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63-985: The terms were first used during the First Great Awakening (1730s–40s), which expanded through the British North American colonies in the middle of the 18th century. In A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God (1737), Jonathan Edwards , a leader in the Awakening, describes his congregants' vivid experiences with grace as causing a "new light" in their perspective on sin and atonement . Old Lights and New Lights generally referred to Congregationalists and Baptists in New England and Presbyterians in Pennsylvania and further south who took different positions on

126-624: A "half-way" basis, explains Harry Swanhart. Stoddard's decision to admit all but the "scandalous" to the church attracted the ire and rancour of the Mathers from the Massachusetts Bay area. For his case, Stoddard turned to the Northampton Town Meeting, abandoning the old Theocracy, but making the "communion of saints" subject to civilian political control. In September 1675, he implored Increase Mather to speak with

189-467: A call from Northampton Church to stand in for the recently deceased Eleazar Mather , brother of Increase Mather . He accepted the offer, and relocated to Northampton, which in 1670 was on the frontier. Within a few months, Stoddard had married Mather's widow Esther (née Esther, daughter of Rev. John Warham, of Windsor, CT; c.  1644 - February 10, 1736), moved into his house, and took over his pulpit to become Northampton's second minister. He held

252-875: A central founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church , was quoted describing one such incident of racial discrimination in a predominantly white church in Philadelphia, in which fellow preacher and a former slave from Delaware, Absalom Jones , was grabbed by a white church trustee in the midst of prayer and forcefully told to leave. Closely related to the Second Great Awakening were other reform movements such as temperance , abolition , and women's rights . The temperance movement encouraged people to abstain from consuming alcoholic drinks in order to preserve family order. The abolition movement fought to abolish slavery in

315-505: A colony of second-generation pilgrims who were increasingly interested in the political and economic life of the frontier, as opposed to the pure idealism of their immigrant parents. Stoddard taught that people who had grown up in the church and were not scandalous in behavior could receive communion as a means of grace; and have their children baptized, despite the fact that the Puritan tradition had previously required prospective members of

378-666: A commitment to personal morality. It incited rancor and division between traditionalists, who insisted on the continuing importance of ritual and doctrine, and revivalists who encouraged emotional involvement and personal commitment. It had a major impact in reshaping the Congregational church, the Presbyterian church, the Dutch Reformed Church, and the German Reformed denomination, and strengthened

441-638: A complete transformation, becoming the Indians greatest defender, advocating their conversion to Christianity. In the civil world he maintained a good personal friendship with Judge Samuel Sewall , one of Boston's eminent men. He informed the Governor Gurdon Saltonstall of "this Excellent Divine, respecting the Indians." "I congratulate", Sewall told his friend, "the unparalleled constancy of Serviceableness, which God has honoured you   ..." In 1701 his step-daughter Eunice Mather

504-663: A debate over swearing allegiance to the US Constitution split the Reformed Presbyterians. The "Old Light" Reformed Presbyterians, in keeping with their Covenanter heritage, refused to swear allegiance to the Constitution and thus to become US citizens because the Constitution makes no mention of the Lordship of Christ, and the "New Light" Reformed Presbyterians allowed the swearing. After the split,

567-606: A demand for religious freedom. The Great Awakening represented the first time African Americans embraced Christianity in large numbers. In the later part of the 1700s, the Revival came to the English colonies of Nova Scotia , New Brunswick , and Prince Edward Island primarily through the efforts of Henry Alline and his New Light movement. The Second Great Awakening (sometimes known simply as "the Great Awakening")

630-605: A fellow) ... without the allowance of the President." It was there that he studied the British Presbyterian history with a maverick perspective on order from chaos. To improve his health, Stoddard went to Barbados and served as a chaplain to Governor Daniel Searle from 1667 to 1669. But he soon felt the need to return to New England . As he prepared to depart from Boston for a position in England, he received

