Eighteenth-Century Evangelicalism

Abstract

After providing a working definition of eighteenth-century Scottish evangelicalism, this chapter suggests that after the Marrow controversy, while there was a reduced volume of publication, theological focus turned towards a practical, or experimental, emphasis on key doctrines. These included the relative values of natural and revealed religion, the priority among the divine attributes, the Atonement and salvation, the nature of faith, and as the century wore on, the nature of ‘saving faith’. This latter was a response to a growing awareness that while the population of Scotland overwhelmingly saw itself as Christian, there was a serious inconsistency between Christian profession and Christian lifestyle among the population. The central figures in this process, which probably antedated the Marrow controversy, are identified as Thomas Halyburton, Thomas Boston, John Willison, John Maclaurin, and John Erskine, although other lesser figures are mentioned. The chapter concludes with the suggestion that attention might now be directed to investigating possible connections between eighteenth-century Scottish evangelicalism and that of the nineteenth century.