In this thesis it will be argued that there was considerable commonality to Christian ideals of manliness during the period of the Evangelical Revival. At the core of the thesis is the ideal ofthe imitation of Christ. It will be argued that this provided a central Christian ideal ofpersonhood, and the thesis examin~s the variety ofways in which the ideal was interpreted and understood. Crucially, variations did not tend to follow Church-party or denominational lines. Chapter one looks at the imitation of Christ itself and the theological frameworks within which it was understood, whilst the remaining five chapters take a broadly life-cycle approach, examining the ways in which the ideal was applied to different aspects ofa man's life. Although the thesis argues for commonality, this is not to suggest that commonalitY did not come under strain. Indeed, it will be argued that some Christians were accused of undermining or neglecting the imitation of Christ. There were two main sets of charges: 'enthusiasm' and 'moralism'. Both accusations were rooted in, and reflected, differences over the theological frameworks for the imitation of Christ and disagreements over the strictness with which ideals were developed in relation to the various aspects of a man's daily life. There was also an overwhelming continuity to ideals through the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Within this framework there were however some developments. Most importantly, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the term 'Evangelical', having been synonymous with 'Christ-like' and 'the Gospel', acquired Church-party associations. Furthermore, the theme of 'occasional' solitude was promoted from the 1760s as a result ofconcerns about people taking pleasure in company. There were also some shifts of emphasis. The late eighteenth century saw an intensification of the critique of 'moralism'. This was particularly evident in criticisms of 'moral' preaching and also in concerns over the teaching of the classics at the public schools. Educational ideals, more generally, were the subject of considerable discussion from the 1780s. Finally, Christian ideals ofmanliness were highly interconnected. The imitation of Christ was an all-encompassing ideal, and different aspects of a man's life, and indeed death, were seen as linked. Particularly important is that 'the family' meant more than the nuclear unit of husband, wife and children, and could operate metaphorically to include all aspects of social life.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:487097 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Reyk, William George Anthony Van |
| Publisher | University of Oxford |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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