Arnold A. Dallimore

I picked up this book not knowing whether or not it was in favour of the charismatic movement. It tells the life of Edward Irving who lived in England in the early 1800's. Irving was seen as a radical in his day and came to prominence in ministry due to his flair and use of complicated language. It seems the intellectuals and professionals flocked to hear him preach due to his style alone. But sadly the content of his messages was lacking and in time this became evident. His published works show more did not receive much acclaim due to people being unable to understand them! Despite that he built up a large following and his success definitely went to his head.

Irving is seen as the "forerunner of the Charismatic movement." It was interesting to note that at the time of his appearance the charismatic gifts were basically unknown having died out centuries before. Irving believed that there would be a revival of these gifts in response to fervent prayer. He consistently preached on this topic and in time there was an outbreak. However, many of those involved later turned their back on the movement recognising it as having been of the flesh, or in some cases even the devil. Irving himself prayed persistently for the gifts of tongues and prophecy but failed to receive them. He refused to take part in the "how to speak in tongues" sessions that were taking place believing that if it was a truly supernatural gift it would occur apart from human effort. Many of the prophecies spoken failed to come true and others were unclear.

Irving's life and ministry were dogged by accusations of heresy due to his inconsistent and vague doctrinal statements about Jesus' humanity/Deity. He was believed to be preaching that Christ was sinful in the manner of Adam, or at least capable of sinning--that it was through His resistance of temptation and His having lived a perfect life that He was able to save others from their sins. Rather than through His death on the cross in the place of sinners. His attempts to clarify his position on this crucial issue fell short and he was eventually removed from office.

Despite his erroneous beliefs and radical practice, he was loved by many prominent believers of his day due to his sincerity. It appears that he was honestly mistaken rather than deliberately misleading people. The application of his beliefs not only harmed those that he was preaching to but also him personally--he believed that sickness and death were always the result of sin and God's judgement. He lost several children to sickness and spent a lot of time seeking to understand the reasons.

This was a fascinating and easy read. It had obviously been written from the perspective of a non-charismatic and conservative viewpoint. Having said that, it appears to be well researched and as it is a biographical account I believe that it is likely to be reliable. The author gives credit where it is due.

To sum up Irving's life and ministry I would use one word, confused. For that reason I find it difficult to understand why any contemporary charismatics would want to associate themselves with his life and ministry. The book is a picture of strange charismatic phenomenon that, in the main, are not in accordance with Scripture and lead in various unsavoury directions. If this was the birth of the modern charismatic movement it could explain some of the unbiblical things happening today.

This is an important book which should remind us all why we need to stick to Scripture and ensure that our worship and church practices are acceptable to God. I recommend this book for all Christian readers who are interested in church history. show less

After spending more than 1200 pages with a man, you feel like you know him quite well. Dallimore has set the standard for me as I read biographers and I would venture to guess that this book has permanently shaped my expectations as to the detail with which an author seeking to write the definitive biography, should write with. Dallimore shines in the details. I think that I read somewhere that he spent 30 years in preparation for this work and if that is true, I'd believe it. He seems to show more have read every imaginable primary and secondary source and brought in so much evidence for his arguments that this work will likely never be topped. I feel like I went with Whitefield on every single ministry circuit, read every one of his letters, and knew each one of his friends. Dallimore's contribution is remarkable.The danger in reading the biographies of such extraordinary humans is discouragement. Whitefield is probably the most extraordinary man I've ever heard of. His unique ministerial gifts, his gospel energy, and the holiness of his life make him feel superhuman to me and I find it quite difficult to relate to him. I attribute most of this simply to the fact that God gifted him in extraordinary ways. Yet, I also direct a modest portion of blame towards the author. My largest disappointment with this work is that though the author acknowledged numerous faults possessed by Whitefield, it often felt as if he did it only out of obligation. On pp 519-20 of vol. II Dallimore briefly summarizes 6 of Whitefield's faults but it felt disproportional to me. After 1200 pages of admiration, I'd suggest that the credibility of this work would be bolstered if at least 5% of the space had been given to a consideration of his faults. In particular, I was troubled by Whitefield's neglect of his wife and felt that many of his life's troubles came from overextending himself in ministry. I'm really surprised that the latter concern was not addressed as the author cites countless of accounts of how his friends seemed to share my concern.However, these criticisms should not detract much from this work. To borrow a common assessment of Whitefield, the weaknesses of Dallimore's work are like 'spots on the sun,' thus hardly noticeable. The power of this work, like any decent biography is the opportunity it provides not only for education for historical events such as the Great Awakening, or the Whitefield v. Wesley controversy, but also for personal reflection. It would be far too ambitious of a task for me to attempt to account for the numerous bits of both large and small wisdom that I gained from observing this man's life. The bottom line is that if you are interested in Whitefield, Wesley, or the Great Awakening this book is indispensable. This is the unrivaled, definitive work on Whitefield's life and should be widely read by pastors, church historians, and aspiring leaders across many denominations. Additionally, I commend Banner of Truth for the quality of this sewn binding. These two books are the best constructed books I own. show less

