TheHoliness movement is aChristian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-centuryMethodism,[1][2] and to a lesser extent influenced other traditions, such asQuakerism,Anabaptism, andRestorationism.[3][4] Churches aligned with the holiness movement teach that the life of aborn again Christian should be free ofsin.[5][6] The movement is historically distinguished by its emphasis on the doctrine of asecond work of grace,[7][8] which is called entire sanctification orChristian perfection.[9][10] The wordHoliness refers specifically to this belief in entire sanctification as an instantaneous, definite second work of grace, in which original sin is cleansed, the heart is made perfect in love, and the believer is empowered to serve God.[11] For the Holiness movement, "the term 'perfection' signifies completeness of Christian character; its freedom from all sin, and possession of all the graces of the Spirit, complete in kind."[12] A number of Christian denominations,parachurch organizations, and movements emphasize those Holiness beliefs as central doctrine.[13][14]
In addition to the regular holding ofchurch services in the morning and evening of theLord's Day, and usually having a midweek Wednesday church service,[15] within parts of denominations or entire denominations aligned with the holiness movement,camp meetings andtent revivals are organized throughout the year—especially in the summertime. These are aimed at preaching theNew Birth (first work of grace) and entire sanctification (second work of grace), along with callingbacksliders to repentance.[16] Churches in the holiness tradition emphasize a sober lifestyle, especially with regard to clean speech,modesty, andteetotalism.[15]
The Holiness movement believes that the "second work of grace" (or "second blessing") refers to a personal experience subsequent toregeneration, in which the believer is cleansed fromoriginal sin.[17] It was actually upon this doctrine, the attainment of complete freedom from sin, that the movement was built.[18]
"In this line of thinking, a person is first saved, at which point he is justified and born again. Following this, he experiences a period of growth...This ultimately culminates in a second work of grace whereby theHoly Spirit cleanses his heart of original sin, eradicating all inbred sin. The Holy Spirit then imparts His indwelling presence, empowering the believer...This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It happens instantaneously as the believer presents himself or herself as a living sacrifice to God with an attitude of full consecration," and faith.[19]
John Wesley, who articulated the doctrine, taught that those who had been entirely sanctified would be perfect in love, engaging inworks of piety andworks of mercy—both of which are characteristic of a believer'sgrowing in grace.[20][21]
The First General Holiness Assembly's 1885 Declaration of Principles, which explained:
"Entire Sanctification... is that great work wrought subsequent to regeneration, by the Holy Ghost, upon the sole condition of faith...such faith being preceded by an act of solemn and complete consecration. This work has these distinct elements:
- The entire extinction of the carnal mind, the total eradication of the birth principle of sin
- The communication of perfect love to the soul...
- The abiding indwelling of the Holy Ghost".[22]
TheChurch of the Nazarene, a large Wesleyan-Holiness denomination in the Methodist tradition, explains that:
"We believe that entire sanctification is that act of God, subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from original sin, or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement to God, and the holy obedience of love made perfect.[citation needed]
It is wrought by the baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit, and comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and the abiding, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the believer for life and service.[citation needed]
Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by grace through faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness.[citation needed]
This experience is also known by various terms representing its different phases, such as "Christian perfection", "perfect love", "heart purity", "the baptism with or infilling of the Holy Spirit", "the fullness of the blessing", and "Christian holiness".[23]
According to Stephen S. White, a noted Holiness scholar from the mid-1900s, there are "five cardinal elements" in the doctrine of entire sanctification:
This experience ofentire sanctification orPerfection is generally identified with the filling of or the baptism of the Holy Ghost, the term used by Methodism's systematic theologianJohn William Fletcher.[17] As such, entire sanctification is also known in the Methodist tradition asBaptism with the Holy Spirit.[10][25] Fletcher emphasized that the experience of entire sanctification, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, cleanses the believer oforiginal sin and empowers the believer for service to God.[26]John Swanel Inskip, a minister in theMethodist Episcopal Church, explained, "There is, however, one doctrine, in a great measure peculiar to Methodism. It is that, in which we teach the possibility of man attaining a state of grace in the present life, in which he will be made free from sin."[27]
