John Wesley in America
Restoring Primitive Christianity
Geordan Hammond
Reviews and Awards
"a rich and detailed book" -- Isabel Rivers, 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries of the Early Modern Era
"John Wesley in America breaks new ground as a detailed and careful study of Wesley's time in Georgia. The book demonstrates the importance of primitive Christianity in Wesley's thinking during this period of time and suggests that this vision, though modified slightly, continued to be at the core of Wesley's theology and practice during his leadership of Wesleyan Methodism. Hammond's work joins the work of Ted Campbell on Wesley's understanding of early Christianity and Richard P. Heitzenrater on Wesley in Oxford and Georgia as an essential resource for understanding the early Wesley." -- Kevin M. Watson, Journal of Religion
"This is an important book. A careful reading of a wide range of sources has enabled Dr Hammond to construct a picture of Wesley as a conscientious pastor and preacher, a spokesman for outsiders in Savannah and a man of strict personal discipline."--Ecclesiology
"A very balanced and well-written volume. The physical craftsmanship of the work is also to be noted. Oxford University Press has created their volumes in such an aesthetically pleasing way as to give the reader not only a joy in reading. but also makes it a joy to behold on a shelf. If you're at all interested in John Wesley, this assessment of his time and ministry in Georgia is sure to be a valuable addition to your library." --On To Distant Pages
"With this wealth of material, Hammond achieves his primary purpose of interpreting the Georgia mission via Wesley's effort to restore primitive Christianity, while offering a more accurate portrait of Wesley through contextualization... Excellent read."--Natalya Cherry, Southern Methodist University
"Hammond incorporates the diaries, journals and letters of many of Wesley's colonial contemporaries, friend and foe, to offer new insights into the life of this important religious leader and his brief, but significant, stay in colonial America." --Anglican and Episcopal History
"Hammond's nuanced and carefully articulated reinterpretation of John Wesley's experiences in the new world, long understood as a period of setback and failure, illuminates a novel understanding, not only of this foundational period in Wesley's life, ministry and movement, but also upon the context of the early or 'primitive' embodiment of Christian faith and practice in North America. Faithfully recalling the ecumenical nature of Wesley's formation as minister and theologian, John Wesley in America is a must have both for the Wesleyan practical theologian and pastor as well as any academicians who wish to more fully comprehend Wesley's life, theology, and unparalleled impact on the landscape of American religion." --Religious Studies Review