693-484: A formidable opponent. Another contrast between Stoddard and the other Puritan leaders of his time was his belief in the strict dichotomy between the converted (or regenerate) and the unconverted. Stoddard rejected the Puritan claim that no one could discern whether he was saved. Like his own conversion experience, he believed that a person would know when he had been converted, because predestination elected whom God saved and those who were unregenerate. This belief led to

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756-425: A little time", admonished Mather in "The Danger of Apostacy". In theology, Stoddard contradicted nearly every standard belief of his Puritan colleagues. Puritan theology at the time stressed a strict doctrine of salvation by repentance. Stoddard believed that everyone should experience God's glory for himself, whether through Nature or Scripture. When one sees this glory for himself, Stoddard preached that one's will

819-578: A major influence on his grandson and was succeeded by him as the pastor of the church at Northampton. Edwards later repudiated his views, becoming the most famous and fiery orator of the Great Awakening of 1735-1745. The Great Awakening was to some extent a reaction to the failure of The Halfway Covenant to strengthen the church. But Stoddard's influence persisted in Northampton. Edwards' views eventually displeased his parishioners, and he

882-454: A man of stature in his community, played an outstanding part in organizing defence against the Indian invasions that fell on the townspeople "like wolves and are to be dealt withall as wolves". Later at the ambush of Dewey's Hole, Stoddard was almost killed by Indians. The effect was that he began his pastorate feeling all hostiles should be hunted down and killed. But by 1723 he had undergone

945-613: A national church, which determined the proper qualifications for ministers. The redemption of the sinner's soul was to be the evangelical purpose of this church. His ideas, at least in this respect, gained few adherents. Stoddard's position was expressed through debates with his in-laws Cotton and Increase Mather . As leader of one of Boston's primary churches, Cotton Mather wielded influence during Stoddard's lifetime. Mather's arguments could not hold sway: Congregationalism eventually adopted Stoddard's stance on communion, despite initial fears of "New England's apostasy." Mather remained

1008-449: A revision in church policy. "We fear the dangers ahead", averred Edward Taylor of Westfield, whose group, jealous of the improving church-going numbers in Northampton recommended a plan for the adoption of a "Church State." Stoddard called presbyterian like councils to discuss and debate innovations in policy: he wanted to develop the "Instituted Church" in order to preserve purity among ministers. Each church would be instructed through

1071-687: A second visit of the Colonies, making a "triumphant campaign north from Philadelphia to New York, and back to the South". In 1740, he visited New England, and "at every place he visited, the consequences were large and tumultuous". Ministers from various evangelical Protestant denominations supported the Great Awakening. In the middle colonies, he influenced not only the British churches, but the Dutch and German. Additionally, pastoral styles began to change. In

1134-661: A thirty-year period. Stoddard was born in Boston on September 26, 1643, to Anthony Stoddard , a wealthy Boston merchant, and Mary Downing (sister of Sir George Downing (after whom Downing Street in London is named), niece to Governor John Winthrop ). He was baptized on October 1 at the First Church, Boston. As such, he was born into the highest stratum of aristocratic New England, but his mother died suddenly in June 1647, when he

1197-602: Is automatically affected. He explained that "the gloriousness of God has a commanding power on the heart". Membership without conversion should come experientially rather than through any set process or education. Mather countered this belief by stating that, although a Harvard education may assist in the pulpit on Sunday mornings, the sermon is useless unless the minister has experienced God's saving grace. Stoddard's concepts of theology were not widely accepted either by fellow clergy or laymen in New England. As he believed

1260-549: The communion controversy: Because of his conversion experience, Solomon stressed the importance of an open communion which would be used as a converting ordinance. In 1677 all members of the community who were instructed in Christian doctrine, made a public profession of faith; and living decent lives, could participate in communion. Stoddard explained that there was no biblical justification for allowing only sinners to take communion. During King Philip's War Stoddard, already

