Jonathan Edwards: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Numerous printed copies of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry Good” circulated throughout the colonies, and the revival that Edwards helped to spark found eager audiences along the banks of the Connecticut River valley, then moving into Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and beyond. As it took shape, the Great Awakening lacked centralized control and direction, being much more localized in nature. It made its presence felt, however, in such a way as to become the first event that impacted nearly every colonist in some way.

Edwards's uniquely emotional approach to sermonizing helped prepare American audiences for the preaching of George Whitefield, one of the founders of the Methodist Church in England and arguably the most influential figure of the Great Awakening. Arriving in 1739, Whitefield spent the next two years delivering messages of damnation and repentance to ever-growing crowds from New England to the Southern Colonies. Like Edwards, Whitefield presented a terrifying depiction of hell from the pulpit that was intended to spur a rejection of sinfulness. Originally a professional actor, Whitefield was, by contemporary accounts, a far more performative and emotive preacher than Edwards, adopting different personas, such as that of a young woman, to drive home theological points and keep his audiences rapt with attention. Frequently giving his passionate sermons outdoors, Whitefield attracted crowds far larger than those who had flocked to see Edwards. He succeeded in inspiring conversions by Native Americans and slaves in addition to thousands of others. Even Benjamin Franklin, an avowed Deist, was compelled to place all he had in an offering plate following a sermon Whitefield gave in Philadelphia.

Revivalism's widening popularity throughout the colonies had the effect of dividing Americans into two camps. The reactionary “Old Light” ministers who followed the traditional path of earning a degree and becoming ordained rejected the emotionalism of the Great Awakening and continued to lead congregants who shared their perspective. Those who embraced the revival's outlook and form of worship rallied around the “New Light” preachers, many of whom lacked the traditional credentials of the ministry. New Light leaders established both churches and universities, such as Brown and Princeton, to be bastions of the movement. While tensions between the two groups persisted, the end result of this increase in denominations was far more tolerance for religious differences when it became obvious that the colonies would not be under the control of any one church.

A facet of the Great Awakening with long-range impact proved to be its influence on the American Revolution. A new generation of ministers who were not ordained served to undermine the authority of established religious leaders specifically and colonial elites in general. Churches emerged from the movement with a markedly democratic character and an emphasis on equality. More recent denominations, such as the Baptists and Methodists, enjoyed a rise in membership. Americans, having questioned the legitimacy of religious institutions, found the leap to interrogating political institutions to be a rather small one. Finally, by influencing events in all thirteen of the colonies, the Great Awakening helped to encourage a greater sense of a shared American identity that was uniquely different from those living in England.