1. Between 1670-1700 many things happened of great consequence to the colonies:

—1675-76 Indian war against the Wampanoag left several thousand dead

—1679 a great fire ravaged Boston

—1685 the New England colonies lost their representative assemblies and suffered heavy-handed pressure until 1689— this had to do with the Stuarts assuming power in England (must bring colonies under control)

—1692 hysterias of the witch trials in Salem, Mass.—20 were executed.

2. Very early in the 18^th century signs of diversity began to manifest themselves. Religious dissenters were obliged to do battle with the Puritan mentality:

—Roger Williams questioned the Puritan’s abuse of the Indians

—Anne Hutchinson emphasizes grace over works and was banished

3. When after 1660 the Stuarts come to power in England Charles II demanded that the Anglicans be given complete freedom of religion—a fact which rankled Puritan fathers.

4. This 30-year period was a time of great tumult. A great contributing factor to the general circumstances was the question of the next generation. The Puritans had now produced children but:

—the second generation did not have the European experience

—their father’s faith was formed in the crucible of conflict

—their fathers had to defend their faith even by the extreme of death or immigration

—the second generation had to face the rigors of the frontier

—they were not all that interested in maintaining the purity of their father’s religion

—fewer of the new generation were presenting themselves for church membership

—this caused a great deal of concern

—many did not profess a religious experience

—their fathers devised what came to be known as the “halfway covenant.”

—it allowed the children of the founders to vote and be part of the community

—but those who did not profess a religious experience were refused communion and could not participate in church elections

—they were halfway Christians (only land owners and not real Christians)

—the enthusiasm of the founders began to wane

—the spiritual vitality of the colony begins to deteriorate noticeably

—the preachers responded with what was known as “jeremaids”

(hot hell and freezing rain sermons)

—the zeal of the times and the founding vision of the fathers was fading

—all was giving way to the easy peace of self-satisfaction

—the last great Puritan preacher who tried to combine piety and intellect was Cotton Mather

—by the year 1720, the Puritans were completely dethroned

(all the fathers were dead)

5. By the end of the 17^th century the American Colonies were demonstrating the diversity that would characterize the U.S. in the future.

—the first colony to practice religious toleration was founded by a Roman Catholic. George Calvaert founded Maryland. They passed the Act of Toleration in 1649 which granted freedom to all believers. It did exclude Jews and Unitarians

—Germans came and settled first in Germantown, Penn. Close to Phila.

—Quakers came by the thousands

—Reformed Dutch came but were not very evangelistic because they came from Holland a most tolerant nation

6. The First Great Awakening:

A. From the turn of the century (1700) until the time of the American Revolution, the colonies continued to draw immigrants.

All of Western Europe responded.

B. This was accompanied by a continued cooling off of the religious fervor heretofore part of the fabric of daily life.

—the Puritan =was becoming a Yankee

—the Anglican= was becoming a country gentleman

C. The preachers continued to hammer at the people with their “jeremaids”

D. In the second quarter of the 18^th century they began to see the results of their great work of preaching—the first great awakening. (1720 0n)

E. What took place in America was also taking place in Europe (Wales, England, Scotland, Germany)—all these societies experienced great religious awakenings. It was a surge of religious fervor and interest

F. The conditions that made America ripe for revival:

—intermittent wars with the French and Indians

—political unrest through interference from the Crown

—the effect of the Enlightenment of many church leaders

—indifference

—drunkenness and debauchery

—measures like the halfway covenant was self defeating and sent a subtle message that the true faith was optional

—general inability to secure ministers

—tendencies toward ease and comfort and acquiring the material side of life

—the churches had fallen into a comforting and routine orthodoxy

G. The advent of the revival: (reform)

—a major personality Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen 1691-1747)

—he found the churches in a poor state and began reform

—there are 3 elements to his approach

1. Solid evangelistic preaching

2. Regular pastoral visitation

3. Maintenance with strict discipline

—he was very successful and found many who wanted to convert or repent

—but his work put him in the middle of a great controversy

—some appreciated his work while others thought he was heavy handed

—by 1726 the movement was at its zenith and growing like a wildfire

—by Frelinghuysen was the preacher who initiated it all

H. It was a great success among Presbyterians

—“the presumptuous security and certain false doctrines” were how their preachers analyzed the problem

—the preaching rough and fiery and rough-hewn parishioners were unaccustomed to that kind of preaching.

