Pneumatological Foundations for Salvation Army Non-Sacramental Theology

The emergence of the Salvation Army within the context of Victorian England was theologically a part of the pneumatological concerns of the late nineteenth century holiness revival. It is clear that the Salvation Army developed a non-sacramental practice, but the theological reasons for this development have never been fully explicated. This dissertation reveals the precise relationship between the Salvation Army\u27s pneumatology and its non-sacramental theology. Thus, the thesis of this work is that the Salvation Army\u27s abandonment of the sacraments is theologically grounded in its pneumatological priority and the practical orientation of its missiology. No formal investigations into the role of pneumatology in Salvation Army non-sacramental theology exist, although there is evidence that the nineteenth century holiness movement as a whole did subordinate ecclesiology and sacramental theology to pneumatological concerns. From within the Army, some have tried to justify its sacramental position as both a practical and a theological response. No agreement on the inter-relationship of pneumatology and non-sacramental theology, however, exists in the studies on the Salvation Army. Basic to an understanding of the origin and development of the Salvation Army\u27s non-sacramental theology is the study of both the historical and theological roots of this late nineteenth century phenomenon. The historical/theological forces at work within the Victorian milieu that allowed for this unique expression of sacramental theology are a necessary starting point. The connection between the Salvation Army\u27s theology and that of its Methodist and Spiritualist ancestors provides additional contextual insight. Of chief importance to this study, however, is the relationship between Booth\u27s position on the sacraments and the pneumatological concerns of the late nineteenth century holiness revival of which the Salvation Army was a part. The implicit and explicit influences of Booth\u27s holiness theology on his decision to abandon sacramental practice establish the pneumatological foundations of Salvation Army non-sacramental theology