First Great Awakening Dbq

Jonathan Edwards said, “True liberty consists only in the power of doing what we ought to will, and in not being constrained to do what we ought not to will.” Edwards played a critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening and administered some of the first enthusiasms of revivals in 1730. The First Great Awakening occurred around 1730 to 1760 and its significance has had a great impact on the course of the United States. It was a major influence on what caused and led up to the American Revolution. The First Great Awakening was a movement that was engrained in spiritual growth and also ended up bringing a national identity to Colonial America and preparing colonists for what was to come about forty years later. The awakening had a dramatic

and positive impact on individuals and their future in American society. The significance of the First Great Awakening contains the impact it had on unifying the Colonists, creating new denominations, strengthening religion and creating a rebellion that would lead to independence.
When the Pilgrims came over to America, they were strong followers of Jesus Christ.

The Pilgrims were also eager to experience new religious freedom from the state-ran church of Great Britain. This helped them build vibrant faithful communities in the New World. However, many individuals came to work not for God and were not all believers. After the establishment of the Church of England, other religions were inhibited. Everyone was expected to follow one religion and to believe in one religion. This led to a sense of stability from a political perspective because everyone practiced the same religion. However, instead of being a positive force for religious belief, it created spiritual dryness among believers. Individuals weren’t feeling anything spiritual or divine and it created a lack of relationships with individuals and their religion. The First Great Awakening arose at a time when people in the colonies were questioning the role of the individual in religion and society. It began at the same time as the Enlightenment, an insight that emphasized logic and reason and stressed the power of the individual to understand the universe based on scientific laws. Similarly, the Great Awakening had influenced individuals to rely more on a personal approach to redemption than the church and doctrine. There was national hunger for spiritual freedom and had wise and moral leadership. These convictions led to a spiritual revival in the colonies known as the Great Awakening. However, little did the colonists know that this spiritual movement would aid in their separation form Britain and lead to independence in the long

run.
The First Great Awakening was a transatlantic religious movement that believed all people were born sinners and that all could feel and sense their own corruption without the assistance of ministers. It believed that spirituality came from within and from your heart instead of your brain. In addition, it was the spiritual belief that all were equal in the eyes of God. Equality was a foundation for the spiritual revival, leading to a greater impact among colonists. The beliefs of the Great Awakening criticized established authority and valued the experience of the individual. Independence and uniqueness of an individual were valued and not censured. According to OUR TEXT BOOK, it contributed to the humanitarianism that emerged at the end of the eighteenth century and was a product of the world that capitalism created. It was believed that the sensible religion was not emotionally fulfilling enough for individuals, leading to the birth of the Great Awakening. The origin of the Great Awakening is centered on the rapid population growth in the colonies. This growth left colonies without enough churches and ministers, leading to a popular demand for more churches and better religion. These demands in turn lead to a series of revivals and new denominations. According to OUR TEXTBOOK, church leaders were happy about the spiritual renewal and even saw an increase in attendance to Jonathan Edward’s sermons from people who were known to be unruly and disorderly. These new revivals and sermons attracted the interest of many different individuals. Religion started to become a part of people’s lives again in a new way.
The Great Awakening contained many important figures that had a role in the impact and significance on individuals. These leaders were preachers and tended to be well-educated men who attended universities and were trained theologians. However, they did not allow their higher education or learning to create an exclusiveness or superiority about the Bible that would make it harder for individuals to understand. George Whitefield was an English minister and a leading preacher of the Great Awakening. Whitefield was one of the most influential preachers in Christianity and appealed to men, women, poor, rich, black or white. This is significant because norms were pushed aside and individuals were able to make a religious decision based off their inspiration from Whitefield. Whitefield’s strategy was to criticize the individual without attacking the system. Whitefield was a significant leader because he initiated almost all of the eighteenth century projects such as open-air preaching, the use of lay preachers, the publishing of a magazine the organizing of an association, and the holding of a conference. According to OUR TEXTBOOK, Whitefield censured religious leadership but not the church itself and he helped people experience religion as an intense personal feeling. According to LOC.GOV, Whitefield’s goal was for individuals to find meaning in a time of rapid economic transformation and to practice the religious power of the common way. Another key figure was Jonathan Edwards. Edwards was a famous preacher known for “Sinners in the Hands of an Empty God” and also known as a brilliant and young minister. Edwards was influential because in a world without radio, television or the Internet, his written article caught people’s attention all over the place. After reading his pamphlet, people were begun to request and implore God into their churches and communities. When these revivals started to occur, people all over Europe also began to pray and preach for revivals in their nations as well. Edward’s mission stretched beyond Massachusetts. According to PROX1, Edwards drew his ideas from the Enlightenment and Calvinist beliefs but believed that reason had to be supplemented by emotion and the emotion of God’s grace. This helped him open the way for a popular religion that was democratic, personal and humanitarian. Edwards felt that by strengthening and revitalizing colleges, he could advance the Kingdom of Chris even further. In addition, William Tennent, a Presbyterian minister, played a key role in the Great Awakening in Central New Jersey by calling prayer meetings known as the “Refreshing’s” around the 1730’s. Tennent also had an influential project called Log College, now known as Princeton University, that had teachers educated in all areas of study. The original Log College students because pioneers of Christian education, helping further spiritual revivals. According to LOC.GOV, Gilbert Tennent, an American Presbyterian minister, was known for delivering a harsh sermon in which he criticized conservative ministers who opposed the passion of the Great Awakening. This lead to a rift in the Presbyterian church between the “Old Lights” and the “New Lights”, led by Tennent. According to COLONIALWARSCT.ORG, the Old Lights and the New lights were two groups of ministries that frequently had heated debates on the issue of God during the Great Awakening. The Old Lights rejected the Great Awakening while the New Lights accepted it. This lead to the New Lights having to occasionally suffer from harassment because of their religious passion. In addition, the Wesley brothers were passionate men who advanced the Kingdom of God through discipleship, pastor training and church planting. John Wesley was a shepherd that was known for his organization. John’s brother, Charles Wesley, was known for his hymn writing that he used to express praise and worship. These significant individuals were able to deliver their messages and inspire countless individuals in following their own paths religiously.