The Plymouth Brethren

Massimo Introvigne

The first academic book about the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, written by an informed outsider
Explores the movement founded by John Nelson Darby, whose work shaped modern Evangelicalism
Explains the various branches of the Brethren and how their ideas have influenced Christianity

The Plymouth Brethren

Massimo Introvigne

Description

This is the first history of the Plymouth Brethren, a conservative, nonconformist evangelical Christian movement whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland in the late 1820s. The teachings of John Nelson Darby, an influential figure among the early Plymouth Brethren, have had a huge impact on modern evangelicalism. However, the credit for Darby's work went to some of the first generation of his students, and as evangelicalism has grown it has completely ignored its origins in Darby and the Brethren.

In this book, Massimo Introvigne restores credit to John Nelson Darby and his movement, and places them in a contemporary sociological framework based on Introvigne's participant observation in Brethren communities. The modern-day Plymouth Brethren emphasize sola scriptura, the belief that the Bible is the supreme authority for church doctrine and practice. Brethren see themselves as a network of like-minded independent assemblies rather than as a church or a denomination. The movement has also refused to take any formal denominational name; the title "the Brethren" comes from the Biblical passage "one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren" (Matthew 23:8). The Plymouth Brethren offers a typology of differing branches of this reclusive movement, including a case study of the "exclusive" branch known as the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, and reveals the various ways in which Brethren ideas have permeated the modern Christian world.

The Plymouth Brethren

Massimo Introvigne

The Plymouth Brethren

Massimo Introvigne

Author Information

Massimo Introvigne, one of the leading international scholars of new religious movements, is the managing director of CESNUR (Center for Studies on New Religions) in Torino, Italy. He is the author of some sixty books on religious minorities, including Satanism: A Social History (2016).

The Plymouth Brethren

Massimo Introvigne

Reviews and Awards

"In this most insightful survey of the movement founded by influential nineteenth-century theologian John Nelson Darby, Massimo Introvigne opens the world of the intensely controversial and highly separatist branch of Darby's movement, the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, little understood by the general public and the academic world. He provides a most welcome map of the church's defence of its austere path amid the attacks of critics."--J. Gordon Melton, Distinguished Professor of American Religious History, Baylor University

"Though John Nelson Darby is one of the most influential Protestant thinkers of the nineteenth century, his life and mission have not been properly evaluated. This is what Massimo Introvigne does in this book. Displaying masterly scholarship, this volume is a must-read to understand the immense influence of the Brethren theology in the Protestant world to this day. Far from just being a quaint outdated group, the Brethren are a most active community in our contemporary world."--Bernadette Rigal-Cellard, Professor of North American Literature and Civilization, University of Bordeaux

"This is a sympathetic portrayal of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, which, with a lawyer's meticulous attention to detail, describes its intellectual history and contextualises it within contemporary society. Furthermore, by demonstrating that the Church has engaged in beneficial practices for non-members, and that the 'separation' it practices has an undeniable religious basis, Massimo Introvigne adroitly argues that it is rightly entitled to such benefits as charitable status."--Eileen Barker, Professor Emeritus of Sociology of Religion, London School of Economics