About this Event
The Nation's Gospel Volume 3: (1900-1945) Revival to Reports
Wilberforce Publications is pleased to announce the launch of Volume 3 of The Nation’s Gospel (1900-1945) Revival to Reports.
Join us at 6pm on Monday 25 November at the launch of The Nation’s Gospel Volume 3 (1900-1945) Revival to Reports for a discussion with author Jeremy Thomas, and the Rev. Rico Tice.
The Nation’s Gospel is a unique four-volume work, which takes the reader on a journey to explore how the Christian faith has been spread in Britain since the Reformation.
This is living history, telling the stories of the Christian faith of past generations and its outworking in society, which has much to teach us today.
The launch will take place at St Paul's Church, Robert Adam Street, London, W1U 3HP.
We are delighted that St Paul’s Robert Adam Street is hosting this event as before it moved along Robert Adam Street and was rebuilt, it was the church, among others, of Lord Shaftesbury, when in Town, and George Williams, the founder of the Young Men’s Christian Association. Jeremy will briefly begin by recalling some of the leading Christians of the preceding era from St Paul's who helped shape the platform on which Christianity rested at the beginning of our period and who influenced it in the first half of the twentieth century. He and Rico will then discuss more widely some aspects of the Christian life of the nation in our period.
Order of the evening
18:00 Doors open, drinks and nibbles
18:30 Welcome address by Tim Dieppe
18:40 Jeremy Thomas illustrates St Paul’s influence on British Christianity in our period
19:10 Q&A
19:25 Opportunity to purchase the book (and signed by the author)
20:00 Departure
Book Pricing
Paperback – launch price £20 (RRP £25)
Hardback (limited edition) - launch price £30 (RRP £40)
About the book
Revival to Reports (1900-1945) is the third in the four-volume The Nation’s Gospel series, the first and second volumes having covered Reformation to Revolution (1516-1791) and Revolution to Revival (1791-1900) respectively.
Revival to Reports is a detailed and accessible account of the church in Britain during the years 1900 to 1945, including the way in which it allowed itself to be moulded by the culture around it. Referring to the spiritual state of the nation, evangelist Thomas Waugh sadly observed that, “instead of the church evangelising the world, the world has had considerable success in secularising the church.” Liberalism and ritualism had divided Christians and weakened confidence in Biblical orthodoxy, and as Jesus has said, a house divided will fall.
Consequently, secular philosophy, psychology, anthropology, socialism and atheistic literature had, as the author reveals, a devastating impact on the churches. Once a world power, Britain’s confidence in Protestantism – once widely seen as underpinning its national greatness – subsided. This was despite the fact that at the dawn of the century, there had been a rich heritage of evangelistic methodologies, institutions and resources to evangelise the nation. Indeed, it was felt that since the first 50 years of the Christian era there had not been so many consecrated men and women toiling for the salvation of others.
There were times of revival, such as during the Welsh Revival that was, alas, followed by the First World War, which left in its wake human devastation and economic weakness. The damaging influence of Britain’s intellectual elite such as Shaw, Wells, Russell and Woolf in undermining Christianity cannot be overstated. Although afterwards, and by today’s standards, Christian activity abounded, the loss of confidence in the atonement took away the power from the gospel message. Meanwhile, some placed organisational unity above the gospel.
It was an increasingly depressing period spiritually, but there were rays of light as small groups of evangelicals recovered the gospel and established new patterns of ministry that bore fruit towards the end of the Second World War. Readers are introduced to many of the methods the church employed to share God’s immeasurably good news.
The chapters are divided into discrete and concise subsections. There is a treasure trove of rich detail here to fuel reflection, mission and prayer.
About the author
Jeremy Thomas became convinced of the truth of the Christian faith in the summer of 1981 when, as a student, he listened to a sermon at All Souls Church, Langham Place, London – where he would later serve as Deputy Churchwarden. He holds degrees from the University of London, and Dalhousie Law School, Canada. Having trained as a barrister and qualified as a solicitor, he spent much of his career as a partner in an international law firm and made numerous contributions to legal books and periodicals. He and his family are based in London.
The first volume, , traces the stories of faith and the methods used to proclaim it from the beginning of the Reformation, through the persecution under Queen Mary, the Elizabethan Period, the rise of Puritanism and the Civil War to the Wesleyan revival.
, covers the period from the dark days of the French Revolution, through the mid-19th century revival to the beginning of the 20th century. It describes the influence of the Clapham Sect, the Primitive Methodists, the Brethren and the Salvation Army, and the expansion of evangelism in the Church of England and other denominations, by a variety of means. It also examines the literature and philosophies which sought to undermine Christianity and their impact on the thinking of many ministers and the churches.
Commendations
A wonderfully informative history of evangelicalism and the spiritual state of Great Britain between 1900 and 1945 ... Thomas highlights the impact on the churches of secular philosophy, psychology, socialism and atheistic literature. He convincingly demonstrates that it was the failure of the church to hold tenaciously to the apostolic gospel that led to an inability to meet these challenges and stem the tide.
John Stevens, National Director of the Federation of Independent Evangelical Churches
Just the book | wish had been able to read at theological college to give me a better understanding of why we are where we are today. I loved it!
Rev. Stephen Wookey, Rector of St David's Church, Moreton-in-Marsh
I found ... The Nation's Gospel Volume 3 ... informative, accessible, engaging, incredibly well-researched and easy to read.
Rev. Raymond Brown, East London Tabernacle Baptist Church
A fascinating book ... a detailed yet accessible account of the church in Britain ... and the way it was moulded by the culture around.
Helen Thorne, Director of Training and Resources, Biblical Counselling UK
The foreword is by Gavin Calver, CEO of the Evangelical Alliance.
More information
Please note that no refunds are available. Do contact our events team using the details below if you have questions about this.
Please don't hesitate to contact our events team for further information at [email protected] or call us at 020 3327 1120
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We look forward to seeing you.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
St Paul's Church, Robert Adam Street, Robert Adam Street, London, United Kingdom
GBP 5.00
