Ravished by the Spirit: Religious Revivals, Baptists, and Henry Alline

by George A. Rawlyk

Rawlyk sees the Baptists of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as reaching their zenith during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He makes some controversial comments on the differences between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Baptists of both the present and past century. Ravished by the Spirit does not deal merely with a distnt historical past but raises some fundamental and disconcerting questions about the vulnerability of the Baptist denomination in contemporary Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Genres: Theology

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1984

Reviews

[Alex Strohschein]

3.5/5. A bit repetitive.

'Ravished by the Spirit: Religious Revivals, Baptists, and Henry Alline' is comprised of four lectures that Canadian historian George A. Rawlyk delivered at Acadia Divinity College. He explores the life and lasting legacy of Henry Alline, an iterant, charismatic evangelist and Canada's leading hymn writer who preached in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and New England between 1776-84 before dying young at 35. Alline's New Light theology rejected Calvinist orthodoxy, favouring free will and a return to the early Church. However, he often verged into a muddled mysticism and sometimes described the depths of religious devotion using sexual imagery that caused scandal among his critics. Even though Alline died young, his theology continued to impact Christians, particularly Baptists, in the areas where he preached and it lay the groundwork for Nova Scotia's "Second Great Awakening" which lasted from the late 1790s to the 1810s; interestingly, this revival was largely dominated by "women, children, and young people" rather than male preachers in the pulpit (p. 131).