Born in Crisis and Shaped by Controversy. <i>The Relevant History of Methodism, Volume 2:</i> Shaped by Controversy

I approached this project with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety: anticipation because John Tyson is a distinguished American scholar, who has written extensively on the early history of the Wesleys’ Methodism, and anxiety because I wondered what might be meant and intended by a ‘relevant history’ of Methodism. Most historians believe that their discipline will offer wisdom and insights to the contemporary world, but most will also be aware that the quest for ‘relevance’ can lead to anachronistic readings that fail to respect the uniqueness and specificity of each historical context.In a moving preface to the first volume, reviewed in Wesley and Methodist Studies 16/1, Professor Tyson explains that he was inspired to plan a two-part history of Methodism by a sense of the crises engulfing our world and the controversies dividing the Methodist Church (principally, but perhaps not exclusively, the United Methodist Church). Turning to the past for solace, he developed the idea of a book exploring how early Methodists responded to ten political, social, and ecclesiastical crises of the eighteenth century and a sequel looking at eight episodes of ‘internal strife, dysfunction, and trauma’ that fractured the movement. The present volume deals with the controversies: over ‘stillness’, predestination, perfection, ecclesial separation, women’s preaching and leadership, racism, governance, and the full inclusion of LGBTQ people. Each chapter takes one issue, shows how it generated controversy within the Methodist movement, describes the consequences, and concludes with some questions for reflection or discussion. The text of each chapter focuses mainly but not exclusively on the historical material; the questions draw out contemporary application, asking, for example, about handling disagreements within the church (22–3) and continuing gender and racial prejudice (62 and 79). It is apparent that the chapters on stillness, predestination, and perfection draw very largely on eighteenth-century material and have little to say about these issues in later Methodist history, whereas the controversies over racism and LGBTQ inclusion give detailed consideration to the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. In this regard it is interesting to note that the Calvinist-Arminian dispute was discussed as a live issue in the conversations leading up to the signing of the covenant between the Church of England and the Methodist Church of Great Britain in 2003.There is much to commend in this book and this project. Tyson has an expert knowledge of early Methodism and the Wesleys, and this is evident in the notes and bibliography. There are a few proofreading slips—Philip Molther becomes ‘John’ on page 6, and Horace Walpole was Earl of Orford, not Oxford (97), and certainly not ‘Horatio Walploe’ as in the index! Taking the long view is a helpful response in a time of crisis and controversy because it encourages a sense of perspective and offers an opportunity to draw on the wisdom of the past. Shaped by Controversy avoids facile comparisons between the eighteenth century and the twenty-first, while using Methodist history to pose important questions about modern issues. Tyson makes clear his own commitment to an inclusive church and is able to justify this from a deep understanding of the roots of Methodism in Great Britain and the United States.

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