John Williamson Nevin
Evangelical Catholic
Foreword by Anne T. Thayer
Imprint: Pickwick Publications
John Williamson Nevin's life has never been given the full attention that it deserves. That may be due in part to the controversial nature of his thinking. Yet in many respects, his enormous contribution to American religious history is acknowledged by those who have read him. He stood out as the great advocate of evangelical catholicism, and his call for a thorough examination of the place of the church in nineteenth-century theology was revolutionary. It was Nevin who first saw the threat to the church in the erosion of faith in the church as a divine institution sacramentally entrusted by God with the reclamation of the whole world--an erosion that occurred well before the Civil War in the hypersubjectivity of Protestant America.
Linden J. DeBie received his PhD from McGill University. His books include Speculative Philosophy and Common-Sense Religion (Pickwick, 2008), The Mystical Presence, by John W. Nevin (coedited; Wipf & Stock, 2012), and Coena Mystica (coedited; Wipf & Stock, 2013). He has taught at New Brunswick Theological Seminary and Seton Hall University and is currently pastor of the Colonial Church of Bayside, New York.
“This volume performs an invaluable and rare service for anyone interested in the history of theology in the nineteenth century. Linden DeBie deftly weaves together themes from John Williamson Nevin’s personal and professional life, his philosophical orientation and evolution, and his theological commitments. In these pages Nevin emerges as a unique and significant force in the speculative, sacramental, and ecumenical strand in American theology.”
—Lee C. Barrett, professor of theology, Lancaster Theological Seminary
“The case can be made that John Williamson Nevin was the most creative conservative Protestant theologian of nineteenth-century America. Linden DeBie’s thorough and nuanced account depicts a theologian seeking to transform American Christianity by overcoming its endemic individualism. DeBie brings to this task an impressive knowledge of Christian tradition, German philosophy, and nineteenth-century views of history. He also locates Nevin within a setting riven by debates over politics, sectarian piety, and sacramental worship as well as slavery and social order. This is an impressive work.”
—E. Brooks Holifield, professor emeritus of American church history, Emory University
“In this critical appraisal of the life and work of John Williamson Nevin, Linden DeBie lucidly explains Nevin’s theological ideas, idealist orientation, and the controversies and influences that shaped his views. It is a highly readable volume that addresses an overlooked figure in nineteenth-century American religious history. A most welcomed new biography, it should be essential reading for anyone interested in Nevin and his era.”
—Annette G. Aubert, lecturer of historical theology and church history, Westminster Theological Seminary
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