THE ADVENT OF EVANGELICALISM: EXPLORING HISTORICAL CONTINUITIES, edited by Michael A. G. Haykin and Kenneth J. Stewart

A “Bonus” Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance

 

Overview

The Advent of Evangelicalism is a collection of seventeen scholarly essays that revisit and critically engage with David Bebbington’s landmark thesis from Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (of which see our summary here), questioning whether evangelicalism emerged as a thoroughly new religious movement in the eighteenth century, or whether it shares deeper continuity with earlier Protestant traditions. Bebbington’s fourfold definition—conversionism, activism, biblicism, and crucicentrism—framed evangelicalism as distinct from older Protestant streams. These essays collectively interrogate Bebbington’s boundaries, considering theological, doctrinal, and regional continuities with the Reformation, Puritanism, and pre-1730 evangelical currents. 

 

Brief Survey

The book comprises seventeen essays organized across five thematic sections: 

1. Receptions and Reassessment – including Timothy Larsen’s perspective on how Bebbington’s work has been received, and Haykin’s own reassessment of evangelicalism’s relationship with the Enlightenment. 
2. Regional Perspectives – essays explore the roots of evangelicalism in Scotland, Wales, England, New England, and the Netherlands, unveiling complex regional continuities. 
3. Era-Based Comparisons – contributions analyze the evangelical dimensions in figures such as Luther, Calvin, Cranmer, Puritanism broadly, and Jonathan Edwards—with attention to theological affinities.  
4. Doctrinal and Spiritual Themes – essays re-examine evangelical notions of conversion narratives, assurance, eschatology, and the doctrine of Scripture in light of historical continuities. 
5. Bebbington’s Response – a reply from Bebbington himself, reaffirming his thesis while engaging with the critiques.  

 

Key Themes & Contributions

Continuity over Novelty:
Haykin and Stewart, through their contributors, argue that evangelicalism may not be the purely novel phenomenon Bebbington described. Instead, its theological and spiritual underpinnings align closely with earlier Protestant traditions, suggesting an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, trajectory. 

Broadened Historical Lens:
By bringing forward examples from Scotland, Wales, England, New England, and the Netherlands, the book presents a richer tapestry of evangelical development, indicating that evangelical impulses predate the 1730 Great Awakening. . . .

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