112 -The Holiness Revival of the Nineteenth Century

The Holiness Revival of the Nineteenth Century
By Melvin Easterday Dieter
New Jersey, Scarecrow, 1980. 356 pp. $17.50.

This study tries to demonstrate that the holiness movement was both "American" and Wesleyan, arguing that the contributions of the movement to the American and European religious traditions has been underestimated by scholars. It emphasizes the work of Phoebe Worrall Palmer and the progress of holiness doctrines within Methodism, but also describes the contributions of Charles Finney, Thomas Upham, and William E. Boardman.

With the formation of the National Camp Meeting Association for the Promotion of Holiness in 1867, the movement gained momentum. While building grass-roots interdenominational support, the Association moved toward open conflict with the Methodist Episcopal Church. Following a chapter on the expansion of the holiness movement to Europe, the author discusses the forces which led to the institutionalism of the holiness revival in America. Scholars will find a useful bibliography current through 1973, and others will appreciate the sympathetic treatment of holiness doctrines.

Fred J. Hood
Georgetown College
Georgetown, Ky.