Reflecting this inward holiness, denominations aligned with the holiness movement have emphasized modesty and sobriety. However, the terminology used to define this varies with the tradition (e.g., Methodist versus Quaker versus Anabaptist). Holiness Methodists, who make up the bulk of the Holiness Movement, have emphasized the Wesleyan-Arminian doctrineoutward holiness, which includes practices such as the wearing of modest clothing and not usingprofanity in speech. Holiness Quakers have emphasized the Friends teaching ontestimony of simplicity. Holiness Anabaptists, such asHoliness River Brethren andHoliness Mennonites, have upheld their belief innonconformity to the world.[28]
Holiness adherents also hold to a distinctive definition of (actual) sin. They believe that "only conscious sins are truly sins."[29] Historian Charles Jones explained, "Believing that sin was conscious disobedience to a known law of God, holiness believers were convinced that the true Christian, having repented of every known act of sin, did not and could not willfully sin again and remain a Christian."[30] Historian Benjamin Pettit described the approach of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement as:
1. "The person who sins is not a Christian but a sinner.[citation needed]
2. When a person is saved, he is out of the sin business (may but must not sin).[citation needed]
3. The sinner must repent and be restored to his lost relationship with God.[citation needed]
4. To sin results in spiritual death."[31]
In his study of this question, Caleb Black concluded that "the consensus understanding of sin in the Holiness tradition is that sin is an avoidable, voluntary, morally responsible act that those born of God do not commit."[32] Put simply, Holiness adherents adhere to the definition of sin, as explained by Wesley himself.
"Nothing is sin, strictly speaking, but a voluntary transgression of a known law of God. Therefore, every voluntary breach of the law of love is sin; and nothing else, if we speak properly. To strain the matter farther is only to make way for Calvinism."[33]
Dr. Timothy Cooley explained, "If this definition is compromised, victorious Christian living becomes meaningless, and entire sanctification an impossibility."[34] "The definition and consequences of sin are a key theological distinctive of the Holiness Movement as it underlies their entire theological system. To differ on the conception of sin is to destroy the foundation of holiness theology."[32]
With this definition of sin, Holiness adherents believe that while Christians may fall into sin, they also have the God-given power to avoid sin and, in this sense, be free from sin. Furthermore, not only does God enable this obedience, but he also requires it. One of the movement's founders, J. A. Wood, explains, "The lowest type of a Christian sinneth not, and is not condemned. The minimum of salvation is salvation from sinning. The maximum is salvation from pollution—the inclination to sin."[35] Another founder, C. J. Fowler, explains that "We teach that regeneration does not allow the committing of conscious sin."[36]
Harry Jessop warns, "It should ever be born in mind that believers cannot commit sin without forfeiting justification."[37] The founder of theChurch of God (Anderson, Indiana),D. S. Warner, explains, "Holiness writers and teachers, as far as my knowledge extends, uniformly hold up a sinless life, as the true test and Bible standard of regeneration."[5] This doctrine follows in the footsteps of Wesley, who wrote, "If a believer wilfully sins, he casts away his faith. Neither is it possible he should have justifying faith again, without previously repenting."[38]
Denominations aligned with the Holiness movement believe the moral aspects of the law of God are pertinent for today, and adherents obey teachings regarding modesty, clean speech, and sober living.[39] Consequently, members of the Holiness movement readily apply Scriptural lifestyle commands to their lives and view them as generally binding today, and apply these principles in numerous different ways.[40] "Holiness churches have been distinguished from other churches by their more careful lifestyle. Many churches and denominations in the Holiness movement prohibit smoking, drinking, dancing, listening to inappropriate worldly music, or wearing makeup or flashy clothes."[41]
Christian denominations aligned with the holiness movement all share a belief in the doctrine ofChristian perfection (entire sanctification). Apart from this, denominations identified with the holiness movement differ on several issues, given that Methodist, Quaker, Anabaptist, and Restorationist churches comprise the holiness movement, and these denominations have unique doctrines and theologies.[42] Methodist denominations that are a part of the holiness movement, such as theFree Methodist Church orMissionary Methodist Church, affirm the celebration of thesacraments, chieflyHoly Baptism andHoly Communion. Denominations of theQuaker tradition, such as theCentral Yearly Meeting of Friends, are entirely non-sacramental.[42]
