The
Higher Life movement was a movement devoted to
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
holinessThe Holiness Movement in Christianity is a movement which teaches that the carnal nature of humanity can be cleansed through faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit if one has had his sins forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ. The benefits professed include spiritual power and an ability to...
in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Its name comes from a book by
William BoardmanWilliam Edwin Boardman was an American pastor and teacher, and the author in 1858 of The Higher Christian Life, a book which as a major international success and helped ignite the Higher Life movement. Boardman's work attracted international attention, especially in England, where Boardman...
, entitled The
Higher Christian Life, which was published in 1858. The movement is sometimes referred to as the
KeswickThe Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of evangelical Christians in Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria.- History :The Keswick Convention began in 1875 as a catalyst and focal point for the emerging Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom. It was founded by the Anglican T. D....
movement, because it was promoted at conventions in
KeswickKeswick is a market town within the district of Allerdale, Cumbria, England. With a population of 4,281, according to the 2001 census, it is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
, which continue to this day.
The main idea of the Higher Life movement is that the Christian should move on from his initial conversion experience to also experience a second work of God in his life.
The
Higher Life movement was a movement devoted to
ChristianChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
holinessThe Holiness Movement in Christianity is a movement which teaches that the carnal nature of humanity can be cleansed through faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit if one has had his sins forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ. The benefits professed include spiritual power and an ability to...
in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Its name comes from a book by
William BoardmanWilliam Edwin Boardman was an American pastor and teacher, and the author in 1858 of The Higher Christian Life, a book which as a major international success and helped ignite the Higher Life movement. Boardman's work attracted international attention, especially in England, where Boardman...
, entitled The
Higher Christian Life, which was published in 1858. The movement is sometimes referred to as the
KeswickThe Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of evangelical Christians in Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria.- History :The Keswick Convention began in 1875 as a catalyst and focal point for the emerging Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom. It was founded by the Anglican T. D....
movement, because it was promoted at conventions in
KeswickKeswick is a market town within the district of Allerdale, Cumbria, England. With a population of 4,281, according to the 2001 census, it is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
, which continue to this day.
The main idea of the Higher Life movement is that the Christian should move on from his initial conversion experience to also experience a second work of God in his life. This work of God is called “entire
sanctificationSanctification is an ancient concept widespread among religions that refers to anything blessed or set apart for special purposes, from totem poles to temple vessels, to the change brought about in a human believer. The word sanctification refers to the act or process of making sacred or setting...
,” “the second blessing,” “the second touch,” “being filled with the Holy Spirit,” and various other terms. Higher Life teachers promoted the idea that Christians who had received this blessing from God could live a more holy, that is less sinful or even a sinless, life. This teaching has its roots in
John WesleyJohn Wesley was an Anglican cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, with founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
’s doctrine of
Christian perfectionChristian perfection is a Christian doctrine which holds that the soul of the baptised Christian may attain a high degree of virtue and holiness and become entirely sanctified with the help of divine grace of Jesus.-Catholic Church:...
.
History
The Higher Life movement was precipitated by the American
Holiness movementThe Holiness Movement in Christianity is a movement which teaches that the carnal nature of humanity can be cleansed through faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit if one has had his sins forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ. The benefits professed include spiritual power and an ability to...
, which had been gradually springing up, but made a definite appearance in the mid-1830s. It was at this time that
MethodistsMethodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to Reverend John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement in the Anglican Church. His younger brother...
in the northeastern United States and non-Methodists at
Oberlin CollegeOberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1833 by Presbyterian ministers, and is home to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, making it the only top-ranked liberal arts college with a top-ranked conservatory...
in
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
began to accept and promote the Wesleyan doctrine of Christian perfection or entire sanctification. The American holiness movement began to spread to England in the 1840s and 1850s. Methodist evangelist James Caughey, as well as Presbyterian
Asa MahanAsa Mahan was a U.S. Congregational clergyman and educator and the first president of Oberlin College.-Career:Asa Mahan graduated from Hamilton College in 1824, and from Andover Theological Seminary in 1827...
and Presbyterian-turned-
CongregationalistCongregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
Charles Finney began to teach the concept to evangelical churches in England and then in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
and
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Soon after these initial infusions of holiness ideas, Dr.