1323-451: The 1850s, black involvement in largely white churches declined in great numbers, with participation becoming almost non-existent by the 1840s–1850s; some scholars argue that this was largely due to racial discrimination within the church. This discrimination came in the form of segregated seating and the forbiddance of African Americans from voting in church matters or holding leadership positions in many white churches. Reverend Richard Allen,

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1386-605: The 1850s–1900s was characterized by new denominations, active missionary work, Chautauquas , and the Social Gospel approach to social issues. The YMCA (founded in 1844) played a major role in fostering revivals in the cities in the 1858 Awakening and after. The revival of 1858 produced leaders such as Dwight L. Moody who carried out religious work in the Civil War armies. The Christian and Sanitary Commissions and numerous Freedmen's Societies were also formed during

1449-534: The Awakening from the traditional branches of their denominations. New Lights embraced the revivals that spread through the colonies, while Old Lights were suspicious of the revivals (and their seeming threat to authority). The historian Richard Bushman credits the division between Old Lights and New Lights for the creation of political factionalism in Connecticut in the mid-eighteenth century. Often, many "new light" Congregationalists who had been converted under

1512-618: The Boston Puritan elite, he preferred to use the common language of the frontier in his sermons. A sense of the frontier life may be gleaned from his proposal in 1703 to use dogs "to hunt Indians as they do Bears", the argument being that dogs would catch many an Indian who would be too light of foot for the townsmen. This was not considered inhumane, for the Indians, in Stoddard's view, "act like wolves and are to be dealt with as wolves." Three years later. Massachusetts passed an act for

1575-633: The Congregational Church in neighbouring towns of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Subscribing to the Doctrine of Faith, the Half-Way Covenant was put in place was an essential prerequisite to installment. Mather's orthodox Puritanism had witnessed declining numbers, yet Stoddard was able to revitalise the church through liberal reforms. The Northampton Church was in danger of extinction unless additional members were admitted on

1638-643: The First Great Awakening marks the birth of the American "rhetoric of the revival" understood as "a particular mode of preaching in which the speaker employs and it has a really wide array of patterns and communicative strategies to initiate religious conversions and spiritual regeneration among the hearers". All these theological, social, and rhetorical notions ushered in the period of the American Revolution. This contributed to create

1701-714: The First Great Awakening. Some of the influential groups during the Great Awakening were the New Lights and the Old Lights . The First Great Awakening in the American colonies is closely related to the Evangelical Revival in the British Isles. Pulling away from ritual and ceremony, the Great Awakening made religion more personal by fostering a sense of spiritual conviction of personal sin and need for redemption, and by encouraging introspection and

1764-637: The Governor to "care for a Reformation...especially mention oppression, that Intollerable Pride in Cloathes and hair, the tolleration of so many taverns, especially in Boston," he wrote from Northampton. Mather eventually came to realise that children were being left without discipline, and so it was axiomatic to support the Synod "to bring them under the yoke of Christ," even if it proved an impossibility. Stoddard's Congregationalism would "Whole-way ruin all in

1827-623: The Old Lights eventually formed the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America , and the New Lights formed the Reformed Presbyterian Church, General Synod . Great Awakening#First Great Awakening The Great Awakening was a series of religious revivals in American Christian history . Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between

1890-636: The Puritan Theocracy, alcohol was forbidden, except for a weak beer, as was tobacco. The "poenal laws" included expulsion for blasphemy and "prophanation of the Lords Day Ordinances". He graduated BA from this "elite gathering" at Harvard College in July 1662. The MA during the next three years was 'Puritan casuistry' becoming an expert in a systematic study of theology adhering to the fundamentals of Holy Scripture. Rational theology

1953-541: The United States. The women's rights movement grew from female abolitionists who realized that they could fight for their own political rights, too. In addition to these causes, reforms touched nearly every aspect of daily life, such as restricting the use of tobacco and dietary and dress reforms. The abolition movement emerged in the North from the wider Second Great Awakening 1800–1840. The Third Great Awakening in