Anabaptist denominations aligned with the holiness movement, such as theApostolic Christian Church, teach the observance ofordinances, such ascommunion,headcovering andfootwashing.[43] While the Methodist denominations of the holiness movement hold tochurch membership, such as theLumber River Conference of the Holiness Methodist Church, the concept of membership rolls is rejected in holiness denominations of a Restorationist background, such as theChurch of God (Anderson, Indiana).[44]
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Though it became a multi-denominational movement over time and was furthered by theSecond Great Awakening which energized churches of all stripes,[45] the bulk of Holiness movement has its roots inJohn Wesley andMethodism.[46]
The Holiness movement traces their roots back toJohn Wesley,Charles Wesley,John Fletcher, and the Methodists of the 18th century. The Methodists of the 19th century continued the interest in Christian holiness that had been started by their founder,John Wesley inEngland.[47] They continued to publish Wesley's works and tracts, including his famousA Plain Account of Christian Perfection. From 1788 to 1808, the entire text ofA Plain Account was placed in theDiscipline manual of theMethodist Episcopal Church (U.S.), and numerous persons in early American Methodism professed the experience of entire sanctification, includingBishop Francis Asbury. TheMethodists during this period placed a strong emphasis on holy living, and their concept of entire sanctification.
By the 1840s, a new emphasis on Holiness andChristian perfection began within American Methodism, brought about in large part by the revivalism andcamp meetings of theSecond Great Awakening (1790–1840).[49]
Two major Holiness leaders during this period were Methodist preacherPhoebe Palmer and her husband, Dr. Walter Palmer. In 1835, Palmer's sister,Sarah A. Lankford, started holding Tuesday Meetings for the Promotion of Holiness in her New York City home. In 1837, Palmer experienced what she called entire sanctification and had become the leader of the Tuesday Meetings by 1839. At first only women attended these meetings, but eventually Methodist bishops and hundreds of clergy and laymen began to attend as well. At the same time, Methodist minister Timothy Merritt of Boston founded a journal called theGuide to Christian Perfection, later renamedThe Guide to Holiness. This was the first American periodical dedicated exclusively to promoting the doctrine of Christian holiness.[50] In 1865, the Palmers purchasedThe Guide which at its peak had a circulation of 30,000. In New York City, Palmer met withAmanda Smith, a preacher in theAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church who testified that she becameentirely sanctified in 1868 and then began to preach Christian holiness throughout the world.[48]
Also representative was the revivalism of Rev.James Caughey, an American missionary sent by theWesleyan Methodist Church to work inOntario, Canada from the 1840s through 1864. He brought in the converts by the score, most notably in the revivals in Canada West 1851–53. His technique combined restrained emotionalism with a clear call for personal commitment, thus bridging the rural style of camp meetings and the expectations of more "sophisticated" Methodist congregations in the emerging cities.[51]Phoebe Palmer's ministry complemented Caughey's revivals in Ontario circa 1857.[52]Jarena Lee of theAfrican Methodist Episcopal Church andJulia A. J. Foote of theAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion Church aligned themselves with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement and preached the doctrine of entire sanctification throughout the pulpits of their connexions.[48]
While many holiness proponents stayed in the mainline Methodist Churches, such asHenry Clay Morrison who became president ofAsbury College and Theological Seminary, at least two major Holiness Methodist denominations broke away from mainline Methodism during this period. In 1843, Orange Scott organized theWesleyan Methodist Connection (an antecedent of theWesleyan Church, as well as theAllegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection and theBible Methodist Connection of Churches) at Utica, New York. The major reason for the foundation of the Wesleyan Methodist Church was their emphasis on the abolition of slavery.[53]
In 1860, B.T. Roberts and John Wesley Redfield founded theFree Methodist Church on the ideals ofslavery abolition,egalitarianism, and second-blessing holiness.[52] In 1900, theLumber River Conference of the Holiness Methodist Church was organized to minister toNative Americans, especially theLumbee tribe.[54] Advocacy for the poor remained a hallmark of these and other Methodist offshoots. Some of these offshoots would currently be more specifically identified as part of theConservative holiness movement, a group that would represent the more conservative branch of the movement.
