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George Whitefield During The Great Awakening In American History

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George Whitefield was the most well-known preacher during the Great Awakening in American history. He traveled the 13 colonies, inspired to raise money to start an orphanage in Georgia by gathering charity from his lectures. He took Colonial America by storm with his eloquent teachings and became infamous in the religious community. We know he was the most popular religious speaker of the time; now let’s discover why. Benjamin Franklin knew Whitefield personally and, to support his friend, went to observe one of his sermons. Franklin did not want to give any of his charity to the cause because he believed ”it would have been better to have built the house [in Philadelphia].” Throughout the oratory, however, Whitefield’s passionate words “made …show more content…

He gained much momentum with the help of the bandwagon effect as people started spreading the news of his passionate sermons. He may have been resented by the prim-and-proper church members of older communities, but he sparked hope in the souls of many who needed to hear that God accepted them for who they were. This is why George Whitefield was so popular.
George Whitefield was the most well-known preacher during the Great Awakening in American history. He traveled the 13 colonies, inspired to raise money to start an orphanage in Georgia by gathering charity from his lectures. He took Colonial America by storm with his eloquent teachings and became infamous in the religious community. We know he was the most popular religious speaker of the time; now let’s discover …show more content…

He claimed that Whitefield was “a dangerous man, and greatly injurious to the interest of the undefiled religion of Jesus Christ.” Henchman was threatened by Whitefield’s popularity (as were many traditional churches of the colonies) because colonists were finding the desire to free themselves from the intolerant ways of their original religious communities. The message many ministers were preaching during the Great Awakening was that you didn’t have to conform to a church’s narrow requirements to be a Christian. The belief that being a Christian didn’t have to mean acceptance by a stiff or intolerant church community spread like wildfire, and a new light burned in the hearts of many: the light of hope. People began realizing that they could form their own, more liberal churches—and they did! The pickier, old fashioned churches began losing their grip on the religious community, and many people like Nathanael Henchman complained to George Whitefield about it. George Whitefield may have been disliked by the older churches, but he became very popular because he gave hope to the many who couldn’t fit in with

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