Walter PalmerWalter Scott Palmer is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Utah Jazz in the 2nd round of the 1990 NBA Draft. A 7'1" center from Dartmouth College, Palmer played two years in the NBA for the Jazz and Dallas Mavericks...
and his wife
Phoebe PalmerPhoebe Palmer was an evangelist and writer who promoted the doctrine of Christian perfection. She is considered one of the founders of the Holiness movement in the United States of America and the Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom.- Early life :Palmer was born Phoebe Worrall in New York...
of
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
went to England in the 1850s and 1860s to promote them. Oddly enough, they were banned from ministering in Wesleyan churches, even though they were promoting Wesleyan doctrines and were themselves Methodist. During their time in England many people experienced initial conversion and many more who were already converted believed that they had received entire sanctification.
In the 1870s William Boardman, author of
The Higher Christian Life began his own evangelistic campaign in England, bringing with him
Robert Pearsall SmithRobert Pearsall Smith was a lay leader in the Holiness movement in the United States and the Higher Life movement in Great Britain. His book Holiness Through Faith is one of the foundational works of the Holiness movement...
and his wife,
Hannah Whitall SmithHannah Tatum Whitall Smith was a lay speaker and author in the Holiness movement in the United States and the Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
, to help spread the holiness message.
On May 1st 1873, Rev'd William Haslam introduced Robert Pearsall Smith to a small meeting of Anglican clergymen held at Curzon Chapel, Mayfair, London. Two men whose lives were revolutionised by what they heard were Evan Henry Hopkins and Edward William Moore.
Little by little, Methodist churches in the
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
area became open to the concept of Christian holiness, which was their rightful inheritance from their founder. Robert Pearsall Smith warned them that they would end up falling behind other churches who had embraced the movement, and they began to invite Higher Life teachers to explain the doctrine to them.
The first large-scale Higher Life meetings took place from July 17-23, 1874, at the Broadlands estate of Lord and Lady Mount Temple. The meetings were held primarily for Christian students at Cambridge University. At the end of these meetings, Sir Arthur Blackwood, Earl of Chichester and president of the Church Missionary Society, suggested that another series of meetings for the promotion of holiness be conducted at
OxfordOxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The city has a population of just under 165,000, with 151,000 living within the district boundary. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre...
later that summer.
A convention for the promotion of holiness was held at
BrightonBrighton is a town in the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex on the south coast of Great Britain...
from May 29-June 7, 1875. The prominent American evangelist
Dwight L. MoodyDwight Lyman Moody , also known as D.L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts , the Moody Bible Institute and Moody Publishers.-Early life:Dwight Moody was born in Northfield, Massachusetts to a large...
told his London audiences that the Brighton meeting was to be a very important one. About eight thousand people attended it. T. D. Harford-Battersby attended this convention and made arrangements to have one in his parish in Keswick. He was the recognized leader of this annual convention for several years until his death.
A gradual distinction developed between traditional Methodists and the newer Keswick speakers. Keswick took on a more Calvinistic tone, as Keswick preachers took pains to distance themselves from the Wesleyan doctrine of eradication (the doctrine that original sin could be completely extinguished from the Christian soul prior to death). Keswick speakers began using the term "counteraction" to describe the Holy Spirit's effect on original sin, often comparing it to how air pressure counteracts gravity in lifting an airplane. Modern Wesleyan-Arminian theologians regard the Keswick theology as something different from their own dogma of entire sanctification.
Harford-Battersby organized and led the first
Keswick ConventionThe Keswick Convention is an annual gathering of evangelical Christians in Keswick, in the English county of Cumbria.- History :The Keswick Convention began in 1875 as a catalyst and focal point for the emerging Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom. It was founded by the Anglican T. D....
in 1875. Over four hundred people met under the banner of “All One in Christ Jesus.” British speakers included
AnglicansThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches...