At the Tuesday Meetings, Methodists soon enjoyed fellowship with Christians of different denominations, including theCongregationalistThomas Upham. Upham was the first man to attend the meetings, and his participation in them led him to studymystical experiences, looking to find precursors of Holiness teaching in the writings of persons like German PietistJohann Arndt and the Roman Catholic mysticMadame Guyon.
Baptists who have embraced the second work of grace have founded their own denominations, such as theOhio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God. TheOriginal Church of God and theChurch of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A. were founded by Baptist ministers, including Charles W. Gray andCharles Price Jones, who embraced the doctrine of entire sanctification.
Other non-Methodists also contributed to the Holiness movement in the U.S. and in England. "New School" Calvinists such asAsa Mahan, the first president ofOberlin College, andCharles Grandison Finney, anevangelist associated with the college and later its second president, promoted the idea of Christian holiness and slavery abolition, whichWesleyan Methodists also supported. In 1836, Mahan experienced what he called abaptism with the Holy Spirit. Mahan believed that this experience had cleansed him from the desire and inclination to sin. Finney believed that this experience might provide a solution to a problem he observed during his evangelistic revivals. Some people claimed to experience conversion but then slipped back into their old ways of living. Finney believed that the filling with the Holy Spirit could help these converts to continue steadfast in their Christian life. This phase of the Holiness movement is often referred to as the Oberlin-Holiness revival.[55]
PresbyterianWilliam Boardman promoted the idea of Holiness through his evangelistic campaigns and through his bookThe Higher Christian Life, which was published in 1858, which was a zenith point in Holiness activity prior to a lull brought on by the American Civil War.
Many adherents of theReligious Society of Friends (Quakers) stressedGeorge Fox's doctrine ofPerfectionism (which is analogous to the Methodist doctrine of entire sanctification). These Holiness Quakers formedYearly Meetings such as theCentral Yearly Meeting of Friends.[9] Around the same period,Hannah Whitall Smith, an English Quaker, experienced a profound personal conversion. Sometime in the 1860s, she found what she called the "secret" of the Christian life—devoting one's life wholly to God and God's simultaneous transformation of one's soul. Her husband,Robert Pearsall Smith, had a similar experience at the camp meeting in 1867. The couple became figureheads in the now-famousKeswick Convention that gave rise to what is often called the Keswick-Holiness revival, which became distinct from the holiness movement.[56]
Among Anabaptists, theBrethren in Christ Church (as well as theCalvary Holiness Church that later split from it) emerged inLancaster County as a denomination ofRiver Brethren who adoptedRadical Pietistic teaching, which "emphasized spiritual passion and a warm, personal relationship to Jesus Christ."[57][58] They teach "the necessity of a crisis-conversion experience" as well as the existence of asecond work of grace that "results in the believer resulting in the ability to say no to sin".[57] These Holiness Anabaptist denominations emphasize thewearing of a headcovering by women,plain dress,temperance,footwashing, andpacifism.[59] Founded bySamuel Heinrich Fröhlich, theApostolic Christian Church (Nazarene) is an Anabaptist denomination aligned with the holiness movement, thus being "distinguished by its emphasis on entire sanctifiation".[60]Mennonites who were impacted by Radical Pietism and the teaching of holiness founded theMissionary Church, a holiness church in the Anabaptist tradition.[a]
General Baptists who embraced belief in the second work of grace established their own denominations, such as theHoliness Baptist Association (founded in 1894) and theOhio Valley Association of the Christian Baptist Churches of God (formed in 1931).
Following theAmerican Civil War, many Holiness proponents—most of them Methodists—became nostalgic for the heyday of camp meeting revivalism during the Second Great Awakening.
