Review Of The Divine Dramatist: George Whitefield And The Rise Of Modern Evangelicalism

The Divine Dramatist: George Whitefield and the Rise of Modern Evangelicalism by Harry Stout

Part 1: The Author Harry S. Stout is the Jonathan Edwards Professor of American Christianity and Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University, and is also an author. He received his B.A. from Calvin College, M.A. from Kent State University, and Ph.D. from Kent State University. Professor Stout is the author of several books, including The New England Soul, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for history; The Divine Dramatist: George Whitefield and the Rise of Modern Evangelicalism, which received a Pulitzer Prize nomination for biography as well as the Critic's Award for History in 1991; Dictionary of Christianity in America (of which he

Yet, the more he criticized the elite, the more admired he became by the general public. Whitefield was more than popular, however, he was an international celebrity. Stout writes that Whitefield's fame among the general public allowed him to build an international evangelical movement that challenged the establishment from the bottom up. According to Stout, Whitefield was confrontational in his approach to various church leaders: "Confrontation, as Whitefield knew, aroused curiosity, and his own Anglican church was his favorite target. Soon Anglican churchmen throughout the American colonies joined their London brethren in opposing Whitefield. And, as in New England, their opposition simply fueled popular enthusiasm for the young critic who fearlessly denounced clerical 'formality' and Arminian

This, combined with their historic Calvinism, elicited strong bonds of sympathy and support in response to the news of Whitefield's persecution." Whitefield believed that if New England was to be revived, the leadership for the renewal has to come from the laity. It must be noted, however, that Whitefield was not simply a revivalist. To be precise, he was a theologically Reformed revivalist. Stout writes, "From first to last, he was a Calvinist who believed that God chose him for salvation and not the reverse. His piety was molded by a conversion experience that, he passionately believed, was unmerited and of divine