Not really a sect, but a close knit family. It was started in a town near London called Clapham and consisted of a number of wealthy and ardent Evangelicals who knew what it was to practice "saintliness in daily life" and to live with eternity in view. John Venn became their spiritual guide and found leadership in William Wilberforce, the parliamentary statesman. Under Wilberforce's leadership the Clapham friends were knit together in solidarity. At the Clapham mansions they held what they chose to call their "Cabinet Councils". They discussed the wrongs and injustices of their country, and the battles they would need to fight to establish righteousness. They moved as one body, delegating to each man the work he could do best to accomplish their common purposes. As a result a host of evangelical causes sallied forth from quiet little Clapham: The Church Missionary Society (1799), the British and Foreign

(See also "Evangelical Awakening")

Most of the basic beliefs of evangelicals could be found in Puritanism: the sinfulness of man, the atoning death of Christ, the unmerited grace of God, the salvation of the true believer. The early evangelicals served as rectors in parishes scattered throughout England. One such was John Newton (1725-1807). The Clapham Sect provided many of the lay leaders in social reform from 1792 to 1813 un the leadership of John Venn. Evangelical influence was also exerted on government through the Exeter Hall group. The evangelicals were not so much interested in polity and doctrine as in the practical expression of Christianity in a redeemed life of piety that gained its inspiration from Bible study and prayer. The evangelicals were also the supporters of the powerful missionary movement of the century.

[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Clapham-Sect, Evangelical, history, Puritanism[/tags]

Like its predecessor, the Evangelical Movement, it was more a movement of the heart than of the head. Unlike the Clapham Sect, the Oxford men were deeply troubled by the direction of English society. They saw the reforms of the government as attacks upon the sanctity of the Church of England and they determined to resist the intrusions of the world. With the Reform Act of 1832 the balance of power in Parliament shifted away from the aristocracy and the Anglican Church into the hands of "profane politicians". The Oxford men felt that the Church of England needed to affirm that its authority did not rest on authority from the state, it came from God. Bishops of the Church were not empowered by social position but by an apostolic commission. Even if the Church were completely separated from the state, the Church of England could still claim the allegiance of

(1759-1833)

Leader of the "Clapham Sect." At twenty-five he experienced a striking conversion after reading Philip Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul. Prime Minister William Pitt once said he had the greatest natural eloquence he had ever known. Some called him "the nightingale of the House of Commons." Under his leadership the Clapham Sect was knit together in intimacy and solidarity. Under his guidance and leadership this little group was singularly successful in aiding the abolishment of slavery in England, and their emancipation.

[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Clapham-Sect, history, Philip, William-Wilberforce[/tags]