Of course, Jonathan Edwards was greatly in tune with this emphasis on the new birth, especially seen in his sermon “A Divine and Supernatural Light,” which points to “a new sense of divine things” that comes about through the illuminating work of God’s Spirit upon the soul of an individual. This “new sense” awakens the soul to see things as they really are, namely the majesty and glory of God, the beauty of Christ and his work, and the truth of Scripture and teachings of the Christian religion. Edwards was also no stranger to awakenings, having gone through several “stirrings” and times of “harvest” both in his father’s church in East Windsor and his grandfather’s church in Northampton. Edwards himself pastored through a brief awakening in 1734-35 in Northampton, half a decade before nearly all of the English colonies were caught up in religious fervor.

After 1735, however, many of Edwards’s parishioners went through periods of backsliding, an evident sign to Edwards that the Holy Spirit was drawing back his influence on the congregation. This prompted Edwards to embark on several sermon campaigns, including the “Charity and its Fruits” sermons, a series on the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, and the sermon series on a “History of the Work of Redemption.” These work little effect among the town and Edwards begins to examine more closely the nature of Christian obedience and behavior, realizing that he may have overemphasized the “divine light” aspect of conversion, not giving sufficient attention to the “divine living” aspect of the Christian life and sanctification. Edwards’s treatise on Religious Affections, published in 1746, a few years after the awakenings of 1740-42, displays a much more balanced approach as he meticulously works these ideas out.

The entire game would change, however, with the arrival of a young, charismatic preacher named George Whitefield. Experiencing some success as a preacher in England, Whitefield comes over to the colonies and sets society on fire by sparking a wide series of awakenings throughout the colonies, resulting in the period known as the Great Awakening. Not everyone was caught up in this movement, however, with many clergy denouncing charismatic excesses and a perceived tendency toward antinomianism that seemed to follow the awakenings as they swept through the land. This sparked controversies between Old Lights, those critical of the awakenings, and New Lights, awakening supporters, causing further upheaval.

Edwards attempted to plow a middle road, championing the revivals as a true work of the Spirit of God, but also warning against the few excesses that were reported and observed. He criticizes New Lights for being un-Christian and un-Scriptural at times, and Old Lights for a stale theology and tradition-driven (as opposed to Scripture-driven) critiques of new approaches to preaching, evangelism, and ministry in general. Though Whitefield would be the most successful awakening preacher of the era, Edwards would also find success, largely away from his congregation at Northampton, this being the period where he (in)famously preached “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” at Enfield, Connecticut.

Much more could be said about the Great Awakening, and especially Edwards’s awakening writings (Religious Affections sparked a fascinating and wonderful discussion in the class), but that was the gist of what we discussed in class today.

After formal class and discussion time, we were surprised with another guest lecture, this time by Dr. Walter Kimnach. Dr. Kimnach served as the general editor for the six sermon volumes in the Yale Works of Jonathan Edwards project, personally editing volumes 10 and 25 himself (just as a sidenote, anyone interested in Edwards’s sermons and preaching should absolutely read Dr. Kimnach’s introduction to volume 10). Dr. Kimnach, naturally, spoke to us about Edwards’s methods as a preacher, particularly in how he structured his sermons, beginning formally with Scripture, then moving to an explanation of the doctrine in view, and concluding with a lengthy application section.

With that, the third day of instruction ended, but there was much more to come. Up next: a trip to the Beinecke Library, home to the largest Jonathan Edwards manuscript collection. A geek’s dream come true!

Sticking with a theme of redefinition, Kidd also desires a slightly nuanced understanding of what makes one an evangelical Christian.  He considers the four-pronged approach of David Bebbington–conversionism, activism, biblicism, and crucicentrism–to be slightly off, and instead argues for an evangelicalism defined by “persistent desires for revival, widespread individual conversions, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit” (xix).  This definition is crucial to the overall argument of the book, as the author sees this period as a fracas over the limits and boundaries of each of those three characteristics.

In making his case, the author begins by speaking to the influence of early New England Puritanism on later American evangelicalism and revivalism.  These latter two find their roots in the covenant renewals popular in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.  With the aid of printing campaigns and the proliferation of correspondence among clergy, localized covenant renewals would evolve into seasons of particular revival, the earliest appearing in Connecticut from 1720-1722.  Over the course of the next six decades, instances of revival would grow in frequency, effect, and religious fervor, again, reaching a pinnacle in the nearly New England-wide revival  of 1740-1743.