The first distinct "Holinesscamp meeting" convened atVineland, New Jersey in 1867 under the leadership ofJohn Swanel Inskip, John A. Wood, Alfred Cookman, and other Methodist ministers. The gathering attracted as many as 10,000 people. At the close of the encampment, while the ministers were on their knees in prayer, they formed the National Camp Meeting Association for the Promotion of Holiness, and agreed to conduct a similar gathering the next year. This organization was commonly known as the National Holiness Association. Later, it became known as the Christian Holiness Association and subsequently theChristian Holiness Partnership.[61]
The second National Camp Meeting was held atManheim, Pennsylvania, and drew upwards of 25,000 persons from all over the nation. People called it a "Pentecost". The service on Monday evening has almost become legendary for its spiritual power and influence. The third National Camp Meeting met atRound Lake, New York. This time the national press attended and write-ups appeared in numerous papers, including a large two-page pictorial inHarper's Weekly. These meetings made instant religious celebrities out of many of the workers. "By the 1880s holiness was the most powerful doctrinal movement in America and seemed to be carrying away all opposition both within the Methodist Church and was quickly spreading throughout many other denominations."[62] This was not without objection. "The leaders of the National Camp Meeting Association for the Promotion of Holiness generally opposed 'come-outism,'...They urged believers in entire sanctification and Christian perfection to remain in their denominations and to work within them to promote holiness teaching and general spiritual vitality."[63]
Though distinct from the mainstream Holiness movement, the fervor of the Keswick-Holiness revival in the 1870s swept Great Britain, where it was sometimes called thehigher life movement after the title of William Boardman's bookThe Higher Life. Higher life conferences were held atBroadlands andOxford in 1874 and inBrighton andKeswick in 1875. The Keswick Convention soon became the British headquarters for this movement. The Faith Mission in Scotland was another consequence of the British Holiness movement. Another was a flow of influence from Britain back to the United States: In 1874,Albert Benjamin Simpson read Boardman'sHigher Christian Life and felt the need for such a life himself. Simpson went on to found theChristian and Missionary Alliance.[64]
American Holiness associations began to form as an outgrowth of this new wave of camp meetings, such as the Western Holiness Association—first of the regional associations that prefigured "come-outism"—formed at Bloomington, Illinois. In 1877, several "general holiness conventions" met in Cincinnati and New York City.[52]
In 1871, the American evangelistDwight L. Moody had what he called an "endowment with power" as a result of some soul-searching and the prayers of two Free Methodist women who attended one of his meetings. He did not join the Wesleyan-Holiness movement but maintained a belief in progressive sanctification which his theological descendants still hold to.[65]
While the great majority of Holiness proponents remained within the three major denominations of the mainlineMethodist church, Holiness people from other theological traditions established standalone bodies. In 1881,D. S. Warner started the Evening Light Reformation, out of which was formed theChurch of God (Anderson, Indiana), bringingRestorationism to the Holiness family.[66] The Church of God Reformation Movement held that "interracial worship was a sign of the true Church", with both whites and blacks ministering regularly in Church of God congregations, which invited people of all races to worship there.[67] Those who wereentirely sanctified testified that they were "saved, sanctified, and prejudice removed."[67] Though outsiders would sometimes attack Church of God services and camp meetings for their stand for racial equality, Church of God members were "undeterred even by violence" and "maintained their strong interracial position as the core of their message of the unity of all believers".[67]
In the 1890s,Edwin Harvey and Marmaduke Mendenhall Farson started theMetropolitan Methodist Mission which became known as theMetropolitan Church Association; it taughtcommunal living, holding that "material possessions could be idols that might threaten one's sanctification experience" and that "while people who do not have the Holy Spirit may give, those who do give all."[68]
Palmer'sThe Promise of the Father, published in 1859, which argued in favor of women in ministry,[69] later influencedCatherine Booth, co-founder of theSalvation Army. The practice of ministry by women is common but not universal within the denominations of the Holiness movement. The founding of the Salvation Army in 1878 helped to rekindle Holiness sentiment in the cradle of Methodism—a fire kept lit byPrimitive Methodists and other British descendants of Wesley andGeorge Whitefield in prior decades.[70]