A workmanlike overview of Spurgeon's life, drawn from printed primary sources. It covers his life, education, family, his church work, including preaching, evangelizing, and charity, and his writings. It doesn't go deep into his theology, but it covers his major works. It covers his personal life well enough. Though lucidly written, fairly short, and easy, it is not as thorough as possible on his works, his theology, and his life as a more recent biography may be. Short on images. A bit of show more preachiness, for instance, bemoaning that Spurgeon smoked cigars and drank alcohol, an intrusion of the author into the text. Perhaps a more recent biography may be better, but this is good enough for a start. show less

"Justice has at last been done to the greatest preacher that England every produced." This was the judgment of Martyn Lloyd-Jones concerning the first volume of Arnold Dallimore's biography of George Whitefield. This is perhaps the most authoritative work to date on the life of Whitefield, surpassing the older work of Luke Tyreman in both breadth (since Dallimore had access to far more material than Tyreman) and objectivity (Tyreman was a Wesleyan who was somewhat unsympathetic with show more Whitefield's theology).

The two volumes together are divided into eight parts, which help give some navigation to understanding Whitefield's life. The sections are: (Volume 1): I. The Years of Preparation; II. The Youthful Ministry; III. The Period of Transition; (Volume 2): IV. The Controversy; V. The Calvinist Evangelist of Two Continents; VI. The Helper of all the Revival; VII. The Years of Failing Strength; and VIII. Death and Commemoration.

Volume 1 traces Whitefield's life from birth to conversion through the early years of the Great Awakening which came under his preaching in England, Wales, and the Colonies of North America. It is full of details about his travels, excerpts from sermons and journals, and is exceptionally well documented. Special attention is rightfully given to Whitefield's relationship with John Wesley, and several mistaken notions concerning the two men are corrected with careful research supporting the conclusions.

The second volume begins with an introduction that gives more attention to the mistaken conceptions about Whitefield's relationship with the Wesleys. Chapter one then steers the reader back into the narrative, picking up where volume 1 left off with Whitefield's return to England from America in 1739. Several chapters are then devoted to the controversy between the Whitefield and Wesley. A broad-brush coverage is given to Whitefield's work in both Great Britain and America, with occasional detours detailing events such as the Cambuslang Revival and the contributions of other prominent figures in the revival such Howell Harris and John Cennick.

Dallimore writes with an obvious admiration and appreciation for Whitefield, yet he does not whitewash his faults. Whitefield's respectable, though less than ideal marriage to the widow, Elizabeth James (who had also been courted by Howell Harris - an interesting love-triangle there!) is discussed, as well has the enormous load of debt he carried for the Orphan House founded in Georgia. While there was nothing in Whitefield's life to tarnish his integrity, his humanity is clearly evident in more than one instance.

The interest and usefulness of this excellent biography is enhanced by the thorough index (at the end of volume 2), thirteen appendices (six in volume 1, seven in volume 2), thorough documentation (with hundreds - maybe thousands - of footnotes), nine-page bibliography (volume 2) and over sixty illustrations.

But the true value of the two volumes lies in their soul-stirring account of the great work of God in and through Whitefield's life. A Christian could hardly ask for more delightful reading. To quote Lloyd-Jones again, "To read the wonderful story of his life is to be reminded again of what is possible to a truly consecrated Christian, and how even in the darkest and most sinful ages God in His sovereign power is able to revive His work and shower blessings upon His people." show less