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England in the 17th century: religion – protestantism
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More handpicked essays just for you.
England in the 17th century: religion – protestantism
Religion in 1608-1674
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[6] Sweeney attempts to differentiate the confusion that comes with the term “evangelical” by those who offer many such different ideas. One such historian Randall Balmer prefers to refer to evangelicalism as a “patchwork quilt” a metaphor better suited to signify “folk art rather than fine art”[7] Sweeney, states that the movement is difficult because of all the off shoots such as Calvinists, Pentecostals, etc. but Sweeney writes, “Evangelicals comprise a movement that is rooted in Christian orthodoxy, shaped by a largely Protestant understanding of the gospel, and has distinguished itself from other such movements by and eighteenth-century twist.” [8] At the very heart of the matter we see that evangelicals“are committed to right doctrine and worship which as he writes are the defining features and
In18th century, two movements were spread across America. They greatly influenced the way how people think about religion, and more importantly they challenged the authority. They were the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment. Philosophers such as Jonathan Edwards and Thomas Paine brought their theory and belief to the public and caused great impact. Although they might have different belief, but Jonathan Edwards and Thomas Paine were more similar than they appeared.
Jonathan Edwards was a critical thinker in shaping the First Great Awakening and did this through his congregation in Northampton in New England. Edwards was born on October 5, 1703 in East Windsor, Connecticut to a minister and a daughter of Reverend Solomon Stoddard. Edwards prepared for his schooling by his father and elder siblings to later attend Yale College where two years after graduation he studied theology. While in college, Edwards took a liking to science, but unlike other students that went toward deism, he “saw the natural world as evidence of God’s masterful design,”(Marsden) Jonathan Edwards used his interest of science and the natural world in his sermons as evidence to God’s greatness on Earth. As he grew up and became a fill in pastor for different churches throughout the Northeast, he realized that he was not satisfied with his conversion.
It is 1741. The Enlightenment is spreading worldwide. The puritan people are leaving God. Johnathan Edwards gives a sermon on July 8th , 1741, trying to convince his fellow Puritan people to come back to God. He is going to try and accomplish this by giving his famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God '.
The Great Awakening unified the diverse colonies with the belief that colonists must shift their lives’ focus from worldly matters, such as accumulating land and wealth, back to faith and the church i n order to avoid condemnation by God. Ministers, such as the passionate George Whitefield, became very influential and powerful at the time by spreading this concept along with methods for earning salvation. For example, “at Philadelphia…, many thousands flock[ed] to hear him preach the Gospel, and great numbers were converted to Christ” (VOF 78). With a large following, Whitefield’s ideas “... encouraged many colonists to trust their own views rather than those of established elites” (GME 160).
The decline of Calvinism during the First Great Awakening yielded a more individualistic view of salvation and religion as a whole, inevitably resulting in new interpretations of Puritanism. Before the First Great Awakening began, the Massachusetts Bay Colony experienced a decline in religion between 1700 and 1725. The colonists viewed the ministers as too formal and lacking religion of the heart. However, beginning around the 1730s, the revival brought a new style of emotional, oratory preaching, which argued that everyone was damned unless he/she repented. This introduced the question “what can I do to be saved?”
The Great Awakening of the 18th century inspired millions of Americans to turn to God. They became passionately and emotionally involved in their religion. Powerful preaching styles aimed to convince listeners of their personal guilt, and the need of salvation. Jonathan Edwards was one of the most famous preachers at the time. He wrote a letter to his friend describing a sermon at a religious service.
The Awakening deemphasized the orthodox doctrines and the importance of the clergy. The evangelical ministers preached the importance of the individual’s spiritual, emotional and personal relationship with God. This new form of religion ushered independent ideas within the masses and fostered relationships between the colonies. Because the movement of the Great Awakening was so wide spread and “swept across all colonial boundaries, …” it produced “… common interest … loyalty … and a common
Contrasting, Not Conflicting At the time of the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards delivered very influential religious sermons and essays. In these works, Edwards sought to correct certain religious lifestyles or simply discuss certain religious values. One such work is his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in which he urges people not to sin because of God’s almighty power and the strength of his wrath against sinners. Another such work is his essay “Beauty of the World” in which Edwards speaks of the beauty of everything in the world created by God, specifically God’s creation of light.
Followers, who had once felt unfulfilled and disheartened during sermons, suddenly felt and experienced the spiritual connection to God that they had each been longing for after attending preachings from these two men. The Great Awakening brought about religious freedom and free will (Smith, 2011) that would grant all
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.
The term evangelicalism is tied to the religious movement and denominational organizations that sprung from a series of revivals in the 17th century by the Methodist Founder John Wesley (1703-1791), the American philosopher and theologian John Edwards (1703-1758), and
In the midst of this state of affairs, many people began to pray for a revitalization of the churches and their members. It was common for preachers to mourn the decline of spirituality and urge their faithful to pray for revival. These aspirations began to be met outside New England in the central colonies. For months, Whitefield, a convicted Calvinist who had initially worked with John Wesley, preached almost every day to auditoriums that numbered eight thousand. This campaign has had a huge impact on all colonies, becoming the first national wide-ranging event in US history.
Humankind—Image of God and Original Sin In The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace, Kenneth J. Collins, makes another important contribution to the area of Wesley Studies. Collins seeks to organize his discussion of Wesley’s theology around the “axial theme” of “holiness and grace” (6). The organization of the book is logical and easy to follow, essentially guiding the reader through the Way of Salvation or more accurately (according to Collins’ view) the order of salvation.
In 1536 an Institute had given Calvin a reputation for the Protestant leaders, while Calvin spent the night in Genevalate, the preacher and reformer of Guillaume was creating Protestantism in the town. He persuaded him to continue to help in this line of work, his influence has not only persevered in the Church of England, where Calvin was greatly respected among those Puritans who were unfortunately separated from the Anglican Establishment, but also persisted in the Reformed churches of France, Scotland, Hungary, Germany, and the Netherlands. The latter was formulated into their own personal churches, Congregational or Presbyterian, which is what eventually brought Calvinism to North America. Even in today’s modern society these wonderful churches, along with the authentic Reformed Church and German Evangelical, recognize John Calvin as one of their founding fathers.