Overseas missions emerged as a central focus of the Holiness people. As one example of this world evangelism thrust,Pilgrim Holiness Church founderMartin Wells Knapp, who also founded theRevivalist in 1883, the Pentecostal Revival League and Prayer League, the Central Holiness League 1893, the International Holiness Union and Prayer League, andGod's Bible School and College, saw much success in Korea, Japan, China, India, South Africa and South America. Methodist mission work in Japan led to the creation of theOne Mission Society, one of the largest missionary-sending Holiness agencies in the world. Another such missionary organization,World Gospel Mission, originated out of the Missionary Department of theNational Association for the Promotion of Holiness, continuing to receive support from Free Methodist, Global Methodist, Nazarene and Wesleyan congregations.[71]
Though many Holiness preachers, camp meeting leaders, authors, and periodical editors were Methodists, this was not universally popular with Methodist leadership. Out of the four million Methodists in the United States during the 1890s, probably one-third to one-half were committed to the idea ofentire sanctification as being brought about instantaneously.[72][73]
An opponent of the Holiness movement within Methodism named Daniel Whedon, a newsletter editor, claimed that "they are not Wesleyan. We believe that a living Wesley would never admit them to the Methodist system."[63] Methodist proponents of the Holiness Movement fiercely resisted this accusation, and defended their doctrine from Wesley's own words.[74][75] One of the founders of the camp meeting association,[76] J. A. Wood, defended his doctrine with an extensive survey of Wesley's doctrine of Christian Perfection, entitledChristian Perfection as Taught by John Wesley.[77] In this book, he spent several hundred pages exclusively quoting Wesley in defense of the Holiness Movement's view of entire sanctification.[74]
The Holiness Movement was able to defend its doctrine so well that historian Melvin Dieter comments that "The holiness movement was 'so closely identified with traditional Methodism and Wesleyan doctrine and life that Methodist opponents of the revival were forced to distance themselves from Wesley and the standard authors of prevailing Methodist theology to re-solve the struggle with the holiness elements within the church.'"[78][79] Even still "The leaders of the National Camp Meeting Association for the Promotion of Holiness generally opposed "come-outism",...They urged believers in entire sanctification and Christian perfection to remain in their denominations and to work within them to promote holiness teaching and general spiritual vitality."[63]
Southern Methodist ministerB. F. Haynes wrote in his book,Tempest-Tossed on Methodist Seas, about his decision to leave the Methodist church and join what would becomeChurch of the Nazarene. In it, he described the bitter divisions within the Methodist church over the Holiness movement, including verbal assaults made on Holiness movement proponents at the 1894 conference.[80][81] This tension reached a head at the 1898 conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, when it passed rule 301:
Any traveling or local preacher, or layman, who shall hold public religious services within the bounds of any mission, circuit, or station, when requested by the preacher in charge not to hold such services, shall be deemed guilty of imprudent conduct, and shall be dealt with as the law provides in such cases.[82]
Many Holiness evangelists and traveling ministers found it difficult to continue their ministry under this new rule—particularly in mainline Methodist charges and circuits that were unfriendly to the Holiness movement. In the years that followed, scores of new Holiness Methodist associations were formed—many of these "come-outer" associations and various parties alienated by certain parts ofMainline Methodism consolidated to form new denominations (e.g., theFree Methodist Church, theWesleyan Methodist Church, theSalvation Army and theChurch of the Nazarene).
Other Holiness Methodists (the "stay-inners") remained within the mainline Methodist Churches, such asH. C. Morrison who became the first president ofAsbury Theological Seminary, a prominent university of the holiness movement that remains influential among holiness adherents in Methodism.[83]
Those who left mainline Methodist churches to form Holiness denominations during this time numbered no more than 100,000.[72]
Throughout the early 20th century, week-longrevival campaigns with local churches, and revival elements brought into the worship service, carried on the tradition of camp meetings.
Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement competed for the loyalties of Holiness advocates (see related section below), and a separateHoliness Pentecostal movement was born that taught three works of grace: (1) New Birth, (2) entire sanctification, (3) speaking in tongues. This new dichotomy gradually dwindled the population of the mainstream of the Holiness movement.
Some Holiness advocates found themselves at home withFundamentalism and later theEvangelical movement. It was during this time (1939) that the Methodist Episcopal Church (North and South) and theMethodist Protestant Church merged to form The Methodist Church. This merger created a Mainline Christian organization which made remaining Holiness elements within U.S. Methodism less influential.
