The Age of
Reason and Revival
RISE OF THE MODERN
WESTERN WORLD
Age of “Enlightenment”



Delimitations:

Began: 1687 Newton’s Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy

Ended: 1789 French Revolution
Descriptions:

Less a set of ideas than it was a set of attitudes

A critical questioning of traditional institutions, customs, and morals

Intellectual movement advocating reason as primary basis of authority
Keynotes of Enlightenment Era:

Governmental consolidation, nation-creation, greater rights for common
people

Decline in influence of authoritarian institutions such as nobility / church

Focus on science: natural philosophy was making astounding advances
Enlightenment Motifs
1.
Reason
2.
Autonomy
3.
Nature
4.
Tolerance
5.
Optimism
6.
Humanism
Post-Reformation Transitions in
European Governance

Devastation from religious wars
 France
inherited bulk of political power on continent
 Austria
the new political power in Eastern Europe

Ottoman empire repressed at Battle of Vienna
 England:

leading hub of liberalism
Guy Fawkes Rebellion and Catholic intolerance
 Netherlands:
leading hub of tolerance/commerce
Post-Reformation Transitions in
European Governance

Expanding power/influence of middle class

Period of political polarization
 Trends
toward democracy vs. trends toward
centralization of power

England: monarchs appealed to “divine right” theory

Consensus politics prevailed
(Glorious Revolution of William & Mary in 1688)

France: Louis XIV (Sun King)
Held supreme power
 Revoked Edict of Nantes

The Age of
Reason and Revival
CHANGING PHILOSOPHIES
in the
MODERN WORLD
Rise of Rationalism:
The Veneration of “Reason”

Genesis of new ideology
 Exhaustion
from Medieval approaches to
religion
 Cartesian Philosophy: René Descartes


“Cogito, ergo sum”
Cartesian philosophy as ally of Christianity
 Leibniz:
truth uncovered by reason alone
 Rationalism as means of reconciliation
The Risk of Rationalism/Reason
in the Court of Religion
1.
Socinianism / Unitarianism – Reasonable
denial of Trinity

Held to authority of Scripture, but felt some “nonrational” doctrines were unbiblical

Faustus Socinus – Father of Unitarianism


Racovian Catechism of Polish Brethren
Intellectual rationalists in England

John Biddle, Isaac Newton, Joseph Priestly

Theophilus Lindsey: first Unitarian Church
The Risk of Rationalism/Reason
in the Court of Religion
2.
Deism – Elite English/French version of
rationalistic religion


True religion was more basic/fundamental than
squabbles over orthodoxy

All men given reason, and true/common religion afforded to
all and reasonable

Reject teachings of Bible if unreasonable

A “watchmaker” God [William Paley]
Opposed religious dogmatism and the opposite,
apathetic religious skepticism

Empirical, tolerant and reasonable
The Risk of Rationalism/Reason
in the Court of Religion

Famous English advocates of Deism

John Toland: Christianity Not Mysterious

Matthew Tindal: Christianity as Old as Creation
The Risk of Rationalism/Reason
in the Court of Religion
3.
Latitudinarianism – 17th c. Anglicans who
were “gentlemen of a wide swallow”

High regard for authority of reason and tolerant, antidogmatic temper


Reacted against the Calvinism of the Puritans and were
broadly Arminian in outlook
Supported scientific developments

John Locke (d. 1704): British “empiricist”

Essay Concerning Human Understanding

The Reasonableness of Christianity
The Risk of Rationalism/Reason
in the Court of Religion

Allowed only a narrow core of fundamentals in religion

Held "true philosophy can never hurt sound divinity”

Theologically vague / spiritually insubstantial / strongly
moralistic

Foreshadowed skepticism of Hume

Precursors of the Broad Churchmen of the 19th century
The Risk of Rationalism/Reason
in the Court of Religion
4.
Philosophes – French rationalist / materialist intellectuals

Hostile deists replacing Christianity with more reasonable religion


The great name of Deist, which is not sufficiently revered, is the only name
one ought to take. The only gospel one ought to read is the great book of
Nature, written by the hand of God and sealed with his seal. The only religion
that ought to be professed is the religion of worshiping God and being a good
man. [Voltaire]
Voltaire: Leading voice denouncing RC church

Candide: satire attacking war, religious
persecution, unwarranted optimism

Philosophical Dictionary: humorously pointed
out inconsistencies in Bible narratives and
immoral acts of biblical heroes
Cultural influences of philosophes
1.
2.
3.
The Encyclopedia
Attack on established religion
The focus on human relationships / social laws

4.
Beccaria: “On Crimes and Punishments”
Physiocrats: philosophes on economic policy

Adam Smith


5.
laissez-faire economics
Political opinions

6.
Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “Social Contract”
Enlightened absolutism




Prussia: Frederick II
Austria: Joseph II
Russia: Catherine II
Portugal: Pombal
The Age of
Reason and Revival
ENLIGHTENMENT IDEALS
SPREAD BEYOND EUROPE
The Tolerant Church in Canada

