The Father of Modern Revivalism: Charles Finney
Christian people, are you figuring round and round to get a little property, yet neglecting souls? Beware lest you ruin souls that can never live again! Do you say I thought they knew it all? They reply to you, “I did not suppose you believed a word of it yourselves. You did not act as if you did. Are you going to heaven? Well, I am going down to hell! There is no help for me now. You will sometimes think of me then, as you shall see the smoke of my woe rising up darkly athwart the glorious heavens.
A Life of Impact
On the eve of the Industrial Revolution in America, Charles Finney touched the United States and Western Europe as no single Christian had before. His ministry is credited with leading more than half a million people to salvation, and his methods and doctrine laid the foundation for revival services as we know them today. The power of the Holy Spirit worked mightily in him to transform the emerging culture of New England from impotent Calvinism into active and effective evangelism wherever he went.
Early Life in the “Burned-over District”
Charles Grandison Finney was born in Warren, Connecticut, on August 29, 1792-only a year after the death of John Wesley-the seventh child of Sylvester and Rebecca Finney. His name was pulled from the title of a novel by Samuel Richardson, Sir Charles Grandison, which tells the story of an English aristocrat. When Charles was about two years old, the family moved to Oneida County, New York, which, at the time, was a relative wilderness.
A Youth Without Religious Influence
In all the years Charles lived with his family, he had little religious education. He never heard his father pray in the house; the first time he read the Bible, he was twenty-nine years old. Religious books were scarce among the households of the area, and there was no church. Not unlike many of their neighbors, Charles’s parents professed no religion. Though Methodist circuit riders would speak in the local one-room schoolhouse from time to time, they were usually uneducated and rarely held their audience’s attention. Western New York at this time had become known as the “Burned-over District,” as it had seen so many preachers that the local population had grown immune to their preaching. It was this environment that Charles grew and was educated.
To be continued...
Tale Tuesday 062
Date: 31st October, 2023
Title: : Charles Finney – The Father of Modern Revivalism(part 1)
Source: The Azusa Street Reviva
Author: Roberts Liardon
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