Following the era of the Reformation came the Enlightenment, or the “Age of Reason.” This time period brought an emphasis on the temporal world and earthly life, rather than preparation for life after death. While this way of thinking came to dominate Western thought, periods of renewed religious enthusiasm punctuated the transition over the centuries. In the 1730s, America, Scotland, Wales, and England experienced this renewal. The revival in America, led by preachers like the brilliant Jonathan Edwards, stressed the personal conversion experience that some members of the Church of England had lacked; meanwhile, England was experiencing a revival under leaders like George Whitefield and John Wesley. While Jonathan Edwards delivered compelling sermons in Massachusetts, such as “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” George Whitefield, known for his masterful oratory ability, preached to coal miners in Bristol, England.
When George Whitefield invited John Wesley to preach in Bristol, the experience led Wesley to reach a much greater level of confidence in his own faith, for up to this point his spiritual life had been plagued by “anxiety, insecurity, and futility” (Shelley 337). Whitefield and Wesley became friends, but their disagreement about predestination kept them somewhat distant. Wesley’s followers practiced careful organization in their religious lives; they met weekly in groups of eleven, plus one leader, called “classes.” Opponents of the movement referred to the followers as “methodists,” but Wesley’s followers welcomed the term and continue to use it to this day.
In the 1800s, back in America, the Second Great Awakening swept the nation. During this period, believers had a widespread desire to see America dominated by Christianity. Lyman Beecher was a notable member of the movement and felt that Christians must take advantage of the growing Western territory and claim the country for Christ. Evangelicalism confronted the “wild and lawless living” of the Western frontiersmen through the method of the “camp meeting” (Shelley 386-387). At these meetings, preachers spoke to pioneers that had travelled, sometimes over one hundred miles, to camp in wagons and listen to the message. The preaching at camp meeting revivals often evoked intense emotional reactions among the listeners, and “strong emotional responses were considered proofs of conversion” (Severance).
Lyman Beecher served as a pastor in Litchfield, Connecticut, for many years before moving to Cincinnati in 1832, where he became president of Lane Theological Seminary and pastor of Cincinnati’s Second Presbyterian Church. Beecher was passionate about intemperance and opposed the slavery practiced in the South. He was a Calvinist but grew to align with Arminian doctrine in regard to free will, and he left a legacy through his thirteen children, including Henry Ward Beecher, the most well-known preacher in American during his time, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the famous abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
The United States’ long history of Christianity holds special significance today as society drifts ever farther from God. In these times, we can take hope in the fact that God renewed hearts in the First and Second Great Awakening, as well as countless other times throughout history. Meanwhile, God’s people have the responsibility of holding fast to truth amid opposition and of seeking to reach those in need of Good News.
Note: As many of you likely already know, this month is clay’s last month and year of publication. I would like to thank those who have read the Church History column this year, and I hope you learned interesting facts about the Christian Church and its past. Thank you again, and I’ll look forward to seeing some of you in future years at TPS!
Works Cited:
Christian History Magazine Editing Staff. “John Wesley: Methodical pietist.” 131 Christians Everyone Should Know, edited by Mark Galli and Ted Olsen, Holman Reference, 2000, www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/denominationalfounders/john-wesley.html.
Christian History Magazine Editing Staff. “Lyman Beecher: Revivalist who moved with the times.” 131 Christians Everyone Should Know, edited by Mark Galli and Ted Olsen, Holman Reference, 2000, www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/pastorsandpreachers/lyman-beecher.html.
Mahoney, Patrick J. “Hope for the West: The Life and Mission of Lyman Beecher.” ConnecticutHistory.org, 26 July 2020.
Severance, Diane. “The Second Great Awakening.” Christianity.com, 28 Apr. 2010, www.christianity.com/church/the-2nd-great-awakening-11630336.html.
Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language. Updated Third ed., Thomas Nelson, 2008, pp. 311-387.
Thompson, J. Earl. “Lyman Beecher’s Long Road to Conservative Abolitionism.” Church History, vol. 42, no. 1, Cambridge University Press, 1973, pp. 89–109, doi.org/10.2307/3165048.
Image Credit:
“Painting of Camp Meeting from the Second Great Awakening.” Christianity.com, 28 Apr. 2010, www.christianity.com/church/the-2nd-great-awakening-11630336.html.