From the seventeenth century, North America has experienced a succession of
powerful and nationally significant revivals. Such movements of the Spirit
emanated from the seed of a reformed tradition that was maintained by the Pilgrim
Fathers, Scots and Irish hesbyterians, Dutch Reformed and German Lutherans. For
example, this heritage was foundational to the First Great Awakening, which
produced a remarkable turn in favour of the Christian faith among the colonies during
1730-1750. Furthermore, following the American War of Independence this reformed
heritage became the ground for promoting the Second Great Awakening, another
movement of the Spirit that continued for a period of over twenty years.
However in the 1820-30's, this heritage was seriously confronted by a different form
of revivalism. During this decade, new theologicaVphilosophical thinking, together
with an updated method of evangelism, began to upset an accepted and traditional
understanding of revival and revivalism. Existing friendships or loyalties between
pro-revivalists were tried and tested and their eventual division over the issues meant
that two alternative or separate views of revivals became common. The traditionalists
tended to emphasize the sovereignty of God in revival, whilst the innovators appealed
more to the use of human means in promoting 'outpourings of the Spirit.'
This thesis will attempt to answer a central question: Can the church promote a
revival? Is revival only, or always, directly attributable to God's sovereignty? Does
God operate outside the employment of human agency in revival? If not, then at what
level, to what degree, or by what means, does or can the church actively participate in
the process of revivals? These questions will be considered £roman overview of
American revivalism during 1730-1860. This thesis will aim to present a case, based
on biblical exegesis and historical illustration. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Church and Dogma History))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, in association with Greenwich School of Theology, U.K., 2005.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/47 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Prothero, David |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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