Religion and Violence in Early Taking the Kingdom by Force American Methodism Jeffrey Williams Religion and Violence in early american methodism R eligion in North A mer ica Catherine L. Albanese and Stephen J. Stein, editors Religion and Violence in Early American Methodism Taking the Kingdom by Force Jeffrey Williams I n di a na U n i v e r si t y Pr e s s Bloomington and Indianapolis This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA www.iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders Fax orders Orders by e-mail 800-842-6796 812-855-7931
[email protected] © 2010 by Jeffrey Williams All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. â•… The paper used in this publication meets the minimum ∞ requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Williams, Jeffrey, [date–] Religion and violence in early American Methodism : taking the kingdom by force / Jeffrey Williams. p. cm. — (Religion in North America) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-253-35444-0 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Methodist Church—History—18th century. 2. Methodist Church—History— 19th century. 3. United States—Church history—18th century. 4. United States—Church history—19th century. 5. Violence— Religious aspects—Christianity. 6. Language and languages— Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title. BX8231.W49 2010 287.0973’09033—dc22 2009034078 1 2 3 4 5 15 14 13 12 11 10 To Michele Contents For e wor d b y Cat h e r i n e L . A l b a n e se a n d St e ph e n J. St e i n ix Ack now l e d gm e n ts xi Introduction 1 on e · Fighting the Good Fight 13 t wo · Contesting the Good Fight 41 Warfare and the American Revolution t h r ee · The Power to “Kill and Make Alive” 69 The Spiritual Battle and the Body in Post-Revolutionary America fou r · Beating Their Plowshares into Swords 93 Methodists and Violence in Antebellum America fi v e · Methodist Respectability and the Decline of the Good Fight for Salvation si x · The Christian’s Warfare and Social Violence 131 161 No t e s 179 Bi bl io gr a ph y 203 I n de x 219 Foreword In this study o