth century affected spirituality.

1. James M. Houston, ‘The Loss of the Psalter—The Loss of Christian Devotion?’, 9–23
2. David Bebbington, ‘Evangelicalism and British Culture’, 25–39
3. Peter Lineham, ‘Brethren Childhood as a Historical Pattern’, 41–64
4. Tim Grass, ‘Brethren Buildings: Exploring the Built Heritage of the Movement’, 65–78
5. Timothy C. F. Stunt, ‘Brethren and the Armed Services’, 79–100
6. Elisabeth Wilson, ‘An Emissary of the Plymouth Brotherhood? Henry Varley’s Interaction with Australian Society in the Late Nineteenth Century’, 101–25
7. T. J. Marinello, ‘The Founding of the Brethren in Flanders’, 127–37
8. Neil T. R. Dickson, ‘“Worldly and dangerous”: Brethren and Culture in the Mid-Twentieth Century’, 139–58
9. Crawford Gribben, ‘Novel Doctrines, Doctrinal Novels: F. A. Tatford and Brethren Prophecy Fiction’, 159–71
10. Rógvi Olavson, ‘Modernising Capernaum: A Qualitative Study of Individualism and Cosmopolitanism among Brethren in the Faeroes’, 173–90
11. John Allan, ‘Local Churches: Embracing Cultures and Generations?’, 191–206
12. Roger N. Holden, ‘Hymns and Spiritual Songs for the Little Flock: A Sectarian Hymn Book?’, 209–36
13. Mark S. Sweetnam, ‘Raptured, Rewarded, and Reigning: The Hope of the Believer in The Gospel Hymn Book’, 237–57
14. Neil Summerton, ‘The Spirituality of George Müller’, 259–75
15. Darin D. Lenz, ‘“A peculiar charm”: The Story of George Müller of Bristol in Mid-Nineteenth Century America’, 277–90
16. Neil T. R. Dickson, ‘Brethren Disenchantment: Two Portraits of Faith and Doubt’, 291–304
17. Beth Dickson, ‘“Woe to me if I preach not the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9: 16): Brethren Spirituality in the Mid-Twentieth Century’, 305–24
18. Neil T. R. Dickson, ‘“Man’s aald inheritance”: Robert Rendall’s Sense of Place’, 325–41