Burning Religion

As I continue to study American Evangelical theologies and praxes, I have now moved into the category of evangelism. I have been a bit surprised to discover that an historical outline of the variety of techniques and practices of evangelism in the 20th century does not appear to be out there in the web world anywhere. The internets are silent on what seems to be a relatively simple thing. So, I may have to pull together just such a basic historical outline myself. This obviously would include the most influential historical figures such as D.L. Moody, Charles Finney, Henrietta Mears, and Aimee Semple McPherson, but also techniques and movements like the Romans Road, the Four Spiritual Laws, Friendship Evangelism, and Power Evangelism.

Along with searching for a history of Evangelism practices, I am also looking into basic Evangelical theologies of how people come to faith, and along with this I am wondering to what degree the uniquely American philosophy of Pragmatism played into the development of American Evangelistic practices.

My previous sections on Eschatology and the Ecstatic experiences of Evangelicalism are preliminary work on an overall project to measure the influence of Evangelical theologies and practices upon its politics. Along with this I am hoping to observe it through the lens of Bakhtinian carnivalesque power in both beneficial and harmful ways.

If any of the above is something you have information, thoughts, or critique about––leave a comment here, or email me at pastorphil (at) salemgathering (dot) com.