I. By 1739 the revival was spreading rapidly and widely—even into the former Puritan churches.

J. One of the most influential contributors to the revival was the Anglican minister George Whitefield (1714-1770)

—educated at Oxford

—humanitarian - est. many orphanages in Georgia

—very popular in Phila. –his mild and reasonable manner was well known

—attracted the attention of Ben Franklin

—ecumenical working across denominational barriers

—embarked on a preaching tour—73 days traveled 800 miles and delivered 130 sermons—always met with throngs of people

—some reacted strongly to his strong preaching and his sentiments

—he was barred from preaching at Harvard and was never asked by (Pastors–not elders but preachers) to fill the pulpit

K. There were opponents to the awakening

—Charles Chauncy 1705-1787 First Church of Boston–he was doubtful of a long range revival

—he was concerned about methods that were being used to win souls

—a great deal of emotionalism was used

—James Davenport 1716-1757 was a radical that stirred up much controversy because of his unorthodox methods/ he encouraged people to burn their worldly possessions / and books by “unrepentant preachers”

—the zenith was reached about the year 1741-1742

—from here on the work was carried out by little known local ministers

—it was “the great awakening” because it was so general among the American population.

L. There were some immediate advantages

—widespread interest in missions

—interest in trying to promote a spirit of unity among many denominations

—it affected the strength and the disposition of the churches of the colonies

—many wayward members came back to their churches to inquire about the state of their souls

—the revival knew no barriers—it cut across all types of social divisions–social and demographic

—it was instrumental in bringing about the American Revolution because it drew the many colonies together as one in this respect

—it polarized whole denominations—there were various factions created in response to the awakening

—there were divisions between the “revivalist” and those who tended toward a more “rationalistic” approach

M. Anglicans tended to be against the revival—their congregations usually stagnated

N. The great awakening helped to give American believers a basic common understanding of the Christian life and faith:

—there are estimates that perhaps 80% of all church people participated in this understanding (unity)

—it produced broad denominational lines producing general agreement about what it meant to be a Christian

—church doctrines and practice was automatically relegated to secondary status

—this is nothing less than the production of a vast inclination in America toward comprehensive pluralism

—the religious groups did not see themselves as sects but rather as a part of larger whole—which remain in place today to some extent

O. The Awakening had a Permanent effect on Patterns of Revival

—and appeal for a decision of the will that was total (spiritual and not just intellectual)

— sermon style was altered to become more lose and extemporaneous

— content of the sermon was concerned primarily with the meaning and method of religious conversion

A PRIMARY ILLUSTRATION WAS JONATHAN EDWARDS WHO WE WILL LOOK AT SHORTLY

—there was no interest by the preacher to elucidate a pattern of rational understanding or the acceptance of doctrines —they were after the heart

—the revival in part was a response to what many regarded as coldness in the established church

—the emphasized that a man’s conversion witness should include some demonstration of the “reception of experimental grace.”

—therefore conversion was something that touched the entire being (body, mind, soul)

—so preaching for a decision became a standard practice—it emphasized more the will and the emotions and less the mind and reason

—experience in terms of religious feeling became far more important and crucial than rational understanding

P. The revival created tremendous institutional effects:

— Princeton was founded 1747

—Brown 1764

—Queen’s College later known as Rutgers 1766

—missionary efforts among the Indians were revived

—tended to increase the disestablishment of the state churches

Q. The Edwardian Revival:

—a great revivalists was Jonathan Edwards

—started his work in 1734

—born in East Windsor, Conn. In 1703/ the son and grandson of Congregational ministers

—educated at Yale

—influenced at Yale by John Locke’s Essay on human understanding

—devoted 13 hours a day to study

—felt that Arminianism (which was a high view of man) was at the root of the problem in the fall into sin in the colonies

—in his preaching he came to stress man’s complete dependence on God—Edwards based this idea on the unworthiness of man

—in his preaching he created “a sense of anxiety” among the people

—George Whitefield preached this style of sermon on July, 1741

“Sinners in the hands of an angry God”

—Edwards was more than just a leader of a revival—he was also a philosopher and theologian

—for him religion was an “experience” of the reality of God

—Edwards made several important theological contributions

1. He believed that man could not resist God in conversion but seemed inconsistent with the idea of free will so he followed Locke in dividing the mind into two areas:

a. understanding

b. will

2. His idea of inspiration–auth. Was based only in the Bible and not in personal experience

3. The idea of virtue and the Christian life / is a crucial idea but believed there was no use in loving the un-elect since they do not share the divine nature

R. The changes in theology that were caused by the awakening

—what was the meaning of sin, atonement, divine decree, justification and free will and how do they relate to each other.

—emphasis on the love of God rather than on the justice of God which was a Puritan concept

—salvation is for all men and not just the elect

—people began to take issue with the idea of Original sin since sin cannot be transferred.

S. Now hovering in the wings was “deism” which was a religious expression of the developing rationalism and liberalism that was gaining power as a strong philosophical force in the colonies.

—its effects lay in the fact that like the awakening it was very general and widespread

—its passion was the humane and the betterment of man