Great awakening why

Unfortunately, many ministers became jealous of his God-given ability. In Bristol, the churches refused to allow him the use of their buildings. Undeterred, Whitefield preached outside On more than on occasion he addressed 30, people. He spoke persuasively with a loud, commanding, and pleasant voice. With weighty emotion and dramatic power Whitefield presented the gospel message to the masses, spreading the light of Christ with vigor and enthusiasm.

He also united the independent movements of the Great Awaking and bound the separate colonies into a unit. Breaking through denominational boundaries he once said, "Father Abraham, who have you in heaven? Any Episcopalians? Any Presbyterians? Any Independents or Methodist? No, no, no! Whom have you there, then Father Abraham? We don't know those names here! All who are here are Christians--believers in Christ, men who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of his testimony.

Oh, is that the case? Then God help me, God help us all, to forget having names and to become Christians in deed and in truth! There was hardly a portion of the colonies that did not feel his influence and love. Not everyone welcomed the beliefs of the Great Awakening. One of the principal opinions of the opponents was Charles Chauncy, a minister in Boston. By about , a debate over the Great Awakening had divided the New England ministry and many colonists into two factions.

The Great Awakening in America in the s and s had tremendous results. The number of people in the church multiplied, and the lives of the converted manifested true Christian piety. Denominational barriers broke down as Christians of all persuasions worked together in the cause of the gospel. There was a renewed concern with missions, and work among the Indians increased.

As more young men prepared for service as Christian ministers, a concern for higher education grew. Princeton, Rutgers, Brown, and Dartmouth universities were all established as a direct result of the Great Awakening. Some have even seen a connection between the Great Awakening and the American Revolution --Christians enjoying spiritual liberty in Christ would come to crave political liberty.

The Great Awakening not only revived the American church but reinvigorated American society as well. The significant working of God during the Great Awakening was far-reaching. Truly converted members now filled the pews. In New England, during the time from to , memberships increased from 25, to 50, Hundreds of new churches were formed to accommodate the growth in church-goers.

For the first time, the individual colonies had a commonality with the other colonies. Which of these ideas best supports that argument? How did local ministers feel about George Whitefield and other traveling preachers coming to their towns uninvited? Which of these was not a way in which the ministry of the Great Awakening challenged social conventions? It has been argued that the Great Awakening contributed to a decline in the importance of established religion during the second part of the eighteenth century, because.

How did the Great Awakening affect laws in those states that supported an official religion through taxation? Whitefield come upon the Scaffold he looked almost angelical, a young, slim slender youth before some thousands of people with a bold undaunted countenance, and my hearing how God was with him every where as he came along it solumnized my mind, and put me into a trembling fear before he began to preach; for he looked as if he was Cloathed with authority from the Great God, and a sweet solemn solemnity sat upon his brow.

And my hearing him preach gave me a heart wound; by Gods blessing my old foundation was broken up, and I saw that my righteousness would not save me; then I was convinced of the doctrine of Election and went right to quarrelling with God about it, because all that I could do would not save me; and he had decreed from Eternity who should be saved and who not.

Isaac, Rhys. The Transformation of Virginia, Kidd, Thomas S. New Haven: Yale University Press, Boston: Bedford, Marsden, George M. A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards.

Michigan: Eerdmans, Jonathan Edwards: A Life. Upcoming Events Explore our upcoming webinars, events and programs. View All Events. Invest In Our Future The most effective way to secure a freer America with more opportunity for all is through engaging, educating, and empowering our youth.

Led by the Tennent family—Reverend William Tennent, a Scots-Irish immigrant, and his four sons, all clergymen—the Presbyterians not only initiated religious revivals in those colonies during the s but also established a seminary to train clergymen whose fervid, heartfelt preaching would bring sinners to experience evangelical conversion.

By the s, the clergymen of these churches were conducting revivals throughout that region, using the same strategy that had contributed to the success of the Tennents. In emotionally charged sermons, all the more powerful because they were delivered extemporaneously, preachers like Jonathan Edwards evoked vivid, terrifying images of the utter corruption of human nature and the terrors awaiting the unrepentant in hell. These early revivals in the northern colonies inspired some converts to become missionaries to the American South.

In the late s, Presbyterian preachers from New York and New Jersey began proselytizing in the Virginia Piedmont; and by the s, some members of a group known as the Separate Baptists moved from New England to central North Carolina and quickly extended their influence to surrounding colonies.

By the eve of the American Revolution, their evangelical converts accounted for about ten percent of all southern churchgoers.

Although Whitefield had been ordained as a minister in the Church of England, he later allied with other Anglican clergymen who shared his evangelical bent, most notably John and Charles Wesley. Together they led a movement to reform the Church of England much as the Puritans had attempted earlier to reform that church which resulted in the founding of the Methodist Church late in the eighteenth century. During his several trips across the Atlantic after , Whitefield preached everywhere in the American colonies, often drawing audiences so large that he was obliged to preach outdoors.

What Whitefield preached was nothing more than what other Calvinists had been proclaiming for centuries—that sinful men and women were totally dependent for salvation on the mercy of a pure, all-powerful God.

But Whitefield—and many American preachers who eagerly imitated his style—presented that message in novel ways. Gesturing dramatically, sometimes weeping openly or thundering out threats of hellfire-and-brimstone, they turned the sermon into a gripping theatrical performance. But not all looked on with approval. Offers a detailed overview of the role that print media, especially newspapers, played in the unfolding of the revivals from to Smith especially focuses on the coverage of Whitefield and the critical role of Benjamin Franklin in promoting news of the awakenings.

Smith, John Howard. Tracy, Joseph. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, As the chief 19th-century religious history of the awakenings, it remains useful, at least for historiographical purposes. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login. Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions.

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