
Salvationists continue to discuss this decision both in an attempt to answer two main questions; "Why did we stop?" and "Why do we continue to maintain this position?". Over the course of several posts (not sure how many yet) I will attempt to outline what are the commonly given answers to those questions. Before we get to that, though, I think it's very important to get some context on what was happening to the Army in the time leading up to this critical decision. This, I believe, sheds some very interesting light on this topic, but is something that I think most people are unaware of.
Firstly, we must remember that the "official" start date of the East London Christian Mission (the precursor to The Salvation Army) is 2 July, 1865; the date that William Booth first preached in a tent on an old Quaker burial ground in the East End of London (the physical association with the Quakers is ironic given the positional association we share today on this very topic). The Mission immediately began to grow under the Booths' leadership up to the 1870s where we pick up our investigation.
1878 - This is the year that the name was changed to "The Salvation Army" at the stroke of Booth's pen. It is also the year that the first uniforms began to appear and when the first flag was presented to a corps, designed by Catherine Booth.
1879 - The Army crest is designed and adopted. Each of the components of the crest bears a symbolic and theological meaning, including the cross, the "S" for "salvation", the crown, the sun and so on.
1880 - The army purchase a Training home for the purpose of training new officers. International expansion also began in this year with movement into many other countries, including Australia.
1881 - A "headquarters" building was purchased which would later become known as International Headquarters (IHQ). It is still in this same location today, although it has been through several upgrades. A central "Congress Hall" was purchased which became the central training home (ironically it was a disused asylum. Make of that what you will!)
1882 - The Articles of War were introduced and made compulsory for all soldiers to sign. Some people left the Army over this document, but most stayed. Critical for our topic, though, this was also the year when serious discussions were entered into with the Church of England as to whether the Army would become what Harold Hill has described as an "ecclesiola - a church within a church" (Harold Hill, Leadership in The Salvation Army, (Bletchley: Paternoster, 2006), 58.)

When we consider this history it comes as no surprise then that a decision that Booth wrestled with becomes concrete in his mind very soon after he makes the decision to say "No" to the Church of England. The Army would, in reality from 1882 on, be its own denomination. It would have its own identity, its own leadership structure, its own worship practices. I do realise, of course, that these things were already happening. But the decision to "go our own way" was very similar to a 17 or 18 year old recognising that they are their own person, with their own identity and leaving home for the first time. 1882 was the year that the Army left the roost and went out into the world standing firmly on its own two feet.
This, I think, sheds some very necessary and important light on this discussion.
Continue on to Part 2 here.
interesting. btw, a PhD study is being done here - one of the main arguments is that catherine is THE theologian of the movement (at least compared to william) and that the SA's position re sacraments ultimately rest upon her thoughts.. :D
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