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2016-412: The adult children of the first generation of settlers, who were committed to Christianity but unsure of their own conversions, to bring their own young children for baptism in the church. Puritans typically reserved the sacrament of baptism only for adult converts and the children of full members. Stoddard's change in the sacraments produced little increase in the number of communicants. Nevertheless, he

2079-548: The books "clean and orderly." The following is found in the records of Harvard College: March 27, 1667, "Mr Solomon Stoddard was chosen Library keeper." "For the rectifying of ye Library & Rules for the Library Keeper", sixteen "orders were made." "No person resident in the College, except an Overseer", and "no Schollar in the College, under a Senior", could borrow a book, and "no one under master of Art (unless it be

2142-670: The church to proclaim a spiritual "conversion". Eleazer Mather opposed the Covenant as contrariwise to the Cambridge Platform of 1648, voted against the innovations of Synod of 1662. When in 1669, Mather died, the Northampton Church declared: "to rest contented with that share and portion of privilege belonging to them that are only in a state of Education in Christ's House...and have their children baptized." That

2205-400: The church. Stoddard introduced the practice of "halfway covenanting" or "owning the covenant" in the Northampton church, which permitted adult children who had not formally joined the church to become "halfway members." Halfway membership made it possible to affiliate more closely with the church without making a public statement of faith and conversion. The objective of the practice was to allow

2268-494: The early 18th century and the late 20th century. Each of these "Great Awakenings" was characterized by widespread revivals led by evangelical Protestant ministers , a sharp increase of interest in religion, a profound sense of conviction and redemption on the part of those affected, an increase in evangelical church membership, and the formation of new religious movements and denominations . George Whitefield , Jonathan Edwards , and Gilbert Tennent were influential during

2331-463: The idea of "awakenings" in United States history has been put forth by conservative American evangelicals. In the late 2010s and 2020s the term Great Awakening has been used by promoters of the QAnon conspiracy theory to denote awareness of their theory. In 2018, the British political commentator Andrew Sullivan described the " Great Awokening ", describing it as a "cult of social justice on

2394-445: The late colonial period, most pastors read their sermons, which were theologically dense and advanced a particular theological argument or interpretation. Nathan O. Hatch argues that the evangelical movement of the 1740s played a key role in the development of democratic thought, as well as the belief of the free press and the belief that information should be shared and completely unbiased and uncontrolled. Michał Choiński argues that

2457-506: The left, a religion whose followers show the same zeal as any born-again Evangelical [Christian]" and who "punish heresy by banishing sinners from society or coercing them to public demonstrations of shame". In 2024, The Third Awokening was used as the title of a book by Professor Eric Kaufmann on the same subject. Solomon Stoddard Solomon Stoddard (September 27, 1643, baptized October 1, 1643 – February 11, 1729)

2520-534: The locally detested camp of the Roman Catholic Church . Yet what started as an insult from Increase Mather changed as his presbyterian influences over Congregational church government grew. Stoddard insisted that the sacrament of the Lord's Supper should be available to all who lived outwardly pious lives and had a good reputation in the community, even if they weren't full members of the church. This

2583-580: The ministry of Solomon Stoddard , Jonathan Edwards 's grandfather. Edwards's congregation was involved in a revival later called the "Frontier Revivals" in the mid-1730s, though this was on the wane by 1737. But as American religious historian Sydney E. Ahlstrom noted, the Great Awakening "was still to come, ushered in by the Grand Itinerant", the British evangelist George Whitefield . Whitefield arrived in Georgia in 1738 and returned in 1739 for

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2646-469: The ministry was key to bringing people closer to the Lord God Almighty, his main goal was conversion of the hearts of sinners. The only source of salvation was God's Word, especially as related through the sermon. If a community continued to remain unconverted, then either the preacher himself was unconverted, or he needed to modify his sermons to better address the unconverted. This called for

