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Paper 2: The Great Awakening

The theological significance behind America’s first two Great Awakenings lies in the effect that they had on the shape of Christian thinking. They were more important theological events than later revivals, with the First stimulating a brief revival of Calvinism and the Second being more important because it ushered in a democratic theology that shaped American Protestantism through the 1870’s, contributed to a legacy to modern evangelicalism, and provided one of the major sources of fundamentalism.[footnoteRef:1] Despite the noted importance of the Second Great Awakening, this paper will discuss the less important, but still impactful, Great Awakening. The following subjects will be examine a biography of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, a discussion of their contributions, a short discussion over a few other leaders of the First Great Awakening, and an explanation of Evangelicalism during the First Great Awakening. [1: Walter A. Elwell. “Great Awakenings” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Ed. 2. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001). 523.]

Biographies

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was the son of a congregational minister. He entered into the ministry in 1726 after earning a bachelor’s degree at Yale. “His first charge was Northampton, Massachusetts, where he served until dismissed in 1750 after a controversy with his congregation over standards for church admission.”[footnoteRef:2] He then moved to Stockbridge, MA where he ministered to congregations of Indians and whites. Edwards is regarded as the greatest evangelical theologian in America. This is based on the “depth and breadth of his writing and his importance for both practical and theoretical religion.”[footnoteRef:3] He preached over twelve hundred sermons, and opened the revival among his congregation with his series on justification by faith. He provided a more systematic exposition of Augustinian and Calvinistic views in his works. Outside preaching and teaching Edwards He was also the most powerful exponent of experimental Calvinism. His “rejuvenation of a basically Calvinistic soteriology was the longest-lived theological result of the First Awakening.”[footnoteRef:4] He died in 1758 on March 22 from smallpox. [2: Ibid., 366.] [3: Ibid., 366.] [4: Walter A. Elwell. “Great Awakenings” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Ed. 2. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001). 523.]

George Whitefield (1714-1770) was an ordained minister of the Church of England. He was a member of the “Holy Club” during the 1720’s. In 1738 he traveled to Georgia to aid in the founding of an orphanage and when he returned, his reputation as a dramatic preacher preceded him. He went on a preaching tour in New England in 1740 where he addressed crowds of nearly eight thousand every day for over a month. This tour became the key event in New England’s Great Awakening, and he eventually became known as the best known evangelist of the eighteenth century and one of the “greatest itinerant preachers in the history of Protestantism.”[footnoteRef:5] He preached in a plain and simple way that was free, emotional in nature, and appealing to the heart. Whitefield was a professed Calvinist although he claim to have never read any of Calvin’s work, but rather he was shaped by Reformed theology and was taught of his subscribed doctrines by God.[footnoteRef:6] The “fifteen thousand time that he preached in a ministry of thirty-three years remain his most enduring monument.”[footnoteRef:7] He died in 1770. [5: Ibid., 366.] [6: Ibid., 1273.] [7: Ibid., 1273.]

Contributions

The contributions made to the Great Awakening by both Edwards and Whitefield was vast and nothing short of impressive. The men propelled the Great Awakening forward, and “while some preachers followed Whitefield’s example, traveling throughout the countryside, many local pastors of various traditions—Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists—brought new zeal to their pulpits, and extraordinary responses were evoked in their churches as well.”[footnoteRef:8] People wept in repentance for their sins, with some elated at having forgiven, and a few were so moved by the teaching that they fainted. “Such reactions to preaching led the enemies of the Great Awakening to accuse its leaders of undermining the solemnity of worship, and of substituting emotion for study and devotion. It must be said, however, that many of the leaders of the movement were not particularly emotive, that many were scholars, and that in any case the goal of the movement was not worship services marked by continual shows of emotion, but rather a single experience that would lead each believer to greater devotion and more conscientious study of Scripture.”[footnoteRef:9] Edwards championed spiritual revival. He believed that through a spiritual revival a “transformation of heart and mind has taken place.”[footnoteRef:10] And that such an appreciation for God could come only through the radical work of the Spirit. He was also a big proponent of grace and its transforming power. He wrote that “true grace is not an unactive thing; there is nothing in heaven or earth of a more active nature.”[footnoteRef:11] Under Edward’s leadership many New England Congregationalists and middle colony Presbyterians moved toward an ideal of a “pure church”, or the conviction that only those who are professed believers should take the Lord’s Supper or take their place as full members of the local church. [8: Justo Gonzalez. The story of Christianity: Volume 2. (Broadway, New York: Harper Collins. 2010.) 288.] [9: Ibid., 289] [10: D. Jeffrey Bingham. Pocket History of the Church. (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press. 2002).] [11: Jonathan Edwards. “A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections” Jonathan Edwards Reader. (Ames, Iowa: International Outreach, Inc. 2013.) ]

