Essential biography

books:


	• George Whitefield and the Great Awakening John Pollock Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, 1973 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 1 review
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Essential biography

George Whitefield, like so many of us, exhibited a slow progression towards mature Christian faith. That our heroes were imperfect (save for the Lord himself) is an encouragement to us all.

In this smart little biography we meet a number of other giants involved in the Great Awakening. The Wesleys appear at various times, in latter stages clashing with Whitefield over predestination. Jonathan Edwards, another great evangelist, appears from page 163 onwards. John Newton (author of 'Amazing Grace' and one who very slowly was weaned by the Lord from a slave-trading living) has a shorter mention on page 191. David Brainerd (missionary to the "Indians").

One point on the split between Whitefield and (John) Wesley which I didn't understand requires quotation:

"Their disagreement echoed the old dispute which split the Reformation between Luther and Calvin - although Wesley was not a slavish follower of Luther, nor Whitefield of Calvin - while their different angles on the great Reformation doctrine of Justification by Faith were rendered more acute by personal weakness...."

Was there really such a split between Luther and Calvin? Calvin was of the next generation to Luther, and approved very much of the man and his writings. If anything, Calvin developed what had gone before, but I was not aware of any contradiction of Luther in this important matter of Justification by Faith.

However, I'm sure this is not a mistake or oversight by the author John Pollock. He obviously knows what he's talking about and is a far more capable writer and Church historian than I will ever be. I put this down to my own ignorance of the reformers' theologies.

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