Cultural shifts following World War II resulted in a further division in the Holiness movement.
Not content with what they considered to be a lax attitude toward sin, several small groups left Holiness denominations of the Methodist tradition, and to a lesser extentQuaker, Anabaptist and Restorationist denominations, to form theconservative holiness movement. Staunch defenders ofBiblical inerrancy, they stressmodesty in dress andrevivalistic worship practices. They identify with classical Fundamentalism more so than Evangelicalism.[84] While some have pointed out that the broader holiness movement has declined in its original strong emphasis of the doctrine of entire sanctification,[85] the conservative holiness movement still frequently promotes,[86] preaches,[87] and teaches this definition of holiness and entire sanctification, both at the scholarly level,[88] and in pastoral teaching.[89]
As theHoliness Conservatives were distancing themselves even further, Mainline Methodism was becoming larger with the merger between The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, forming theUnited Methodist Church in 1968. A slow trickle of disaffected Holiness-friendly United Methodists left for Holiness movement denominations. Other Holiness advocates stayed in the United Methodist Church and are represented in the Good News Movement andConfessing Movement. These movements eventually led to the creation of theGlobal Methodist Church.[83] Many United Methodist clergy, and now Global Methodist clergy, in the holiness tradition are educated atAsbury Theological Seminary.[83]
Meanwhile, the bulk of the Wesleyan-Holiness churches began to developed a disdain for what they considered to belegalism, and gradually dropped prohibitions against dancing and theater patronage, while maintaining rules against gambling, as well as alcohol and tobacco use. Continued stances on the sanctity of marriage and abstinence matched similar convictions. In the 1970s, opposition to abortion became a recurring theme, and by the 1990s statements against practicinghomosexuality were increasingly common. A devotion to charity work continued, particularly through the Salvation Army and other denominational andparachurch agencies.
Faced with a growing identity crisis and continually dwindling numbers,[90] Wesleyan-Holiness Evangelicals have hosted several inter-denominational conferences and begun several initiatives to draw a clearer distinction between Wesleyan theology and that of other Evangelicals and to explore how to address contemporary social issues and appear winsome to a "post-modern world".[91][92] As one such example, in 2006 theWesleyan Holiness Consortium published "The Holiness Manifesto" in conjunction with representatives from historic Holiness Methodist denominations, including the Free Methodist Church, United Methodist Church, Wesleyan Church, and the Church of the Nazarene.[93]
The divide between classical Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism became greater following the9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. by militant Muslim fundamentalists—as the term "fundamental" became associated with intolerance and aggressive attitudes. Several Evangelical Holiness groups and publications have denounced the term "fundamentalist" (preferring Evangelical) while others are reconciling to what extent the Fundamentalist movement of the 1920s remains a part of their history.[94][95][96]
The Church of the Nazarene, the Wesleyan Church, and the Free Methodist Church were the largest Wesleyan-Evangelical Holiness bodies as of 2015. Talks of a merger were tabled,[97] but new cooperatives such as the Global Wesleyan Alliance were formed as the result of inter-denominational meetings.[98]
TheGlobal Methodist Church consists of a large number of traditionalists, including those aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement.[99] TheBook of Discipline of the Global Methodist Church thus teaches that "a life of holiness or 'entire sanctification' should be the goal of each individual's journey with God."[100][101] After its establishment,Asbury Theological Seminary, a flagship institution of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement, signed a church planting partnership with the Global Methodist Church.[102]
At this point the legacy of the Holiness Movement is fragmented between the more conservative branch (cf.conservative holiness movement),[103] attempting to maintain and revive historic Holiness doctrine and practice, and others more willing to move beyond the doctrine and tradition of the past.
