The English preacher George Whitefield, b. Dec. 16, 1714, d. Sept. 30, 1770, was a leader of the Evangelical Revival on both sides of the Atlantic, participating in the GREAT AWAKENING in the colonies and the Wesleyan movement in Great Britain. He was educated at Oxford and was a member of the WESLEY brothers' Holy Club. After ordination (1736) as an Anglican deacon he made the first of seven voyages to America in 1738. He subsequently took orders as a priest, but he was soon excluded from Anglican pulpits because of his evangelistic fervor. As a result he began preaching in religious societies and the open air, making a major contribution to the Evangelical Revival and the growth of METHODISM.
Theological differences led to conflict with John Wesley and a partial separation of the movements they represented. Whitefield identified himself more closely with the Countess of Huntingdon Connection, which was essentially Calvinist in theology (in contrast to the Arminianism of the Wesleys). Nevertheless, Whitefield, with his powerful voice and famous cross-eyes (he was "Dr. Squintum" to his detractors), was a valuable complement to the organizational and counseling skills of the Wesleys.
Frederick A. Norwood Bibliography: Dallimore, A., George Whitefield, 2 vols. (1970; repr. 1980); Lambert, F., Pedlar in Divinity (1994).
More conservative ministers did not welcome the turmoil occasioned by the Great Awakening. Many resented traveling preachers who invaded their parishes and held competitive religious services. Charles CHAUNCY of Boston argued that the new enthusiasm was a form of spiritual derangement where emotions destroyed man's rational control of his destiny. In spite of these opponents, thousands of individuals experienced a new sense of dependence on God's will. Many churches were revitalized, and new converts were added to the lists of faithful members.
Religious enthusiasm tended to wane after 1750, but it did not entirely disappear. During the Revolutionary period many Methodist preachers kept the tradition alive in their congregations. Beginning in 1795 and expanding tremendously through the 1840s, a new revival known as the Second Great Awakening appeared. Evangelists such as Charles G. FINNEY emphasized free will, divine forgiveness for all, and the need of each person to freely accept or reject salvation. The First Great Awakening drew on Calvinist theology, while the Second relied on ARMINIANISM, which allowed human decisions in the salvation process. But their common emphasis made revivals a central feature of American religion through the years.
Henry Warner Bowden
Bibliography: Bushman, R.L., ed., The Great Awakening (1989); Gaustad, Edwin S., The Great Awakening in New England (1968); Rutman, Darrett B., Great Awakening: Event and Exegesis (1970).
Calvinism, the Protestant religious perspective associated with the work of John CALVIN, includes both the teachings of Calvin and the later developments of his world view. Calvin's doctrine was catholic in its acceptance of the Trinity, human sinfulness, and the saving work of Jesus Christ. It was Protestant in its commitment to the final authority of the Bible, justification by GRACE through faith alone, and the bondage of the will for SALVATION. It was distinctly reformed in its stress on the omnipotent sovereignty of God, the need for discipline in the church, and the ethical seriousness of life.
The so-called Five Points of Calvinism were formulated by Dutch Reformed theologians at the Synod of Dort (1618-19) in response to the teachings of ARMINIANISM. The five points teach that (1) humankind is spiritually incapacitated by SIN; (2) God chooses (elects) unconditionally those who will be saved; (3) the saving work of Christ is limited to those elected ones; (4) God's grace cannot be turned aside; (5) those whom God elects in Christ are saved forever .
Early in the 20th century, the German sociologist Max WEBER and the English economist R. H. TAWNEY put forth the much-debated thesis that Calvinism promoted the rise of capitalism. Whether this is true or not, it cannot be denied that Calvinists have been deeply involved in political, social, educational, and economic developments. PURITANISM in England and America is a product, to one degree or another, of the Calvinistic spirit.
Calvinism provides the basic doctrinal orientation of the REFORMED CHURCHES and PRESBYTERIANISM; branches of some other Protestant denominations, such as the Baptists, have also been influenced by Calvinism.
Mark A. Noll
Bibliography: Dakin, Arthur, Calvinism (1940, repr. 1971); Leith, John H., Introduction to the Reformed Tradition (1977); McNeill, John T., The History and Character of Calvinism, rev. ed. (1967); Prestwich, Menna, ed., International Calvinism (1985); Warfield, B. B., Calvin and Calvinism (1931); Weber, Max, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, trans. by Talcott Parsons (1950).
Edwards's thinking combined two intellectual traditions. He defended standard doctrinal categories of the Puritan (see PURITANISM) tradition, but he did so by using contemporary ideas from the British philosophers who helped inaugurate the ENLIGHTENMENT. Drawing upon John LOCKE, he argued that current psychology vindicated the doctrine of man's total dependence on God. Since man's mind is originally a tabula rasa ("blank slate") on which his practical experience records impressions, and since God controls the destiny of every individual, human understanding can be considered to be the product of what God determines a person should experience. Edwards's reading of Isaac Newton also supported traditional convictions about the supremacy of God and the helplessness of man in the face of causes that lie beyond human control.
Blending his belief in the mystical nature of God with the logic of his day, Edwards also upheld the doctrines of original sin, lack of free will, the need for saving grace, and God's arbitrary choice in granting grace. His most famous works include the electrifying sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" (1741), A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Works of God (1737), and Freedom of the Will (1754).