Comparison

Whitefield met and preached for Jonathan Edwards. Whitefield’s approach to evangelism and the call for spiritual awakening was a bit different from that of Edwards. Although Edwards was intrigued by Whitefield’s passion, he was less impressed with Whitefield’s push toward conversion and the appeal to emotions of the people.[footnoteRef:12] Furthermore, Edwards seemed content to keep the revivals within the local churches, keeping the call for new birth in the hands of local pastors and churches. Whitefield, on the other hand, took to open air preaching, in the middle of towns and cities in hopes of any and all who would listen to the message to receive it.[footnoteRef:13] Edwards’ focus was on the details behind the Great Awakening and Whitefield’s focus was on the broader vision of who it would reach. In the words of Cross and Livingstone, “Whitefield himself was determined to act as an ‘Awakener’ to all the Churches.”[footnoteRef:14] [12: James L. Digby "The Life of George Whitefield." Banner of Truth USA - Biblical Christianity through Literature. May 29, 2015. Accessed October 2, 2016. https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2015/life-george-whitefield/.] [13: Thomas S. Kidd, George Whitefield: America's Spiritual Founding Father (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2016), 251.] [14: Frank Lambert, Pedlar in Divinity: George Whitefield and the Transatlantic Revivals, 1737-1770 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002), 96.]

Other Leaders

Although Edwards and Whitefield were major key players in the advancement of the Great Awakening, they did not do it alone. Many other men contributed as well. The Great Awakening, although it didn’t take place until the 1730’s and 1740’s was birthed in New Jersey in the 1720’s under the evangelical ministry of Theodore Frelinghuysen, a Dutch Reformed pastor. William and Gilbert Tennent brought revival to the Presbyterian churches of Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the 1720’s and 1730’s. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, taught revival to Great Britain in the 1730’s. Samuel Davies helped usher in the southern phase of the Great Awakening in the 1740’s.

Evangelicalism

The First Great Awakening was sparked by evangelicalism. Evangelicalism is a movement in modern Christianity “transcending denominational and confessional boundaries that emphasizes conformity to the basic tenets of the faith and a missionary outreach of compassion and urgency.”[footnoteRef:15] Those who identify with this movement are called evangelicals and believe and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. When one takes a look at evangelicalism in comparison to the preaching and teachings of that of the Great Awakening, one can easily see the impact that was made. The Great Awakening brought to end the “Puritan conception of society as a beneficial union of ecclesiastical and public life.”[footnoteRef:16] The leaders called for purity in the churches even if it meant destroying the close association between church and state. Moreover, Edwards and Whitefield although different in their preferred mode of teaching and preaching opened the doors to better communication of the Gospel and sparked a flame in the church once more. [15: Walter A. Elwell. “Evangelicalism” Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Ed. 2. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001). 405.] [16: Ibid., 523.]

Conclusion

The preaching, teaching, and writing of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield advanced the First Great Awakening. This cemented not only their names but their teachings and teaching styles into history. They opened the doors of change for Christian thinkers everywhere for theologians and lay-men alike. Thus making the First Great Awakening essential to the evangelical movement of then and today. The First Great Awakening serves as the foundation for how American religion is viewed, taught, and wrote about. The names of Edwards and Whitefield precede them and will continue to for the are, as previously mentioned, the greatest theologian and evangelist of the eighteenth century.

Bibliography

Bingham, D. Jeffrey. Pocket History of the Church. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press. 2002. 110.