Product of political necessity rather than
Enlightenment ideals
 British
crown forced (pragmatism not idealism) to
provide level of religious liberty to large Catholic
population
 Roots
of tolerance in Canadian churches
Enlightenment Ideals in America

Deism embraced by revolutionary figures
 Jefferson

Pamphlets/books rocked American orthodox religion
 Political

Religious tolerance for VA / Jefferson Bible
Thomas Paine


leaders influenced by French deists
Thomas Jefferson


/ Franklin / Allen / Palmer / Paine
Common Sense / The Age of Reason
Enlightenment thought: Catalyst for education
 Harvard (1636)
& Yale (1701)
Russian Enlightenment

Tsar Alexis’ assistance to Ukraine draws Russian church into
western influence

Ukrainian Catholic Church imports Enlightenment ideals into Russian
Orthodox Church

Patriarch Nikon and the Old Believers



Attempted reform of church to restore Greek (not western) ways
Peter the Great: Russia pressed into modern age

Built St. Petersburg on Baltic Sea

Replaced patriarch with “holy synod”
Catherine the Great

Model of enlightened absolutism

System of schools for enlightened religious teachings
The Age of
Reason and Revival
ROOTS OF RELIGIOUS
RENEWAL AND VITALITY
A Unique Marriage of
Faith & Reason

“Reason” as viable route to vital piety
 Where

“head and heart go hand in hand”
The studious vital piety of the 17th-18th century
Philosophers, Spiritualists, Pietists and Revivalists
Emergence of “New Theologies”
in Line With Reason

The “Cambridge Platonists”
 Informal

group of moralistic Cambridge dons

Non-extreme (moderating) theology

Reason as the proper judge of all disagreements

Mystical understanding of reason as imprint of God
The Neologians
 Liberal


theologians of Germany
Aim of religion reduced to production of human virtue
Targeted elimination of medieval Lutheran doctrines
New Catholic SpiritualityQuietism in France

Total passivity before God
 All


activism of body or soul to be set aside
Visible signs of church as well
Madame Guyon
 Emphasizing


contemplation and visions
A Short and Simple Means of Prayer
Francois Fénelon
 Main
advocate of Quietism
 Became
social model of compassion
German Pietism

Reaction to scholastic Lutheranism



German tradition of mysticism

Luther’s German Theology

Johann Arndt’s True Christianity
Philipp Jakob Spener (1635-1705)

“The Father of Pietism”

Conventicles (collegia pietatis / ecclesiolae in ecclesia)

Pia desideria (Holy Desires)
August Hermann Francke (1663-1727)

Educational reformist at Halle

Pietistic social action type of ministry
German Pietism

Impact of German Pietism
1.
Negative reaction among some who
felt it was too subjective, emotional
2.
Birth of Protestant Missions

Danish-Halle Mission
3.
Infiltrated German Reformed Churches
4.
Spiritual legacy of fostering vital piety

New hymn-writing (Tersteegen)
The Moravians

Origins: Legacy of Unitas Fratrum
 Refugees

led by Christian David at Berthelsdorf
Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf
 Pietist
upbringing at Francke’s Halle school
 Conversion
 Johann
 Hutberg
via Ecce Homo (by Domenico Feti)
Rothe as pastor in Berthelsdorf
(Watch Hill) or Herrnhut (“The Lord’s Watch”)
Ministry of Herrnhut Community


Holy Spirit Revival of 1727

Missionary vision as body of soldiers for Christ

Community emphases as form of Protestant monasticism

Missionary emphasis leavened European Protestantism
Strong links to British evangelical revival

Circle of Hussite/Moravian influence completed by Wesley

Moravians 3-fold influence on Wesley

Visit to Herrnhut for ideas
The Age of
Reason and Revival
THE GREAT AWAKENING IN
AMERICA
Nation Ripe for Religious Revival

Reasons for the decline in vital religion
 Development
 Puritan
ideal society ruled by God collapsed
 Spreading

of commerce
rationalism and cultural confusion
Clerical concern for situation was mounting
 Increase
in the use of “jeremiad”
 Earthquake
in 1727
Early Indications of Awakening

Dutch Reformed: Frelinghuysen



Raritan Valley, NJ revival
Presbyterian: Tennents

William Tennent Sr. – Log College

Gilbert Tennent – “On the Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry”

Old Lights vs. New Lights
Congregationalism: Jonathan Edwards

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Old Light resistance led by Charles Chauncy

Rise of Arminianism and Unitarianism
The Awakening Takes Hold:
Whitefield Colonial Tour (1739-40)

Came on wave of popularity in English Revivals

Gilbert Tennent retains Whitefield

Six week tour of revival
 “Reason
congregations are so dead…
is because dead men preach to them.”
Consequences of Awakening


New emphasis on evangelism

Denominational barriers diminished

Mission enterprises expanded (e.g. Brainerd)

Church growth / expansion
Higher Education expanded


Dartmouth / Univ. of PA / Princeton / Rutgers / Brown Univ.
Enlarged appreciation of religious / political liberty

United colonies along entire seaboard
The Age of
Reason and Revival
BRITISH REVIVALS
of the
18TH CENTURY
Scotland:
Ebenezer & Ralph Erskine