Not all colonial American Christians, lay or clergy, would welcome the new revivalism, and American evangelicalism would soon find itself split into three parties:  antirevivalists, moderates, and radicals.  Antirevivalists were critical of these new movements, fearing the dangers and likely conclusions of extreme expressions of enthusiasm, as well as having little patience with the wellspring of itinerant preachers who had no qualms with charging those critical of the revivals with the great crime of ministering while unconverted.  Moderate evangelicals welcomed the revival spirit, but with much caution.  They, too, understood the potential problems of charismatic excess and sought to draw boundaries around “legitimate” instances of revival.  The litmus test of revivalism for moderates would be defined in this way:  though “Authentic religious experiences might manifest themselves in various ways…they would always produce enduring, godly effects” (119).  Ecstatic experiences proved nothing if they did not result in a noticeable change in the way one lived and acted.

The bane of both these groups was, of course, the radicals.  Radicals practiced unrestrained itinerancy and some would even practice unrestrained exhortation, allowing untrained men, women, children, African American, and Native American Christians to preach and exhort.  Most characteristic of the radicals, however, was the extreme emotionalism that often accompanied, or was encouraged by, stirrings of revivalism.  Such emotionalism included “shaking, fits, and trances…involuntary motions or swooning” (131), and radicals soon began claiming that only those who experienced such heights could be assured that they were truly converted.

In telling the story of this first generation of American evangelicalism, Kidd relies on the vast extant source material from the era including diaries, pamphlets, books, personal correspondence, etc.  Though some of it can get quite repetitive, these types of first-hand accounts give much credence to the thesis that revivals were ongoing for the better part of the eighteenth century, rather than just a few short years in the middle of the century.  One problem with such reliance, however, is a lack of involvement with other social and cultural issues that may have influenced the onset of these episodes.  Though Kidd briefly mentions some types of these issues, i.e. an economic crisis that may have helped spur the 1740 revival in Massachusetts, there is no real explanation as to how these outside issues may have influenced or effected religious sentiments at the time.

This is also true with regard to wider intellectual currents in the eighteenth century.  Here, too, we see the limits of sticking with primary, first-hand source material.  It would have been particularly interesting and illuminating to have seen some discussion of the impact of Enlightenment thought, particularly on the moderates and the ways that the new paradigm factored into their desire to view the awakenings in terms of reason, virtue, and logical definition of the movement.  Again, some mention is hinted at, but there is not much of an attempt to synthesize the broader intellectual movement with the growth of American revivalism.

Despite these faults, The Great Awakening is a valuable introduction to the era and religious issues and currents at play in the early days of American evangelicalism.  Particularly useful is the constant interweaving of George Whitefield’s ministry through the various pockets of revival.  As the most notable figure during the awakenings, The Grand Itinerant naturally has prime of place in the overall narrative.  Whitefield is described as a brilliant preacher who sees a great deal of success in his travels around the Colonies, but Kidd is careful to stress that Whitefield should primarily be viewed as a catalyst in the towns he visited, rather than being the primary “soul-getter,” noting that most conversions happened after Whitefield had left town.

This book is also helpful in showing the impact of the New England revivals on the southern colonies, and particularly in aiding the growth of the Separatist movements.  Separatists united around the necessity for immediate, discernible conversions, and championed the right of the uneduated to preach and be ordained by the local church.  Much of this concern was born out of a perceived lack of purity in the antirevivalist, and even moderate churches, as well as wanting to decisively break from those who opposed so-called “excesses.”  While all Separatists could agree on these points, a rift would form over the issue of Baptism, causing the formation of the Baptist movement which would gain steam in the Middle Colonies and explode in the South, particularly in the nineteenth century.

Overall, Kidd has presented a delightful telling of the early American evangelical story that is rich in drama and anecdotal evidence.  Even if there are a few interpretive issues in the overall argument, The Great Awakening is a wonderful primer that will introduce the reader to the primary characters, issues, and effects of colonial American Christianity, as well as provide a useful framework for viewing the influence of evangelicalism on later American culture, particularly during the revolutionary and Civil War eras.