Henry Warner Bowden
Bibliography: Cherry, C., The Theology of Jonathan Edwards (1990); Daniel, S., The Philosophy of Jonathan Edwards (1994); Miller, P., Jonathan Edwards (1949; repr. 1981); Oberg, B. B., and Stout, H. S., Benjamin Franklin, Jonathan Edwards, and the Representation of American Culture (1993).
The name Remonstrants was given to the followers of the Dutch Protestant reformer Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609; see ARMINIANISM) who in 1610 drew up a document known as the Remonstrance. This document, after asserting the primacy of Scripture over creeds, set forth a revision of CALVINISM: Christ died for all, not only for the elect; divine GRACE is not irresistible; Christians can fall from grace, through free will, and be lost. These affirmations constituted a rejection of the most extreme Calvinist interpretation of PREDESTINATION.
The Remonstrants were condemned by the Dutch Reformed Church at the Synod of Dort (1618-19). Fourteen years of persecution followed, during which their services were forbidden and their clergy silenced or exiled. Among the refugees arose a Remonstrant Reformed Brotherhood which, after the ban was lifted in 1623, became the Remonstrant Reformed Church Community. It continued as a small free church after 1795, when full toleration was established, and influenced evangelical theology in both the Netherlands and the United States.
Frederick A. Norwood
Arminianism, which takes its name from Jacobus Arminius (Jakob Harmensen), is a moderate theological revision of CALVINISM that limits the significance of predestination. Arminius (1560-1609) was a Dutch Reformed theologian who studied at Leiden and Geneva. He became a professor at Leiden in 1603 and spent the rest of his life defending against strict Calvinists his position that God's sovereignty and human free will are compatible.
A Remonstrance in 1610 gave the name REMONSTRANTS to the Arminian party. They were condemned by the Synod of Dort (1618-19) but later received toleration. English revisionist theology of the 17th century was called Arminian, although possibly without direct influence from Holland. John WESLEY accepted the term for his theological position and published the Arminian Magazine. The tension between the Arminian and Calvinist positions in theology became quiescent until Karl BARTH sparked its revival in the 20th century.
Frederick A. Norwood
Bibliography: Bangs, Carl, Arminius, rev. ed. (1985); Muller, Richard, God, Creation, and Providence in the Thought of Jacob Arminius (1991); Tyacke, Nicholas, Anti-Calvinists (1987).
The Wesley family was made famous by the two brothers, John and Charles, who worked together in the rise of METHODISM in the British Isles during the 18th century. They were among the ten children surviving infancy born to Samuel Wesley (1662-1735), Anglican rector of Epworth, Lincolnshire, and Susanna Annesley Wesley, daughter of Samuel Annesley, a dissenting minister.
John Wesley, b. June 28, 1703, d. Mar. 2, 1791, was the principal founder of the Methodist movement. His mother was important in his emotional and educational development. The rescue of little "Jackie" from the burning rectory ("a brand plucked from the burning") has become legendary. John's education continued at Charterhouse School and at Oxford, where he studied at Christ Church and was elected (1726) fellow of Lincoln College. He was ordained in 1728.
After a brief absence (1727-29) to help his father at Epworth, John returned to Oxford to discover that his brother Charles had founded a Holy Club composed of young men interested in spiritual growth. John quickly became a leading participant of this group, which was dubbed the Methodists. His Oxford days introduced him not only to the rich tradition of classical literature and philosophy but also to spiritual classics like Thomas a Kempis's Imitation of Christ, Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and Dying, and William Law's Serious Call.
In 1735 both Wesleys accompanied James OGLETHORPE to the new colony of Georgia, where John's attempts to apply his then high-church views aroused hostility. Discouraged, he returned (1737) to England; he was rescued from this discouragement by the influence of the Moravian preacher Peter BOEHLER. At a small religious meeting in Aldersgate Street, London, on May 24, 1738, John Wesley had an experience in which his "heart was strangely warmed."
After this spiritual conversion, which centered on the realization of salvation by faith in Christ alone, he devoted his life to evangelism. Beginning in 1739 he established Methodist societies throughout the country. He traveled and preached constantly, especially in the London-Bristol-Newcastle triangle, with frequent forays into Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. He encountered much opposition and persecution, which later subsided.
Late in life Wesley married Mary Vazeille, a widow. He continued throughout his life a regimen of personal discipline and ordered living. He died at 88, still preaching, still traveling, and still a clergyman of the Church of England. In 1784, however, he had given the Methodist societies a legal constitution, and in the same year he ordained Thomas COKE for ministry in the United States; this action signaled an independent course for Methodism.
Charles Wesley, b. Dec. 18, 1707, d. Mar. 29, 1788, was perhaps England's greatest hymn writer. Educated at Oxford, he was ordained in 1735 and went to Georgia as Oglethorpe's secretary. He returned a year earlier than John. After a religious experience similar to John's, he continued for many years in close association with the Methodist movement. After 1756, however, he left the itinerant ministry and settled first in Bristol and later in London. He wrote more than 5,000 hymns, among them "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" and "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling."
Frederick A. Norwood
Bibliography: Ayling, Stanley, John Wesley (1979); Cell, G., The Rediscovery of John Wesley (1983); Green, V.H.H., John Wesley (1987); Kimbrough, S.T., Jr., ed., Charles Wesley (1992); Outler, A.C., ed., John Wesley (1964); Pudney, John, John Wesley and His World (1978); Rowe, K.E., ed., The Place of Wesley in the Christian Tradition (1976); Tuttle, Robert, John Wesley: His Life and Theology (1978; repr. 1982).
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