This is a commonly used text in courses related to United Methodist Doctrine. While it is solid and provocative in its account of major theological themes in Methodist history, it suffers from a few historical errors.

One of these historical errors is its overestimation of the place of Watson, Miley, and Knudson in the trajectory of Methodist thought. In his limited focus, he excludes or generalizes some of the more prolific Methodist theologians, notables include Nathan Bangs, Wilbur Fisk, Daniel Whedon, Albert Bledsoe, and Borden Browne.

Moreover, he isolates and detaches his thinkers from their context, an error of much intellectual history. Chiles survey could have been deeply enriched by a discussion of these thinker's theological struggles with pivotal social issues (such as slavery or revivalism) of their respective times. It could have also been enhanced by further illustrating the theological struggle these thinkers had with their hated Calvinist adversaries, such as the Hopkinsians, Edwards, or Yale School Thought.

Chiles work has largely been replaced by Tom Langford's "Practical Divinity." Still, it does possess some strengths the latter survey does not. Whatever its weaknesses, Chiles' thematic focus and concentration on three thinkers enables him to understand some theological issues in greater depth than Langford.

Regardless, this book--originally published in the '60s--remains one of the foundational books in the study of Methodist theology. Unfortunately, there have been few attempts at this endeavor since his. We are in desperate need of a new one, especially in light of the groundbreaking work by Paul Conklin, Russ Richey, and Nathan Hatch that forces us to redefine Methodism's place and influence.