Charles Grandison Finney

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Charles Grandison Finney (1792–1875), often called "America's foremost revivalist," was a major leader of the Second Great Awakening in America that had a profound impact on the history of the United States. He had a paradigmatic personal conversion from rationalist skepticism to fervent Christian faith, and applied his training as a fledgling lawyer to the task of convincing his audiences of their personal guilt and need for Christ. In the process he captured a shift in American religiosity from "wait on the Lord" to "take action now." He pioneered revivalism as a "scientific method" he called the "new measures," a template developed by revivalists ever since. He ignited a wave of spiritual transformation among a sector of American society that emphasized the human responsibility to dramatically improve, if not perfect, the self and society. In its wake, converts generated movements for social reform in morality (temperance, anti-tobacco, anti-prostitution), honoring the Sabbath, the humane treatment of prisoners, the insane and the handicapped, and, most impactfully, women's rights and the abolition of slavery.

Life and theology

Template:Sect-POVTemplate:OriginalResearch Finney was born in Warren, Connecticut as the youngest of seven children. In 1794, his family moved to Oneida County in central New York, "to a great extent a wilderness," and a few years later to the New York shore of Lake Ontario. His parents were farmers and non-believers. Finney attained some education locally and at an uncle's Academy back in Connecticut. He never attended college but learned some Latin, Greek and Hebrew from Presbyterian minister George Gale back in western New York. However, his six foot two inch stature, piercing blue eyes, musical skill, and leadership abilities gained him good standing in his community. He studied as an apprentice to become a lawyer, but after his dramatic conversion experience in Adams, New York at the age of 29, Finney entered upon a period of theological study under the tutilege of Reverend George Gale and earned his license to preach from the Presbyterian Church. With that, a local women's home missionary society of the Presbyterian Church hired him to serve as an evangelist in the small villages and towns of western New York.

He began this ministerial career "with a retainer from the Lord Jesus Christ to plead his cause" in 1822. Information of his first years of evangelism come primarily from his own Memoirs, in Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties. He tells of dramatic conversions wrought among lukewarm Christians and his memorable repudiation of skeptics; it is not until his work in Rome and Utica, New York, that the light of historical evidence is cast. In Utica he counted among his converts Timothy Weld, later a prominent anti-slavery activist. By 1830 he was preaching in New York City and Boston. By now wealthy Christian laymen were in his support, most prominently the Tappan brothers. At the same time, his emphasis upon the human will and his methodical and utilitarian uses of publicity and psychological techniques to generate revivalist enthusiasm and effect conversions raised the ire of the Presbyterian establishment.

Finney moved to New York City in 1832 where he pastored the Free Presbyterian Chatham Street Chapel and later founded and pastored the Broadway Tabernacle, known today as Broadway United Church of Christ [1]. The structure was built for Finney in 1836 to his own design. It was formed as a Congregational Church, as by now Finney had left the Presbyterian fold—to which he had never been ordained as a pastor, but only had served as an evangelist. During this period Finney publishede is "Lectures on Revivals," explaining his theological approach as well as his methods for bringing people to Christ. He famously claimed that bringing a revival was a "scientific" process that, if carried out according to the spiritual laws would bring the harvest of souls just as surely as seeds planted in the spring would, according to natural law, bring forth harvest in the fall. His lectures were reprinted in England and translated into French, Welsh and German.

Finney's logical, clear presentation of his Gospel message reached thousands and promised renewing power and the love of Jesus. Some estimates are that his preaching led to the conversion of over 500,000 people. His writings continue to challenge many to live a life holy and pleasing to God. His most famous work is the "Lectures on Revivals of Religion."[2] The Christian singer Keith Green was heavily influenced by Finney, and other famous evangelicals like Billy Graham speak highly of his influence. Although Finney was originally a Presbyterian, he eventually became a Congregationalist and often bears much criticism from conservative Presbyterians.

