THE FIRE DIVINE:
An Introduction to the Evangelical Revival
By David Ceri Jones
IVP. 184 pages. £9.99
ISBN 978 1 783 592 906
This book introduces the evangelical revivals of the 18th century.
These were such a wonderful series of events that they are always worth re-visiting and are important to introduce to those who have never learned about them. This book aims to be an introduction, giving a broad overview for those who know little about the area, although it is also an interesting read for those who are more familiar. The writing is clear and easy to read and manages to condense what is a huge area of study.
Characters and pictures
The book gives appropriate background and then covers the English, Celtic and American revivals in turn. The main characters such as John Wesley and George Whitefield are introduced, as well as many minor characters. Plenty of black and white pictures of people and places help the vividness of the description.
Closing chapters look at the impact the revivals left on the later 18th and 19th centuries, such as the reforms of the Clapham group and later awakenings not as famous as those in the mid-18th century. This section nicely extends the story, although links back to the revival are not ‘proved’.
Other books on this area simply stand in amazement at the incredible events (and why not?). However Jones is both supportive and analytical of these events, writing with both warmth and a degree of detachment. I would have liked some more precise defining of theological positions (I don’t think a later comparison between Whitefield and Finney is fair), but this is a minor issue in a very good book.
