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Higher Life movement
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==History== The Higher Life movement was precipitated by the [[Holiness movement|Wesleyan-Holiness movement]], which had been gradually springing up, but made a definite appearance in the mid-1830s. It was at this time that [[Methodism|Methodists]] in the northeastern United States began to preach Wesleyan doctrine of Christian perfection or entire sanctification and non-Methodists at [[Oberlin College]] in [[Ohio]] began to accept and promote their own version of sanctification, with [[Charles Finney]] of Oberlin teaching that his doctrine was distinctly different from the Wesleyan one to which [[Asa Mahan]] was more attracted. The American holiness movement began to spread to England in the 1840s and 1850s. Methodist evangelist [[James Caughey]], as well as [[Presbyterian]] [[Asa Mahan]] and Presbyterian-turned-[[Congregational church|Congregationalist]] [[Charles Finney]] began to teach the concept to churches in England and then in [[Ireland]] and [[Scotland]]. Soon after these initial infusions of holiness ideas, Walter Palmer and his wife [[Phoebe Palmer]] of [[New York City]] went to England in the 1850s and 1860s to promote them. 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. Robert and Hannah Smith were among those who took the holiness message to England, and their ministries helped lay the foundation for the now-famous [[Keswick Convention]], which differs from traditional [[Wesleyan-Arminian theology|Wesleyan-Holiness theology]]. In the 1870s, William Boardman, author of ''The Higher Christian Life,''<ref>[http://faithsaves.net/william-boardman/ Chapter, "William Boardman,"] in [http://faithsaves.net/soteriology/ The Doctrine of Sanctification: An Exegetical Examination, with Application, in Biblical, Historic Baptist Perspective, Thomas Ross, Ph. D. diss., Great Plains Baptist Divinity School, 2016]</ref> began his own evangelistic campaign in England, bringing with him [[Robert Pearsall Smith]] and his wife, [[Hannah Whitall Smith]], to help spread the holiness message.<ref name="Chapter, Hannah Whitall Smith,">[http://faithsaves.net/hannah-whitall-smith/ Chapter, "Hannah Whitall Smith,"] in [http://faithsaves.net/soteriology/ The Doctrine of Sanctification: An Exegetical Examination, with Application, in Biblical, Historic Baptist Perspective, Thomas Ross, Ph. D. diss., Great Plains Baptist Divinity School, 2016]</ref> On May 1, 1873, [[William Haslam (clergyman)|William Haslam]] introduced Robert Pearsall Smith to a small meeting of [[Anglican]] clergymen held at Curzon Chapel, Mayfair, London. The first large-scale Higher Life meetings took place from July 17β23, 1874, at the [[Broadlands]] estate of [[William Cowper-Temple, 1st Baron Mount Temple|Lord]] and [[Georgina Cowper-Temple, Lady Mount Temple|Lady Mount Temple]], where the Higher Life was expounded in connection with spiritualism and [[Quaker]] teachings.<ref name="Chapter, Hannah Whitall Smith,"/> The meetings were held primarily for Christian students at Cambridge University. At the end of these meetings, [[Stevenson Arthur Blackwood|Arthur Blackwood]], president of the Church Missionary Society, suggested that another series of meetings for the promotion of holiness be conducted at [[Oxford]] later that summer. A convention for the promotion of holiness was held at [[Brighton]] from May 29-June 7, 1875. The American evangelist [[Dwight L. Moody]] 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. [[Robert Pearsall Smith]] was going to be the main speaker, but the public disclosure of his teaching a woman in a hotel bedroom that Spirit baptism was allegedly accompanied with sexual thrills led him to be disinvited from the meeting. Smith never recovered and having "lost his faith, withdrew from public gaze and spent most of the rest of his life as an invalid".<ref>BBC History Magazine, January 2011 p. 17; Notes on a scandal; Quotes from "Evangelism and Scandal in Victorian England" by MJD Roberts of Macquarie University.</ref> 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 Convention]] in 1875 at Saint John's Church in [[Keswick, Cumbria|Keswick]], which gave the name to the Keswickian theological tradition.<ref name="Combs2020"/> Over four hundred people met under the banner of βAll One in Christ Jesus.β British speakers included [[Church of England|Anglicans]], such as the J. W. Webb-Peploe, Evan H. Hopkins, and [[Handley Moule]], as well as [[Frederick Brotherton Meyer]],<ref>[http://faithsaves.net/f-b-meyer/ Chapter, "F. B. Meyer,"] in [http://faithsaves.net/soteriology/ The Doctrine of Sanctification: An Exegetical Examination, with Application, in Biblical, Historic Baptist Perspective, Thomas Ross, Ph. D. diss., Great Plains Baptist Divinity School, 2016]</ref> a [[Baptist]], and Robert Wilson, a [[Religious Society of Friends|Friend]]. An annual convention has met in Keswick ever since and has had worldwide influence on Christianity.<ref>[http://faithsaves.net/keswick-theology/ "The Background and History of the Keswick Convention and Keswick Theology], in [http://faithsaves.net/soteriology/ The Doctrine of Sanctification: An Exegetical Examination, with Application, in Biblical, Historic Baptist Perspective, Thomas Ross, Ph. D. diss., Great Plains Baptist Divinity School, 2016]</ref> Columbia Bible College and Seminary (now [[Columbia International University]]) 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." [[Albert Benjamin Simpson]], largely accepting a form Keswickian theology with his own distinctives, founded the [[Christian and Missionary Alliance]] denomination in 1897.