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The main roots of the Holiness movement are as follows:
The traditional Holiness movement is distinct from theHoliness Pentecostal movement, the latter of which believes that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is athird work of grace of empowerment that involves supernatural manifestations such asspeaking in unknown tongues. On the other hand, the holiness movement views entire sanctification and baptism with the Holy Spirit synonymously, being thesecond work of grace that empowers the believer to serve God with an undivided heart.[25][104]
Many of the early Pentecostals (known as Holiness Pentecostals) originated from the Holiness movement, and to this dayHoliness Pentecostals maintain the belief in a first work of grace (New Birth) and second work of grace (entire sanctification). However, Holiness Pentecostals teach a third work of grace, being empowered with the manifestation of speaking in tongues. This concept of a third work of grace is rejected by the holiness movement. Several of the Holiness Pentecostal denominations include the word "Holiness" in their names, including theCalvary Holiness Association andPentecostal Holiness Church, among others.
The termspentecostal andapostolic, now used by adherents to Pentecostal and charismatic doctrine, were once widely used by Holiness churches in connection with the consecrated lifestyle they see described in theNew Testament. Denomnations of the holiness movement, however, started to use these terms less as Holiness Pentecostal churches used them more, e.g. theApostolic Faith Church.
During theAzusa Street Revival, often considered the advent of Pentecostalism, the practice of speaking in tongues was strongly rejected by leaders of the traditional Holiness movement.Alma White, the leader of thePillar of Fire Church, a Holiness Methodist denomination, wrote a book against the Pentecostal movement that was published in 1936. The work, entitledDemons and Tongues, represented early rejection of the tongues-speaking Pentecostal movement. White called speaking in tongues "satanic gibberish" and Pentecostal services "the climax of demon worship".[105] However, some contemporary Holiness churches (such as those networking with Aldersgate Renewal Ministries) now believe in the legitimacy of speaking in unknown tongues, but not as a sign of baptism with the Holy Spirit as Holiness Pentecostals teach. Others, such as thePilgrim Holiness Church, maintain the historic rejection of speaking in tongues.[25]
There are an estimated 78 million classical Pentecostals, and 510 million assorted Charismatics who share a heritage or common beliefs with the Pentecostal movement. If the Holiness movement and Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians were counted together, the total population would be around 600 million.[106]
Several organizations and programs exist to promote the Holiness movement, plan missions, and promote ecumenism among churches:
The Holiness movement led to the formation and further development of several Christian denominations and associations. Below are denominations that substantially adhere to Holiness movement doctrine. Though denominations of theConservative Holiness movement affirm the same beliefs, they are more strict in practice and are not included here (seelist).Holiness Pentecostal bodies are not included, as they affirm a third work of grace—a belief vehemently rejected by the Holiness movement:
Many institutions of higher learning exist to promote Holiness ideas, as well as to provide a liberal arts education.[107]
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the Holiness Movement developed rapidly within Methodist churches in America. The Holiness Movement upheld the doctrine of entire sanctification, which emphasized the instantaneous character of this second blessing as a "second definite work of grace."
The Methodists were also first to coin the phrase baptism of the Holy Spirit as applied to a second and sanctifying grace (experience) of God. (Cf. John Fletcher of Madeley, Methodism's earliest formal theologian.) The Methodists meant by their "baptism" something different from the Pentecostals, but the view that this is an experience of grace separate from and after salvation was the same.
Perhaps Wesley's favorite description of his own calling and that of Methodism was to "spread scriptural holiness." He and his helpers preaced "entire sanctification" or "Christian perfection" understood as the single-hearted love of God and neighbor. The twin vehicles and expressions of such love were "works of piety" (prayer, fasting, searching the Scriptures, partaking of the Lord's Supper as "means of grace") and "works of mercy" ("doing good unto all men, to their souls and to their bodies"): "God works [in you]; therefore youcan work. God works [in you]; therefore youmust work."
Christian Perfection is "holiness of heart and life." It is "walking the talk." John Wesley expected Methodists to do not only "works of piety" but "works of mercy"--both of these fused together put a Christian on the path to perfection in love.
Formed in 1926, Central Yearly Meeting [of Quakers] is part of the Conservative Holiness Movement and consists of a small number of Monthly Meetings in Arkansas, Indiana, North Carolina, and Ohio.
In each place, the Church of God consisted of the wholly sanctified living out the divine command under the Scripture-mandated name. No membership roll had to be kept, for true saints recognized one another.
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