2709-515: The most conservative religious denominations (such as the Southern Baptists ) grew rapidly in numbers, spread across the United States, had grave internal theological battles and schisms, and became politically powerful. The idea of an "awakening" implies a slumber or passivity during secular or less religious times. Awakening is a term which originates from, and is embraced often and primarily by, evangelical Christians. In recent times,

2772-453: The post for 55 years, during which time he and Esther produced thirteen children: John, Solomon, Samuel, Solomon, Anthony (d.infant), Anthony, Aaron, Israel, Mary, Christian, Sarah, Esther, Hannah. Stoddard was pastor of a group ministry of churches at Dorchester, Roxbury, and Springfield as well as Northampton, purchased from the Indians in 1653. Although well versed in the Latin and Hebrew of

2835-471: The preaching of George Whitefield left that connection to become "new light" Baptists when they found no evidence of infant baptism in the apostolic church. When told of this development, Whitefield famously quipped that he was glad to hear about the fervent faith of his followers but regretted that "so many of his chickens had become ducks." In the Presbyterian Church those elements embracing

2898-680: The public spokesman of his community to Boston. He proposed road-building to improve trade. In 1700 he managed to transfer the ownership of lands to the Township of Northampton, which was granted by petition in 1701. Raised in an orthodox Reformed context, today Stoddard is remembered mostly for his introduction of the Halfway Covenant in Northampton. By the mid-seventeenth century Puritan New England's first American-born children had come of age, but most children of this second generation were not presenting themselves for full membership in

2961-585: The raising of dogs to better secure the frontier borders. Stoddard is credited with propounding the Half-way Covenant , at Northampton on 18 April 1661. while young Elezear Mather was the pastor. It represented a reaffirmation of the Communion rules that accompanied a decline of piety in the Congregational church . Stoddard's interest was to insure the growth of church congregations in

3024-587: The revivals of the Great Awakening were sometimes called " New Side ," and those opposed to the revivals were called "Old Side." In the Church of Scotland in the 1790s, the "Old Lights" followed the principles of the Covenanters , and the "New Lights" were more focused on personal salvation and considered the strictures of the Covenants as less binding moral enormities. The terms were also used in 1833, when

3087-476: The small Baptist and Methodist denominations. It had less impact on Anglicans and Quakers. Unlike the Second Great Awakening, which began about 1800 and reached out to the unchurched, the First Great Awakening focused on those who were already church members. It changed their rituals, their piety, and their self-awareness. The First Great Awakening began in the 1730s and lasted to about 1740, though pockets of revivalism had occurred in years prior, especially amongst

3150-411: The war. The Fourth Great Awakening is a debated concept that has not received the acceptance of the first three. Advocates such as economist Robert Fogel say it happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Jesus Movement is cited as evidence of this awakening, and it created a shift in church music styles. Mainline Protestant denominations weakened sharply in both membership and influence while

3213-539: Was a religious revival that occurred in the United States beginning in the late eighteenth century and lasting until the middle of the nineteenth century. While it occurred in all parts of the United States, it was especially strong in the Northeast and the Midwest. This awakening was unique in that it moved beyond the educated elite of New England to those who were less wealthy and less educated. The center of revivalism

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3276-545: Was able to propose two motions to the Northampton Church in 1690: first, to abolish the public profession of faith and second, to appoint the Lord's Supper as a converting ordinance. The first passed by a majority and as a result the population of Northampton doubled from 500 to 1000 in twenty years. The second motion was opposed by the elders of the church, the motion was denied, although the younger people supported it. In 1725, his congregation decided to bring in an assistant, choosing his grandson Jonathan Edwards . Stoddard had

3339-499: Was an influential religious leader in colonial New England , and was the grandfather of the prominent theologian Rev. Jonathan Edwards . For 55 years, Stoddard occupied an unparalleled position in the Connecticut River Valley region of Massachusetts. His theology was not widely accepted in Boston, but was popular on the frontier. Opponents sometimes referred to him as "Pope" Stoddard, rhetorically placing him in

