Religion In The Great Awakening

An intense religious movement called, The Great Awakening, occurred in the 1730’s and 1740’s. This movement started in Colonial America, which originally came from a town named Northampton located in Massachusetts. Two preachers whose name’s are, Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield both called Northampton home. Between these two men and their belief that the only thing that could save us humans, from the eternal fires of hell, was The Lord’s mercy. This had a massive affect on the colonists of America, due to there spiritual beliefs coming to end for the past century. It not only affected the colonists but contributed greatly to the development of the separation of church and state in America.

George Whitefield was an Anglican minster that came to the British colonies in the 1740s to spread Christianity on several evangelical tours. Whitefield had what is described as an enthusiastic approach to sharing Christianity that added a dramatic role to his sermons by focusing on an emotional connection to God in order to stir the hearts of those that were listening, Franklin gives an account of this in his autobiography. Whitefield was a well-known preacher in the colonies and at the time the Stono Rebellion happened in 1739, Whitefield was coming back to the British colonies to start another tour to spread Christianity. Although Whitefield was generally popular by the colonists, the higher officials in the church did not like him as much because of the new way he presented Christianity, through the use of enthusiasm. With a dislike for Whitefield, clergy members would shut their church’s doors to the influence of Whitefield’s enthusiasm and instead of preaching in the pulpits, he resulted to preaching in the streets and in fields, where ever a crowd would gather. Despite those not liking his way of presenting Christianity, there was another aspect that people in the South began criticizing Whitefield for, his stance on slavery.

Fear is the most terrifying thing in this world and the Puritan society had used this fear for so long against their people, government, and everyday life. There are many things that they can use fear in everyday life no matter who you are. The most common fear they used is one of many things that many people know today and that is hell. So come and learn a little bit about how fear was used in Puritan society.

During the 1730s and the 1740s, a religious revival swept happened in the colonies. George Whitefield, a revivalist, toured America. During this tour, Jonathan Edwards said a sermon called, ¨Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” This lecture started a wave of religious fervor and began the Great Awakening.

This was a time of religious revival in the 18th and 19th centuries. In other words, people started to become more religious and started to practice more religious beliefs than they did before. After the Salem Witch Trials, many people were beginning to think that Puritanism was not the right religion to follow and that it was easy to become misguided when trying to follow it. The Puritan ministers, of course, wanted as many people as possible to believe what they did because they were certain that their beliefs were the right ones that God wanted others to follow. They tried their best to get people to realize that the whole religion was not bad; just a few people got the wrong ideas and were mistaken on what the ideas actually meant. An article by Frank Lambert discusses how Edwards help start the Great Awakening and also explained some of his beliefs. He says“.. Edwards set forth one of his most original explanations: the divine impinges on the human when, through God’s grace, the saint undergoes a transformation of the heart that leads him or her to a new understanding of things divine” (Lambert). Edwards, as well as other Puritans, believed that God could help anyone through any kind of trouble they may have been having and God could also make one believe that they were capable of doing extraordinary things. They also believed that anyone who denied God would be in for some serious troubles. For example, author Brandon Withrow says “Edwards states: The vial of God's wrath is poured out on the throne of the beast, i.e., on his authority and dominion, to weaken it and to diminish it, both in extent and degree” (Withrow). In other words, Edwards believed that God’s wrath is cast upon all of the sinners in the world and he tries to weaken the sinner. God punishes those who have done wrong, whether it be by denying him and his faith or doing

We must come to see the day… not of the white men, not of the

The Second Great Awakening, beginning in about 1790, influenced a reform movement that encouraged mandatory, free, public education. In 1805, the New York Public School Society was created by wealthy businessmen and was intended to provide education for poor children. In 1817, a town meeting in Boston, Massachusetts called for establishment of free public primary schools. Many wage earners opposed this proposal. Josiah Quincy, mayor of Boston, supported the idea that education should be a priority by saying, “(By) 1820, an English classical school is established, having for its object to enable the mercantile and mechanical classes to obtain an education adapted for those children whom their parents wished to qualify for active life, and thus

Jonathan Edwards’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House” seem at first glance quite similar to one another regarding context, however, after taking a closer look, it becomes apparent that there are some substantial differences. These differences cannot be understood without the knowledge of cultural context concerning the Puritan belief system and their lifestyle.

