Higher Life movement

The Higher Life movement was precipitated by the related but separate Wesleyan-Holiness movement, which had been gradually springing up, but made a definite appearance in the mid-1830s. began his own evangelistic campaign in England, bringing with him Robert Pearsall Smith and his wife, Hannah Whitall Smith, to help spread the holiness message. On May 1, 1873, William Haslam introduced Robert Pearsall Smith to a small meeting of Anglican clergymen held at Curzon Chapel, Mayfair, London. The first large-scale Higher Life meetings took place from July 17–23, 1874, at the Broadlands estate of Lord and Lady Mount Temple, where the Higher Life was expounded in connection with spiritualism and Quaker teachings. A gradual distinction developed between traditional Methodists and the newer Keswick speakers. Keswick took on a more Calvinistic tone, as Keswick preachers took pains to distance themselves from the Wesleyan doctrine of eradication (the doctrine that original sin could be completely extinguished from the Christian soul prior to death). Keswick speakers began using the term "counteraction" to describe the Holy Spirit's effect on original sin, often comparing it to how air pressure counteracts gravity in lifting an airplane. Modern Wesleyan-Arminian theologians regard the Keswick theology as different from their own dogma of entire sanctification. a Baptist, and Robert Wilson, a Friend. An annual convention has met in Keswick ever since and has had worldwide influence on Christianity. Columbia Bible College and Seminary (now Columbia International University) was founded by one of the early leaders of the American Keswick movement, Robert C. McQuilkin. His son, Robertson McQuilkin, contributed the Keswick chapter to the book "Five Views of Sanctification." Albert Benjamin Simpson, largely accepting a form Keswickian theology with his own distinctives, founded the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination in 1897. Albert Benjamin Simpson departed from traditional Keswickian beliefs, however, in his view of progressive sanctification and rejection of suppressionism. It emphasizes the role of Jesus Christ as Saviour, Sanctifier, Healer and Coming King. In the 19th and 20th centuries, D. L. Moody, Hannah Whitall Smith, and R. A. Torrey preached Keswickian theology. It was a strong influence on E. J. H. Nash, who founded the influential Iwerne camps in the UK and cited Torrey as his theological mentor. ==Critiques==

Denominations aligned with the Keswickian higher life movement, such as the Christian and Missionary Alliance, differ from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement in that the Keswickian higher life movement does not see entire sanctification as cleansing one from original sin, whereas adherents in churches espousing Wesleyan-Arminian theology affirm this teaching of John Wesley. However, Keswick doctrine has been sharply criticized as a disguised form of entire sanctification (or "perfectionism") by other Christian traditions, particularly historical Calvinism and Presbyterianism. Princeton theologian B.B. Warfield wrote a trenchant attack on the Keswick and Higher Life movement in his two-volume work Studies in Perfectionism, specifically in his articles "The Higher Life Movement" and "The Victorious Life." W. H. Griffith Thomas responded to Warfield and defended the Higher Life movement in two articles in the journal Bibliotheca Sacra. Another early opponent of Keswick was J. C. Ryle, who set forth the classic Protestant doctrine of sanctification in his book Holiness as an alternative to Keswick. More modern defenders of Keswick theology include J. Robertson McQuilkin in the book Five Views of Sanctification, as well as John R. VanGelderen. Modern Reformed criticism of Keswick has come from J. I. Packer, as well as from Andrew Naselli, who critiqued Keswick in his doctoral dissertation on the subject. Charismatic and Pentecostal authors may critique the Higher Life movement also as not going far enough, but Pentecostal scholars recognize and appreciate the groundwork laid by Higher Life advocacy of the continuation of the gifts of healing and miracle-working for the rise of the Pentecostal movement. ==See also==