Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875) was an important American Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening revival movement in the United States during the early 19th century. Finney is best known as an innovative revivalist preacher during the period of religious revivalism called the Second Great Awakening in America.
Finney was born on August 29, 1792 in Warren, Connecticut. He studied law and became an attorney, but after a dramatic conversion experience at age 29, he left his law practice to become a Presbyterian minister. He was ordained in 1824.
Finney became known for his fiery and passionate sermons aimed at provoking an emotional response and public commitment to faith. His revival preaching was part of the Second Great Awakening, a Protestant religious revival movement that swept across the United States in the early 1800s. Finney emphasized conversion experiences and promoted social reforms. He has been called “The Father of Modern Revivalism.”
Some key facts about Charles Finney:
– He was an important leader in the Second Great Awakening, a Protestant religious revival movement in the United States in the early 19th century. This was a time of renewed religious fervor and large-scale conversions.
– He was known for his innovative revival style and measures, which were controversial at the time. He aimed for an emotional response and public commitment.
– His preaching emphasized the importance of spiritual conversion and a personal relationship with Christ. He promoted the idea that salvation was available to all.
– He believed in the ability of people to change their own circumstances for the better. This influenced his views on social reforms and activism.
– He advocated for a number of social reforms including abolition of slavery, education reform, temperance, and better treatment of the poor.
– He helped establish Oberlin College which became influential in abolitionism and educating African Americans and women.
– He served as a pastor in New York state for many years and traveled widely as an itinerant preacher and lecturer.
– He published several influential books including his memoir, Lectures on Revivals of Religion.
– He trained and inspired many other preachers in revivalism. Over 500 of his revival converts became ministers themselves.
– His “new measures” for promoting religious revivals were controversial at the time and opposed by more traditional ministers. But they paved the way for modern evangelism.
– He believed in the role of prayer, preaching, and music in revivalism, but also emphasized personal choice and commitment to faith.
– He rejected Calvinist predestination in favor of the idea that humans had free will to choose salvation. This was the foundation of the religious movement known as New School Presbyterianism.
Finney was born the youngest of fifteen children in Warren, Connecticut, on August 29, 1792. His family moved to the upstate New York frontier when he was young, settling in Jefferson County. Finney did not receive much formal education as a child due to the frontier setting.
In 1818, at age 26, Finney began studying to become an attorney. He apprenticed under well-known lawyer Benjamin Wright in Adams, New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1824 and opened his own successful practice.
Finney underwent a dramatic conversion experience in 1821 that changed the course of his life. It began with a period of religious questioning and then culminated in his acceptance of Jesus Christ while alone in the woods. He described it as being grasped by the Holy Spirit. Soon after this, he left his law practice and enrolled at Oneida Presbyterian Seminary to become a licensed minister. He was ordained by the Presbytery of St. Lawrence in 1824 at the age of 32.
Finney first worked as an urban missionary and part-time preacher in Jefferson County, New York. But he soon gained wider fame for his revival preaching and unorthodox methods. From 1824 onwards, Finney traveled widely and led religious revivals in New York state and major cities of the Eastern Seaboard.
Finney was known for his dramatic and emotional revival preaching. His style was innovative and even controversial at the time. His goal was to achieve public professions of faith through conviction and conversion. Key elements of his approach included:
– Direct and passionate delivery aimed at making listeners commit on the spot
– Use of colloquial language and examples rather than formal oratory
– Allowing women and African Americans to pray aloud and take public roles
– Public prayer meetings and “anxious bench” for people considering faith
– Abandoning Calvinist views on election in favor of universal salvation
Some of his most famous revivals were held in Rochester, New York in 1830-1831 where over 100,000 people attended and converted. He also led major revivals in New York City, Philadelphia, Boston and elsewhere. Finney emphasized that the success of the revivals relied primarily on prayer rather than preaching or measures.
