Deeper shade of grey | Holiness

Current reading on an old topic

Phoebe Palmer is cropping up in my reading a lot recently. Several issues intrigue and excite me particularly how holiness was worked out through ‘actions of love’ particularly through the Five Points Mission in an inner city, deprived area of New York City.

I read this:

“Phoebe Palmer preached that holiness insures usefulness. These nineteenth-century followers of Wesley believed it was their duty as Christians to be useful. Holiness doctrine, with its emphasis on love, provided the basis for social holiness which is the Wesleyan/Holiness equivalent of the social gospel. The phrase “social holiness” is borrowed from Wesley who wrote: “The Gospel of Christ knows . . . of no holiness but social holiness.””

I’m also intrigued with Charles White’s book title on Phoebe Palmer:  Beauty of Holiness: Phoebe Palmer As Theologian, Revivalist, Feminist, and Humanitarian. White, C ( 1986).

The price on Amazon at £81 is a little off-putting!

I wonder whether Phoebe Palmer would align herself to Mike Riddell’s view that:

“True holiness will not keep us from the world, but drive us into it in faith.” Riddell.M (1998)

Ever increasing conversations about holiness can be nothing but helpful. Mission makes sense of holiness in the same way that holiness make sense of mission so it seems a shame to me that sometimes such contemporary thought on holiness can remain a tad partial.

Writer: Capt. Gordon Cotterill lives in London, England, is married to Kate and has two daughters Bethan and Eryn. He has been a Salvation Army officer for ten years and ‘cut his teeth’ in ministry with his wife as the corps officers at Poplar in the East End of London. The lessons he learned there in his day-to-day ministry, amid the chaos of the inner city, continue to shape his understanding and passion for biblical and grace-centred mission. His latest appointment as Spiritual Programme Director at the William Booth College, London now offers him the opportunity for the fusion and exploration of ‘mission’ and ’spiritual formation’ while trying to inspire a new generation of Salvation Army officers as to their role in God’s plan for His creation. Gordon keeps a blog where he mulls over themes of mostly, mission and spiritual formation.

1 Comment to Deeper shade of grey | Holiness

1. напишу и у себя в блоге
Стас on December 11th, 2008

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