Why great awakening happen

Gently, Edwards' words began to sink into the hearts of the assembly, and although his method of speaking lacked enthusiasm, his words were powerful. Revival followed. During the s, the church in Northampton felt the stirring of the Holy Spirit, moving them from their lukewarm apathy to an awakening of their souls.

Delivering his most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," on July 8, , in Enfield, Connecticut, Edwards helped spread the revival. A great commotion swept over the people and they began wailing, crying, and screeching loudly. Frequently Edwards asked the congregation to control themselves so he might finish his sermon. As a result of his preaching and the work of the Spirit, lives began to change and complete towns were transformed.

The most prominent theologian of the Great Awakening was Jonathan Edwards. Not a powerful speaker, Edwards still managed to spread the revival. From his brilliant mind, he constructed one of the most impressive sermons ever preached. He also wrote many books and pamphlets describing the events he saw in his own church. The only son in a family of eleven children, Edwards was born on October 10, At the young age of thirteen, he entered Yale not unusual during that era of history and graduated in Four years later Jonathan married the remarkable and virtuous Sarah Pierpont.

Faithfully Sarah helped Edwards in his ministry and personal endeavors. In , Edwards became the assistant minister at the Northampton church. When his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, died, Jonathan became the minister and served in that church for nearly twenty-four years. He spoke boldly against the Halfway Covenant. Since many of the members who promoted the Halfway Covenant were merchants or river gods, as Edwards called them , they were able to make most of the decisions for the community, thus giving them the power over the rest of the populace.

Edwards did much to help alleviate the tyrannical practices that followed. In the 's, when Jonathan Edwards became the minister at Northampton, he found only spiritual deadness in the church. He was concerned about the immorality of the young people and began visiting them in their homes.

In he preached a series of sermons on justification by faith alone. Revival grew, and souls did as it were come by floods to Christ. He wrote a book, Narratives of Surprising Conversions, describing the revival and its effects on the life of the town. In his Treatise Concerning Religious Affections , Edwards emphasized that true religion must affect the heart.

The individual would be confirmed in the truth of the gospel, that Jesus was the Son of God and the Savior of people vs. The convert would avoid sin and worldly lust vs. He would have a greater regard for the Holy Scriptures, accepting their truth and divine origins v. Finally, his life would evidence a love to God and his fellow man vs. Edwards' printed works describing and analyzing the revival in Northampton were read throughout the American colonies and Britain.

They stimulated ministers on both sides of the Atlantic to begin praying and looking for a revival. George Whitefield , an Anglican evangelist and friend of John and Charles Wesley, not only traveled throughout Britain bringing the gospel of Christ, but he also made seven trips to America between and He was probably the most well-traveled man in the colonies and drew large crowds wherever he spoke.

A widespread revival was most clearly seen during his second journey As he toured the colonies, he would daily preach to large crowds in the open air; the crowds were too large for the churches. Benjamin Franklin was fascinated with Whitefield's speaking ability and the effects his teaching had on the people. Though Franklin never openly became a Christian himself, he did become a friend of Whitefield's and his publisher in America.

He was impressed with the change Whitefield's gospel preaching brought on society. Franklin wrote that It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious so that one could not walk through the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street. While Edwards was the most prominent theologian of the time, by far the most influential and famous evangelist of the Great Awakening was George Whitefield.

He was born in England and educated at Oxford, where he met and became friends with John and Charles Wesley. During his spare time at college, he visited the poor and those in prison. Almost new churches were built as a result of the Awakening.

About 50, American converts filled the new churches and the already established ones. Furthermore, the pro-Awakening factions—the new lights and the new side—built new colleges: Dartmouth, Brown, Rutgers, and Princeton.

They were all established by people who supported the Awakening and were eager to train clergy who would continue to support its principles. Learn more about the Second Great Awakening. The Great Awakening had substantial cultural impacts. The movement also inspired religious conversion and encouraged Americans, principally through missionary work, to see themselves as exporters of ideas to other cultures. As a result of the Great Awakening, citizens of New England, as well as other Americans, regained their sense of mission that had been dormant for years.

The Awakening also sparked a change in the most authoritarian institutions in British North America: the church. This was because people were allowed to question and sometimes to dismiss their leaders. Learn more about the Rejection of Empire.

The Great Awakening was the first religious revival in American history. Since that time, Americans have relied on religious revivals to resolve the great cultural crises that they have encountered as a people. The issues of industrialism in the late 19th century, and even the Cold War, were no exception.

During these times, Americans have come to terms with all of the confrontation, sorrow, and pain of transition through evangelical revivals. The pattern set by the Great Awakening of the s may be its most enduring contribution to modern America. It may even be the most lasting cultural contribution that the colonial era made to the rest of American history. The movement reduced the higher authority of church doctrine and instead put greater importance on the individual and his or her spiritual experience.

An important effect of the Great Awakening was the transformation of the religious climate in the American colonies. The Great Awakening began in the s and lasted less than ten years, until The effects of the Great Awakening , though, lasted much longer and, according to some scholars, still affect the American society.

The witch trials, the rebellions, and all such occurrences made dealing with the American people even more difficult for the colonists. Although they knew change was inevitable, they were unwilling to accept and encourage it.

At the time, those who promised to stop the change and identified fake culprits received more attention. Despite the efforts of the rulers, the society was undergoing an enormous transformation. The events that took place between and looked relatively small and undersized compared to what was about to happen in The year was the beginning of the most remarkable cultural riot, and the most determined attempt to relocate a source of certainty in American history.

It was what we know as the Great Awakening. The Puritan church was trying to gain full control over Americans. This was against the free-spiritedness of the American people and it started the course of events that led to the Great Awakening.

In the Salem witch trials began, leading to the accusation of people of witchcraft. Nineteen innocent people, mostly women, were hanged as a result. This is one of the events that led to Great Awakening. The Salem witch craze was among the important events that led to the Great Awakening. It started in February of , after an intense period of frustration in the area, by accusing numerous people of witchcraft.

It was the beginning of the constitutional monarchy of England as well. By Allen Guelzo, Ph. At the time, a string of events spanning several decades, gradually formed what came to be a turning point in American history. These included harsh and heart-breaking executions of very young girls and the Glorious Revolution in England. Despite all the oppression, the free-spirited Americans finally prevailed.

Read on to learn more about the events that led to the Great Awakening. The Disappointments and Challenges of the Europeans This freedom was not an exceptional gain without the pain.