, such as the J. W. Webb-Peploe, Evan H. Hopkins, and
Handley MouleHandley Carr Glyn Moule was Bishop of Durham from 1901-1920.-Life:Moule was an 1864 graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge. After a series of church and academic posts, he became the first principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge, from 1881-1899...
, as well as
Frederick Brotherton MeyerThe Rev. Frederick Brotherton Meyer , a contemporary and friend of D. L. Moody was a Baptist pastor and evangelist in England involved in ministry and inner city mission work on both sides of the Atlantic...
, a
BaptistA Baptist is a Christian who subscribes to a theology and may belong to a church that, among other things, is committed to believer's baptism and, with respect to church polity, favors the congregational model...
, and Robert Wilson, a
FriendThe Religious Society of Friends is a religious movement, whose members are known as Friends or Quakers. The roots of this movement are with some 17th century Christian English dissenters, but today the movement has branched out into many independent national and regional organizations, called...
. An annual convention has met in Keswick ever since and has had worldwide influence on Christianity.
Columbia Bible College and Seminary (Columbia, SC) was founded by one of the early leaders of the American Keswick movement, Robert C. McQuilkin. His son, Robertson McQuilkin, contributed the Keswick chapter to the book "Five Views of Sanctification."
Critiques
Keswick doctrine has been sharply criticized as a disguised form of entire sanctification (or "perfectionism") by other Christian traditions, particularly
CalvinismCalvinism is a theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
. Princeton theologian
B.B. WarfieldBenjamin Breckinridge Warfield was professor of theology at Princeton Seminary from 1887 to 1921. Some conservative Presbyterians consider him to be the last of the great Princeton theologians before the split in 1929 that formed Westminster Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.-Early...
wrote a trenchant attack on the Keswick doctrine that is still referenced today in Reformed circles. Such a critique is included in one of
J. I. PackerJames Innell Packer is a British-born Canadian Christian theologian in the low church Anglican tradition. He currently serves as the Board of Governors' Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia...
's books.
Sources
- Harford, C. F., ed. The Keswick Convention; its Message, its Method and its Men, London, 1907.
- Harford-Battersby, T. D. Memoirs of the Keswick Convention, 1890.
- Hopkins, E. H., The Story of Keswick, London, 1892.
- Pierson, A. T., The Keswick Movement, New York.
- B.B. Warfield, Perfectionism, Philadelphia, 1958, ISBN 0-87552-528-8.
- Robertson McQuilkin, The Keswick View: Five Views of Sanctification, ISBN 0-310-21269-3 Zondervan Pub.
- Pollock, J. C., A Cambridge Movement, London, John Murray, 1953.
- Packer, J. I., Keep In Step With The Spirit, 1984, ISBN 0-8010-6558-5. — See chapter 4.
- Pyne, Robert A., and Matt Blackmon, "A Critique of the Exchanged Life", 2006 Bibliotecha Sacra 163, April-June
See also
- Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union
The Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union, usually known as CICCU, was the first university Christian Union and is the University of Cambridge's most prominent student Christian organisation. It was formed in 1877, but can trace its origins back to the formation of the Jesus Lane Sunday...
which can (in part) trace its beginnings to the meetings at Broadlands in 1874.
- Quietism (Christian philosophy)
Quietism is a Christian philosophy that swept through France, Italy and Spain during the 17th century, but it had much earlier origins. The mystics known as Quietists insist, with more or less emphasis, on intellectual stillness and interior passivity as essential conditions of perfection...
which through T. C. Upham's biography (1854) of Madame Guyon was a significant influence on holiness-oriented circles in the second half of the nineteenth century.
External links
- http://www.keswickministries.org/
- Audio-visual material on Keswick theology by Andrew David Naselli, whose Ph.D. dissertation is entitled “Keswick Theology: A Historical and Theological Survey and Analysis of the Doctrine of Sanctification in the Early Keswick Movement, 1875–1920"
- http://www.frontlinemin.org/higherlife.asp
- http://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyan_theology/theojrnl/06-10/09-2.htm
- A Critique of the Keswick Movement taken (by the author's permission) from Keep in Step with the Spirit by J. I. Packer.
- The Exchanged Life. Is it possible to consistently enjoy an abundant, victorious Christian life?