Marks Of A True Conversion George Whitefield Summary

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Recommended: Religion in American colonies

As the population of the colonies grew larger and more diverse, so did their ideas of religion and social dynamics. A new era of Enlightenment spread through the colonies, spreading a rational and scientific view of living, opposed to traditional religion and superstition. A wave of religious revivals swept through the colonies known as the Great Awakening. These passionate and dramatic revivals performed by James Whitefield and others led to religious dissension. Many ministers disagreed with the message, approach, and influence being spread by Whitefield and his New Light clergy members. Old Light ministers believed they were providing the lower class and minority groups the ability to critique the religious elite. In George Whitefield's, Marks of a True Conversion is an example of one of his powerful and intense …show more content…

Whitefield's sermons led thousands of followers to become entranced by his charisma and powerful voice. Another New Light minister, Gilbert Tennent argued that the authority of a minister lies in his conversion testimony, not in his education and training. In The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry, Tennent attacks the intellectualism of Old Light Ministers. James Davenport was another New Light member who is very controversial. A Newspaper Report on James Davenport highlights his erratic and destructive behavior in his sermons of the corrupt and ungodly Old Light clergy. As the popularity of the New Light ministers grew, the Old Light ministers became weary and disapproving of their message and methods. Charles Chauncy's Letter to Scottish Minister George Wishart describes an Old Light ministers perception of George Whitefield. A satirical engraving, Dr. Squintum's Exhalation or the Reformation, capitalizes on the hypocrisy and corruption in Whitefield's messages and followers. The mid-eighteenth century led to the debate over emotionalism and intellectualism of the Old Lights and the New

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