Finney's Theology and Approach to Ministry

Theologically, Finney drew elements from the eighteenth century American minister and theologian Jonathan Edwards and the New Divinity Calvinists. His teachings also resembled that of Nathaniel William Taylor, a professor at Yale University. Many people view Finney as an Arminian in his theology, but he explicitly denied this. Much closer to a "New Divinity" Calvinist, his views on the atonement and original sin are much closer to those espoused by the "moral government" theory that was particularly advocated by Joseph Bellamy and Samuel Hopkins. For example, Finney's views on the atonement were much closer to the moral government system that Edwards' followers embraced because it rejected the notion that Jesus died only for Christians. Nevertheless, he bore a tremendous amount of criticism by theologians such as Charles Hodge for departing from traditional high Calvinism, criticisms frequently repeated today. It has been reported that the theologian G. Frederick Wright pointed out that Hodge misrepresented Finney's views in his criticism, however it is also the case that in his Memoirs Finney recounts his rejection of the offer of a free theological education at Princeton, giving as his reason "I would not put myself under such an influence as (the Presbyterian clergy) had been under… I was confident they had been wrongly educated; and they were not ministers that me my ideal at all of what a minister of Christ should be. This I told them reluctantly, but I could not honestly withhold it." Finney represented the view of settled clergy typical of souls brought to life through revivalism, that "if he hadever been convertedto Christ, he had failed to receive that divine anointing of the Holy Ghost that would make him a power in the pulpit and in society for the conversion of souls. He had fallen shoprt of receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost which is indispensable to ministerial success." (57)

The crux of Finney's position was that human nature is not intrinsically sinful and that human beings are not "passive in regeneration." Rather, human beings have the ability to choose righteously when the truth is presented to them plainly. He based his views on his reading of the Bible and rejected the authority of a church to apply a doctrinal overlay on the scriptures. "I was quite willing to believe what I found taught in the Bible," he said, even when it contradicted the Presbyterian doctrines, in particular of original sin.

At the same time, Finney rejected the secular argument of the day, set forth by the Universalist movement, against the morality of a God who punishes sin with eternal death. He thus rejected the beliefs of the left and right on the matter of Christian faith and life, and arrived at a theological via media, that Christ died for the salvation of all who would accept him, and that those who do not accept him suffer damnation, eternal separation from God, justly.

Thus Finney clarified and wrote in boldface the theological foundations for revivalist preaching and evangelical church development. On this foundation, Finney developed the innovations in preaching and conducting religious meetings for which he is best known. He worked closely with host pastors to prepare villages, towns and, later, cities and nations for his campaigns. He gathered teams of churches to work together inviting guests; he set in motion prayer and fasting in preparation for the revivals; he utilized advertising, he welcomed controversy to generate interest. He allowed women to pray in public. He set aside a pew in the front of the church to which he called those individuals who were worried about the state of their souls, called the "anxious bench." Those considering the message and their own eternal fate would be counseled and prayed for by an elder, relative or the pastor himself. He would visit such people at their homes, to counsel and pray with them.

Finney was also known for his use of extemporaneous preaching. He spoke from the pulpit as an attorney, outlining his argument as if to convince a jury, using logic, persuasion and emotion. He rejected the prevailing view of the Gospel as complex theology, and presented it in simple form. One early admirer is reported to have said, "Bro. Finney doesn't preach; he just explains what all the other fellows are preaching about." His brilliance lay in his ability to set forth the choice that he wanted the people to make, to give people no room for neutrality and non-commitment.

In addition to being a successful Christian evangelist, Finney was involved with the abolitionist movement and frequently denounced slavery from the pulpit. Beginning in the 1830s, he denied communion to slaveholders in his churches.

In 1835, he moved to Ohio where he would become a professor, and later President of Oberlin College. Oberlin was a major cultivation ground for the early movement to end slavery. Oberlin was also the first American college to allowed blacks and women into the same classrooms as white men.

Finney's place in the social history of the United States

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As a new nation, the United States was undergoing massive social flux during the 19th century, and this period birthed quite a large number of independent, trans-denominational religious movements such as Mormonism(1830) as well as Millerism (1830's and beyond) and its offshoots the Jehovah's Witnesses (1870), and the Seventh-day Adventist Church (1863). The nation's westward expansion brought about untold opportunities and a readiness to dispense with old thinking, an attitude that influenced people's religious understanding.