<ref name="Wu2012"/><ref name="KnightIII"/><ref name="BurgessMaas2010"/><ref name="Kenyon2019"/><ref name="Murphy2018">{{cite book |last1=Murphy |first1=Karen |title=Pentecostals and Roman Catholics on Becoming a Christian: Spirit-Baptism, Faith, Conversion, Experience, and Discipleship in Ecumenical Perspective |date=23 May 2018 |publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishing]] |isbn=978-90-04-36786-9 |page=131 |language=English |quote=... the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA) ... accepted the Keswickian teaching over the Wesleyan-Holiness belief.}}</ref> Albert Benjamin Simpson departed from traditional Keswickian beliefs, however, in his view of progressive [[sanctification]] and rejection of suppressionism.<ref>Bernie A. Van De Walle, ''The Heart of the Gospel: A. B. Simpson, the Fourfold Gospel, and Late Nineteenth-Century Evangelical Theology'', Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2009, p. 93: "Despite similarities, Simpson's sanctification doctrine included its own distinctives, not duplicating either Keswick or Holiness soteriology", p. 94 : "Richard Gilbertson, like McGraw, distinguishes between Simpson's view of sanctification and those of Keswick and Wesleyanism: There have been frequent attempts to categorize Simpson and the C&MA. Often the assertion is made that Simpson held to a Keswick-type view of sanctification. More precisely, Simpson should be seen as having been influenced by Boardman's Higher Christian Life, a book which also impacted the Keswick movement. Other than an 1885 invitation to speak at one of their conferences, Simpson had little formal contact with the British Keswick movement.", p. 99: "Nevertheless, Simpson still held to a progressive understanding of sanctification, whereas Palmer believed that sanctification is received in some kind of terminal and complete form."</ref><ref>Gordon T. Smith, [http://awf.world/consult/gordon-t-smith-conversion-and-sanctification-in-the-christian-and-missionary-alliance/ Conversion and Sanctification in the Christian & Missionary Alliance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109073433/http://awf.world/consult/gordon-t-smith-conversion-and-sanctification-in-the-christian-and-missionary-alliance/ |date=2020-01-09 }}, awf.world, Brazil, 1992 : "He differed in some notable ways from the teachings of his contemporaries: he rejected the perfectionism of the Wesleyan-methodists; he did not accept the suppressionism of the Keswick movement." And "In these respects, the C&MA is distinct from the Keswick movement. The Alliance heritage is more life and work affirming. Our actions in the world do make a difference and are meaningful."</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=III |first1=Henry H. Knight |title=Anticipating Heaven Below: Optimism of Grace from Wesley to the Pentecostals |date=1 February 2014 |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers |isbn=978-1-63087-125-3 |pages=91β92 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UDpJAwAAQBAJ&q=Christian+Missionary+Alliance+distinct+Wesleyan&pg=PA91 |language=en |quote=It is the other christological strand, that of the indwelling Christ, that is the heart of the distinctive sanctification theology of A. B. Simpson. A Presbyterian who ultimately founded the Christian and Missionary Alliance, Simpson operates within a Keswick framework while also drawing upon Wesleyan ideals. Like Wesley, Simpson described sin as in the motive or intent of the heart most especially lack of love for God and neighbour. While he agrees with Keswick that we can't ever be freed from this sinful nature in this life, he insisted, as Van De Walle puts it, "the power of the resurrected Christ would more than enable the believer to consider the sin nature a vanquished foe and to behave as though it were.}}</ref> It emphasizes the role of [[Jesus Christ]] as Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King.<ref name="Lewis2001">{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=James R. |title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions |date=2001 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=978-1-61592-738-8 |page=165 |language=en}}</ref> In the 19th and 20th centuries, [[Dwight L. Moody|D. L. Moody]], [[Hannah Whitall Smith]], and [[R. A. Torrey]] preached Keswickian theology.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hayford |first1=Jack W. |last2=Moore |first2=S. David |title=The Charismatic Century: The Enduring Impact of the Azusa Street Revival |date=27 June 2009 |publisher=FaithWords |isbn=978-0-446-56235-5 |language=en |quote=Evangelist D.L. Moody was a proponent of the Kewsick movement along with others, including Hannah Whital Smith, whose book ''A Christian's Secret of a Happy Life'' is still read today by thousands. R. A. Torrey, an associate of Moody whose influence was rapidly increasing, championed Keswick's ideals and utilized the term "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" in reference to the experience.}}</ref> It was a strong influence on [[E. J. H. Nash]], who founded the influential [[Iwerne camps]] in the UK and cited Torrey as his theological mentor.<ref name=FE>{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Harriet A|title=Fundamentalism and Evangelicals|year=1998|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford|pages=146}}</ref><ref name=later>{{cite book|last=Dudley-Smith|first=Timothy|title=John Stott: A Global Ministry: A Biography of the Later Years|year=2001|publisher=IVP}}</ref>{{rp|34}}
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