Ebenezer preached in fields outside his church
to accommodate crowds
 The
Marrow of Modern Divinity

Formed independent presbytery (Seceders)

Whitefield tours promoted revival fires
Wales:
Simultaneous Revivals

Griffith Jones



Morning Star of the Methodist Revival
Howell Harris

Lay minister

Evangelized north Wales

New House at Trevecca (Welsh Calvinist Methodists)
Daniel Rowland

“The Welsh John Wesley”

Worked with Howell Harris in Welsh Revival
England:
Multiple Awakening Forces

Launching Point: Fetter Lane Society


John Wesley emerges as key leader


Love feast with Holy Spirit outpouring
Methodism was to Anglicanism what Pietism was to Lutheranism
Three distinct but related strands
1.
Anglican Evangelicals

2.
Calvinist Methodists

3.
Operating within parish setting
Whitfield / Countess of Huntingdon
Methodist Societies

John and Charles Wesley
Evangelical Revival
Within Church of England

Cradled in Cornwall area


Moderate Calvinistic form of Methodism
Significant figures

William Grimshaw: Pioneer of loose-knit group

Henry Venn: Famous evangelical missiologist working in North

John Newton


Slave-trading shipmaster turned preacher and hymn-writer

Curate of Olney (published Olney Hymns hymnbook)

Friend William Cowper was great English poet contributor
Augustus Toplady

Famous evangelical hymn-writer
George Whitfield:
Calvinistic Methodists Revival

Biography

Oxford Holy Club
 Persuader, not administrator

Peak Period – Split time Britain & America

14 visits to Scotland / Frequented Wales
 7 trips to America (1739-40 Great Awakening Tour)

Association with Wesleys

Invited John to join in open air preaching at Bristol
 Parted over Calvinistic doctrines

Association with Countess of Huntingdon


Calvinist Methodist Connexion
Polemics with John Wesley and John Fletcher

Checks Against Antinomianism and Further Checks
Charles Wesley (1709-1788)
Sweet Singer of Methodism

Always in shadow of John’s efforts
 Lacked
his iron constitution and even temperament
for hard ministry

Most gifted English hymn-writer

Methodist Hymn Book of 1780
 “A little
body of experimental and practical divinity”
John Wesley: “A Burning Heart”

Itinerant Preacher / Teacher
 Adaptation

of means to circumstances
Unequaled Evangelist
 Popular
effectiveness – earnest, practical, biblical,
fearless
 Remarkable
 Appealed
responses to his bold expositions
to working classes
John Wesley: “A Burning Heart”

Writer: Balance of scholarship & piety
 Letters,

books, notes on Bible, sermons
Journal / 52 Standard Sermons / Plain Account
 Virtually
 Edited
invented the religious tract
the “Christian Library”
 Pioneered
idea of a “monthly magazine”
John Wesley: “A Burning Heart”

Social Activist
 Clinical
Officer: opened a medical dispensary and
treated for free
 Loan
Officer: operating credit unions for poor
urbanites
 Labor
Supporter: defended rights of coal miners and
others in sweat shops
 Abolitionist:
 Prison
pressed for an end to slave trade
reformer: urged better conditions
John Wesley: “A Burning Heart”

Tireless servant
 Active
life for all 88 years
 Began
every day at 4 AM
 Spent

2-4 hours in study every day
Pastoral implementation of holiness message
 Traveled
over 250,000 miles on horseback
 Preached
 Wrote
42,000 sermons
over 200 books
 Organized
most powerful movement in England
Key Contributions of English
Methodist Revival
1.
Spiritual enrichment
2.
Christian agencies multiplied
3.
Passion for social justice
4.
Evangelical Hymnody
5.

Isaac Watts inspired “man-made” hymns

August Toplady / John Newton / William Cowper

Wesley Brothers

The Collection of Psalms and Hymns / The Collection

Charles Wesley wrote over 6000 hymns
Concept of evangelical holiness as a social holiness
Resources Drawn From…

Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries: A History of the Christian Church,
Third Edition, Revised and Expanded. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.

Dowley, Tim, ed. The History of Christianity: A Lion Handbook. Oxford: Lion
Publishing, 1990.

Gonzalez, Justo. The Story of Christianity Vol. 2: Reformation to the Present Day.
San Francisco: Harper, 1985.

Hill, Jonathan. Zondervan Handbook to the History of Christianity. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 2006.

Kagan, Donald, S. Ozment and F. Turner, eds. The Western Heritage. New York:
Macmillan Pub. Co., 1987.

Miller, Glenn T. The Modern Church. Nashville: Abingdon Press: 1997.

Needham, N.R. 2,000 Years of Christ’s Power Pt. 3: Renaissance and Reformation.
London: Grace Publications Trust, 2004.

Noll, Mark . Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity. Leicester,
England: IVP, 1997.

Walker, Williston A History of the Christian Church. New York: Charles Scribner’s
Sons, 1985.
Photo Sources

Christian History & Biography Magazine


http://www.christianitytoday.com/history
Wikipedia

http://www.wikipedia.org/