The Burned-over district was a geographical area described by Finney himself as a "hotbed" of religious revivalism, and it was in this area (largely western New York State) that he had much of his success. The lack of clergy from established churches ensured that religious activity in these areas was less influenced by traditional Christian teachings.

What Finney managed to achieve was to be the most successful religious revivalist during this period, and in this particular area. While groups such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and Seventh-day Adventists became closed and exclusivist, Finney was widely admired and influential amongst more mainstream Christians. Finney never started his own denomination or church, and never claimed any form of special prophetic leadership that elevated himself above other evangelists and revivalists.

More flexible Christian denominations, such as the Baptists and Methodists, were able to draw many of Finney's converts into their churches while more established denominations, such as the Presbyterians, were not as successful.

Finney's involvement with the abolitionist movement ensured that the Northern states had some form of legitimate religious backing to their opposition to slavery. There is no doubt that the religious beliefs of the South were more conservative. In this sense, then, Finney's religious beliefs and his success matched the attitudes of the North more so than the South. It also set up a direct link between Revivalism and social welfare, a link that grew stronger in the church after the Civil War.

Links have also been drawn between Finney's revivals and the emergence of the mercantile and manufacturing economy over-against the agricultural and crafts-centered economy. Thus it is argued that his revivals provided religious legitimation to a free-labor, wage based work force and helped solidify the middle class regime in the national period. (See Paul Johnson, A Shopkeeper's Millennium)

Finney's theology

Finney was a primary influence on the "revival" style of theology which emerged in the 19th century. Though coming from a Calvinistic background, Finney rejected several tenets of "Old Divinity" Calvinism which he felt were unbiblical and counter to evangelism and Christian missions.

In his Systematic Theology, Finney fully embraced the Calvinist doctrine of the "Perseverance of the Saints." [3] At the same time, he took the presence of unrepented sin in the life of a professing Christian as evidence that they must immediately repent or be lost. Support for this position comes from Peter's treatment of the baptized Simon (see Acts 8) and Paul's instruction of discipline to the Corinthian Church (see 1 Corinthians 5). This type of teaching underscores the strong emphasis on personal holiness found in Finney's writings.

While some theologians have attempted to associate Finney with Pelagian thought, it is important to note that Finney strongly affirmed salvation by faith, not by works or by obedience. (see [4] and [5]). Finney affirmed, however, that works were the evidence of faith. The presence of sin thus evinced that a person never had saving faith.

There are also questions over Finney's understanding of the meaning of Jesus' death on the Cross. His view is complex and has suffered from multiple misunderstandings, often due to reading quotes out of context.

Besides making Christ's death the centerpiece of justification rather than Christ's obedience, Finney's understanding of the atonement was that it satisfied "public justice" and that it opened up the way for God to pardon people of their sin. This was the view of the disciples of Jonathan Edwards' followers, the so-called New Divinity which was popular at that time period. In this view, Christ's death satisfied public justice rather than retributive justice. As Finney put it, it was not a "commercial transaction." This view, typically known as the governmental view or moral government view, differs from the Calvinistic view where Jesus' sufferings equal the amount of suffering that Christians would experience in hell.

External links

• The Complete Works of Charles Finney
• The Character, Claims and Practical Workings of Freemasonry
• http://truthinheart.com/EarlyOberlinCD/CD/Finney/Biography/finneybi.htm A biography of Charles Finney by G. Frederick Wright] (Holiness perspective; supportive)
• A Vindication of the Methods and Results of Charles Finney's Ministry (Revivalist perspective; supportive; answers many traditional Old School Calvinist critiques)
• An analysis of Finney's Perfectionism (neutral)
• Charles Grandison Finney: New York Revivalism in the 1820-1830s by John H. Martin
• Articles on Finney (conservative Calvinist perspective; critical)
• How Charles Finney's Theology Ravaged the Evangelical Movement (conservative Calvinist perspective; critical)
• The Oberlin Heritage Center-Local history museum and historical society of Oberlin, OH, where Finney lived and worked for decades.

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