The great awakening was a religious revival that occurred in the 1730s and 1740s. It started in England and then gradually made its way over to the American colonies. During this time, many different preachers and religious speakers went around and gave speeches to the people. Jonathan Edwards was one of Americas most important and original philosophical theologians who also went around and gave speeches about God and hell. One of his well-known sermon is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” preached at the meeting house in the village of Enfield, Connecticut, on Sunday, July 8, 1741, at the height of the great awakening. In this sermon, Edwards focused on the consequences of leading a sinful life, the power of God and repenting of ones sins, in order to be saved from hell. The purpose behind this piece of writing was not to terrorize or dismay the hearers, but to make them repent and believe in God again. This piece was aimed at those who lacked belief in God as well as churches. In “sinners in the hands of an angry God”, Jonathan Edwards uses different types of literary techniques, such as, imagery, metaphor, similes, repetition, and rhetorical questions to emphasize his point. His point is to scare the people and make them want to repent, which is the theme of the sermon.

Well known reverend and writer, Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, Sinners in the hands of an Angry God, describes the dramatic fate of those who haven 't accepted Jesus Christ. Edwards purpose is to persuade members of his congregation to be “born again”. To be born again means to accept Jesus Christ. He creates a frightening tone in order to frighten unconverted men to believe in Jesus. Throughout his sermon he continuously reminds the reader of hell. Using vivid imagery and morbid diction he scares them into becoming “born again”.

On July 8, 1741 Jonathan Edwards delivered the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” During this time many people were moving away from their Puritan beliefs and did not make God a priority. In the message he talked about how everyone was a sinner and how everyone belongs in hell. He also talked about how if God wanted to He would throw everyone in Hell, but since He gave us His Son we should take Him and repent. While delivering this message many people began to repent and ask for forgiveness. Sometimes it is easy to take the gift of salvation for granite, which is why we should review how and why it was given to us.

Jonathan Edwards once said: “Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will.” Since birth (October 5th, 1703), Jonathan has always been a devoted Puritan which explains why he began the Great Awakening, along with George Whitefield. Edwards started preaching and wanted people to reconvert to Puritanism. His work, “Sinners at the Angry Hands of God,” was written on July 8, 1741. Many of his works were directed to his movement, the Great Awakening. Unfortunately, Edwards died on March 22, 1758, due to smallpox, shortly after being nominated as president of Princeton University (Fickas). Born to a farming family, Edward Taylor was born in 1642 in Leicestershire, England (“Edward Taylor”). Taylor began preaching in 1671. He wrote one of the most popular works in Puritan literature, Huswifery. Regrettably, Edward died on June 24th 1729 (Schafer sec. 1). Despite Edward Taylor’s and Jonathan Edwards’ devotion for Puritanism, they differ in their perception of God, figurative language, and their incentive for writing.

After the War of 1812 up to and past the death of Zachary Taylor in 1850, the United States was undergoing a period of cultural, governmental and social reform in which citizens were pushing for more democracy, freedoms, and rights for various groups of people. This time was called The Second Great Awakening that changed citizens’ views on religion, morals, rights and even life values, all of which were main drives for reform in areas such as women’s rights and voting, the issue of slavery, and government facilities such as

In the seventeenth century, the Pilgrims left England to head for the “new world” we know today as the Americas with the hopes of finding a place independent of King James and England. In traveling across the vast Atlantic Ocean to live independently the Pilgrims were given the task of creating a successful society. They sought a place to express their religion freely and independent from the restrictions in England. They aspired to make this society succeed in several crucial areas. They pursued strong protection and in very unfamiliar territory in order to keep their people safe and happy. They desired peace whenever possible with surrounding people that they happened to share the land with. The pilgrims were successful in fulfilling

“Independence, free will, and personal effort are considered primary virtues that contribute not only to personal achievement but also to the success and well-being of the nation.” This quote, stated by Charles Finney, means that people must be able to choose for themselves and make their own decisions in order for the country to become better than it is. The Second Great Awakening began for several different reasons, consisted of many different church revivals and leaders, and ultimately had a lasting impact for several more years after the end of the Second Great Awakening.