Review of Wesleyan-Holiness Churches in Australia: Hallelujah Under the Southern Cross, by Glen O’Brien

The renowned and award-winning writer of narrative history, David McCullough, wrote: “History is the course of human events. And it must therefore be, if truthful, about failure, injustice, struggle, suffering, disappointment, and the humdrum. History demonstrates often in brutal fashion the evils of enforced ignorance and demagoguery. History is a source of strength, a constant reminder of the courage of others in times more trying and painful than our own.” This quotation captures well O’Brien’s brilliant book, which is academic historical writing at its best—soundly researched and captivatingly written. The stated aim of the book is to tell the story of the various Wesleyan-Holiness groups in Australia and their struggles to establish themselves as insiders, orthodox, and evangelical,while also being distinct from Reformed evangelicalism.O’Brien’s analysis encompasses several distinct groups while primarily focusing on the four Wesleyan-Holiness denominations that remain in present day Australia: The Salvation Army, Wesleyan Methodists, Nazarenes, and(to a lesser extent)the Church of God(Anderson).