Charles G. Finney and the Spirit of American Evangelicalism (Library of Religious Biography

by Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe, George Weigel (Editor), Robert Royal (Editor)

Charles Grandison Finney was the foremost evangelist in the pre-Civil War United States. His revivals in the cities along the Erie Canal; his well-organized campaigns in Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, and the British Isles; his prominent pastorate at New York's Broadway Tabernacle; and his teaching career at Oberlin College exemplify the evangelical spirit that swept the country following the Second Great Awakening. This lively biography by historian Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe tells the story of Finney's remarkable life and offers fresh insights into the nature of evangelicalism and the nineteenth-century American experience. By using the life of the great revivalist and educator as a window into the soul of American evangelicalism, Hambrick-Stowe shows in striking ways how Finney displayed the characteristics of that broader movement, many of which continue to flourish in twentieth-century religious life. Based on a thorough reading of the Finney Papers, Finney's writings, contemporary sources, and modern historiography, this biography exhibits scholarly depth in a popular narrative that is meant to be read and enjoyed as well as studied. A map of Finney's evangelistic travels, portraits, and other illustrations enhance the text.

Genres: Biography

335 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1996

Reviews

[Joel Zartman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long on information and short on evaluation. A good introduction.

[Nelson Banuchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent biography of Finney and his participation and affect on American evangelicalism, it's practice, theology and even its politics.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid biography relating Finney's life and especially his theology. Finney has been savaged (to this day) by Calvinists, but his understanding of conversion is the one most evangelicals follow today. Too bad they grabbed so little of his understanding of sanctification and perfectionism to follow that immediate experience of conversion. We get hints of the larger American world Finney inhabited and of his longer influence on evangelicalism, but the subtitle "and the Spirit of American Evangelicalism" could have been further explored. I also would not have minded a more thorough reevaluation of Paul Johnson's use (and abuse) of class in describing the Rochester revivals. Hambrick-Stowe seems to take for granted Finney's reaching out primarily to the middle and upper classes, but the details he relates do not seem to entirely bear this out. But this biography could not do everything and I especially appreciated its thoughful description of Finney's theology and how it fit into and went beyond the New Divinity.

[Marty Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good information - great history of the early revival movement. Found the writing a bit on the dull side however.