3402-500: Was carried off and never seen again. This event had a profound impact upon such a religious man. He wrote copiously to Increase Mather and the Governor warning of impending doom "for our preservation...that which the Lord ad delivered." Stoddard was a major contributor to the definitive history of the events: A Briefe History of the War with the Indians in New England . he rose to be assumed

3465-605: Was dismissed from the pulpit. Stoddard may have been too liberal for his grandson Jonathan Edwards, but he was lampooned for prudishness concerning petticoats in an anonymous pamphlet attributed to Benjamin Franklin . Stoddard published a pamphlet in 1722 entitled "Answer to Some Cases of Conscience" in which he argued that the newly fashionable hoop petticoats were "Contrary to the Light of Nature" and that "Hooped Petticoats have something of Nakedness". Franklin's satirical response

3528-535: Was entitled "Hoop-Petticoats Arraigned and Condemned, by the Light of Nature, and Law of God". Ultimately, Stoddard's power seems to derive more from his personality, political influence, and preaching ability, than from the force of his ideas. One man describes Stoddard with a poem: His Venerable Looks let us descry He taller was than Mean or common size, Of lovely Look, with majesty in's Eyes. From Nature's Gate he walk'd like King's on Earth There's scarce such Presence seen 'mongst human breath -  Shewing

3591-482: Was his attempt to save his church from a "dying religion", and was the cause of great theological controversy in 18th century New England (see also Halfway Covenant ). Although in acknowledging his grandfather as a "sort of deity", Edwards minimised his influence over Northampton, being dismissive of the oracle who had caused great wounds and split the church. Nevertheless, years later Timothy Dwight would assess his impact as more profound than any other clergyman over

3654-481: Was known as the "Puritan Pope of the Connecticut River valley" and was concerned with the lives (and the souls) of second-generation Puritans . The well-known theologian Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758) was his grandson, the son of Solomon's daughter, Esther Stoddard Edwards. Stoddard was the first librarian at Harvard University and the first person in American history known by that title. Stoddard

3717-408: Was not pure Calvinism, but divined from Covenant; it resembled philosophy, offering a distilled thesis of disputation. A Fellow and Tutor of Harvard Corporation for a year, he was then chosen in March 1667, to be the "first American librarian known to history by that title" when he was appointed "Library keeper", and Library Laws were enacted specifying that he should keep the Library "duly swept" and

3780-413: Was still an infant. He attended Cambridge Grammar School, probably the best one in New England "to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for Universities", "under the most reputable" Elijah Corlet, Oxon MA. Going up in 1658 he aimed to "lead an honest, sober and Godly life," permitted to speak only Latin, "diligently avoid being inoffensive in word or gesture." In the rigid disciplinary world of

3843-411: Was the pastor of the Congregationalist Church in Northampton, Massachusetts Bay Colony . He succeeded Rev. Eleazer Mather, and later married his widow around 1670. Stoddard significantly liberalized church policy while promoting more power for the clergy, decrying drinking and extravagance, and urging the preaching of hellfire and the Judgment. The major religious leader of what was then the frontier, he

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3906-408: Was the position when Stoddard took over the congregation. At a meeting on August 1670, Solomon was promised 20 acres of land, but then offered £100 instead. And eventually setting on four acres to build a house, to be funded by a Ministers Rate of 2s 6d. Stoddard was ordained as pastor of Northampton on the strength of a Letter of Recommendation (Feb 7, 1672) from Rev John Strong, regional convenor of

3969-419: Was the so-called Burned-over district in western New York. Named for its overabundance of hellfire-and-damnation preaching, the region produced dozens of new denominations, communal societies, and reform. Among these dozens of new denominations were free black churches, run independently of existing congregations that were predominantly of white attendance. During the period between the American revolution and

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