| This is a short book, but not one that was written quickly. It is my good fortune to teach in a history department that is realistic in its expectations and where it is recognized that scholarship takes time. Canadians, as a rule, do not like the eighteenth century. As subjects of the King of France, we were defeated in the Seven Years War; and in the American Revolution, as subjects of the King of England. Happily, the University of Western Ontario is a place where interest in the century thrives and an audience can always be found to hear someone who wants to talk about it. This is due to the efforts of Roger Emerson, who tirelessly presides over our eighteenth-century society and makes sure that we all get a proper hearing. I owe much to the encouragement of lan Steele and Neville Thompson. I am also indebted to the staff of Weldon Library, particularly to David Newman and John Hoover who made it possible to purchase the Beyreuther and Meyer edition of the Zinzendorf Schriften. Without this, I might have written a book on the origins of Methodism, but not the same sort of book with the same sort of argument. I am especially indebted to the staff of the Interlibrary Loan Office for their help in getting works that Weldon does not own. Linda Sabathy-Judd has been unstinting in her efforts to correct my deficiencies in reading and speaking German. Douglas Adams and John Schuit have taught me much about evangelical divinity, to the first I owe a better understanding of salvation by faith, and to the second, of conviction of sin. Chapter 4 draws heavily on two essays I have published elsewhere: "Faith and Experience in the Thought of John Wesley," AmericanHistoricalReview, vol. 88, no. 1 (February 1983): 12-30, and "A 'Religious Society under Heaven': John Wesley and the Identity of Methodism," JournalofBritishStudies, vol. 25, no. 1 (January 1986): 62-83, by the North American Conference on British Studies. All rights reserved. I thank the American Historical Association for permission to reprint the first essay and the University of Chicago Press, to reprint the second. Debts are owed to many people. My wife has been a constant support and to her this book is dedicated. |
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