The Nation’s Gospel, a four-volume series, tells the story of how the Christian faith has been spread in the lives of the British people since the Reformation, and identifies some of the factors that both progressed and retarded its influence. Revival to Reports (1900-1945), the third volume in the series – the first and second volumes having covered Reformation to Revolution (1516-1791) and Revolution to Revival (1791-1900) respectively. It is a detailed and accessible account of the church in Britain during the years 1900 to 1945, including the way in which it allowed itself to be moulded by the culture around it. Referring to the spiritual state of the nation, evangelist Thomas Waugh sadly observed that, “instead of the church evangelising the world, the world has had considerable success in secularising the church.” Liberalism and ritualism had divided Christians and weakened confidence in Biblical orthodoxy. As Jesus has said, a house divided will fall.
Consequently, secular philosophy, psychology, anthropology, socialism and atheistic literature had, as the author reveals, a devastating impact on the churches. Once a world power, Britain’s confidence in Protestantism – once widely seen as underpinning its national greatness – subsided. This was despite the fact that at the dawn of the century, there had been a rich heritage of evangelistic methodologies, institutions and resources to evangelise the nation. Indeed, since the first 50 years of the Christian era, there had not been so many consecrated men and women toiling for the salvation of others.
There were times of revival, such as during the Welsh Revival which was, alas, followed by the First World War, leaving in its wake human devastation and economic weakness. The damaging influence of Britain’s intellectual elite such as Shaw, Wells, Russell and Woolf in undermining Christianity cannot be overstated. Although afterwards, and by today’s standards, Christian activity abounded, the loss of confidence in the atonement took away the power from the gospel message. Meanwhile, some placed organisational unity above the gospel.
It was an increasingly depressing period spiritually, but there were rays of light as small groups of evangelicals recovered the gospel and established new patterns of ministry that bore fruit towards the end of the Second World War. Readers are introduced to some of the methods the church employed to share God’s immeasurably good news. The chapters are divided into discrete and concise subsections. There is a treasure trove of rich detail here to fuel reflection, mission and prayer.
As John Stevens – National Director of the FIEC – says in his commendation, this book will help to overcome widespread ignorance about the period, and also challenge evangelicals to learn from the mistakes that were made and the faithfulness a remnant displayed. History tends to repeat itself, and today we are living in a period of renewed gospel decline as the Church faces the onslaughts of post-modernism and liberal progressivism. This book should encourage us, as we remember that our forebears faced very similar intellectual and social challenges in their generation and challenge us not to be taken in by any strategy other than to believe, defend and proclaim the Biblical gospel. This history teaches us that all other options will end in spiritual ruin.
Jeremy Thomas became convinced of the truth of the Christian faith in the summer of 1981when, as a student, he listened to a sermon at All Souls Church, Langham Place, London – where he would later serve as a Deputy Churchwarden. He holds degrees from the University of London and Dalhousie University, Canada where he was a graduate fellow of the Schulich Law School. Having trained as a barrister and qualified as a solicitor, he spent much of his career as a partner in an international law firm and made numerous contributions to legal books and periodicals. He and his family are based in London. Until not standing for re-election in 2024, he was a member of the Bishop’s Council of the Diocese of London and the Two Cities Area Council for several trienniums.