Finney was a leader in the Second Great Awakening, a Protestant revival movement that spread across the United States during the early 19th century. This was a time of renewed religious enthusiasm and large numbers of conversions. Along with frontier camp meetings, Finney’s urban revivals played a major role in sparking the Awakening at the time.
In addition to conversions, Finney promoted social reforms and activism as part of living a committed Christian life. His views were shaped by revivalist theology of the time. He advocated positions on issues such as abolition of slavery, equal education, temperance, and improving the lives of the poor.
In 1835, Finney was appointed as a professor of theology at Oberlin College in Ohio. Oberlin was a center of abolitionist activism. During and after Finney’s tenure, Oberlin was a pioneer in educating African Americans, women, and people of all races together. Finney served as Oberlin’s president twice, 1852-1866.
Finney was active in the Anti-Slavery Society and in 1839 advocated for Oberlin to accept African American students. Along with colleague Theodore Weld, Finney’s lectures against slavery and support for immediate abolition were published in a widely read book. In response to criticism that he was diverting focus away from the Gospel, Finney maintained that “we must preach politics.”
Finney also spoke out on behalf of better treatment for Native Americans. He advocated for temperance, or reducing consumption of alcohol. And he argued that quality education was a universal right that should be open to women as well as men.
After retiring from Oberlin in 1866, Finney continued writing and ministering. He spoke out against the emerging idea of sanctification as a definite event. Instead he viewed it as a lifelong process of spiritual perfection. He also rejected the idea of a premillennial Second Coming of Christ, arguing that the millennial rule of Christ would happen through the increased spread of the Gospel.
Finney died on August 16, 1875 in Oberlin, Ohio at the age of 83. He remained a major influence on evangelical Protestantism in America in the 19th and 20th centuries. Finney’s revival preaching had a significant impact on the religious landscape of the United States.
He directly and indirectly influenced later well-known preachers and evangelists including Dwight Moody, Billy Sunday, and Billy Graham. Graham called Finney “the greatest revivalist of the 19th century.” Elements of Finney’s emotional revivalism remained part of American religious culture.
At the same time, Finney was a controversial figure who faced criticism from more traditional Calvinist ministers. They objected to the way his Arminian theology emphasized human free will and a universal offer of salvation. They also disliked his use of direct language and public conversion methods during revivals.
Opponents mockingly called his revival techniques “new measures.” But these measures paved the way for modern evangelical tactics to encourage conversions and committment.
Finney left a significant written legacy documenting his life, preaching, and theology:
– Memoirs of Charles G. Finney (1876) – His posthumously published autobiography covering his life and evangelistic work.
– Lectures on Revivals of Religion (1835) – A collection of Finney’s writings on how to spiritually prepare for and implement evangelistic revivals. Very influential on later evangelists.
– Sermons on Various Subjects (1836-1840) – Collected examples of Finney’s revival preaching content and style.
– Views of Sanctification (1840) – Presents Finney’s teachings on sanctification as an ongoing process of spiritual discipline.
– Lectures on Systematic Theology (1846) – Finney outlines his theology and objections to Calvinist doctrine. Promoted Arminian free will perspectives.
Finney’s writings demonstrate his emphasis on logical argument and lawyerly persuasion, even as his preaching appealed to emotion. His Systematic Theology presented theology in an orderly series of topical lectures understandable to ordinary people. In doing so, he helped make Christian theology more accessible and spread new revivalist ideas.
In summary, Charles Finney was a leading 19th century American revivalist preacher. As one of the main leaders of the Second Great Awakening, his fiery sermons and religious revival meetings converted many people and impacted Protestant Christianity. He also promoted progressive social reforms like abolition, education, and temperance as part of living the Christian life. Although controversial in his day, Finney’s impassioned preaching and “new measures” deeply shaped evangelicalism in America. He has been called the “father of modern revivalism.” His legacy continued to influence generations of preachers and evangelists down to the present day.