Part 8 (pages 106–119)
times to climb out of the pew, but whenever he started to move, his aunt would throw herself forward and engage in silent prayer, preventing him from escaping.
She implored him, “Theodore, if you leave, you will break my heart.” So he sat there’ and endured the entire sermon. At sermon’s end, Weld finally was free from the evangelist’s.stinging words. .
The next day, Charles went to a store on Genesee Street and whom should he encounter but Theodore Weld! The young man lashed out at the evangelist verbally for nearly an hour. The place filled with townspeople over- whelmed with what they were hearing. The evangelist patiently let the young man continue until he had vented all his anger. ;
- Then Charles drew himself up to his full stature and addressed the young upstart: “Mr. Weld, are you the son of a minister of Christ; and: is this the way for you ‘to behave?” That-was all he said, but the words pierced like a sword into young Weld’s heart. Deeply offended, Weld muttered some: final cutting words and marched out of the store. —— a ;
Charles: left the store and walked to‘ Pastor Aiken’s home. He had been there only a few minutes when he heard a knock at the door. To his astonishment, there stood Weld. His face was:ashen as he began to pour out a most humble ‘confession and apology. Graciously Charles accepted his apology. and encouraged him to give his life to Christ. With that, the young student left and went to his aunt’s home, much subdued.
She asked him to lead.the family in prayer, but as.he knelt down, the bitterness rose in him again, even more - vicious: than: before: He attacked: the ‘revival with blas:
phemous' words, and his aunt began to shudder. Relent-" |
lessly-he continued until the lamp:oil had burned low. The’ family, was«shocked, ‘and: his. aunt: was ‘genuinely ‘cons cerned’ and: frightened: at his: outright -blaspheniy- "When. Weld:finally : ‘Spent himself;: his'a aunt pt urged Hit to: ane his. heart:to. God.: ree Sue an With that;he: flew: out: ‘andi ‘wet: to his room: 1 fort ie night: But he found: it impossible ‘to :sleep:: His: agitation: deepened as‘thé ‘hours:dragged-on. He paced, ‘floor all: "night. Just as dawn.:camé:on,.as: Weld :himse f-explained: Jater,-a:great “pressure’ came: upon hint thatiliterally;pros- trated him?:Along:-with ‘th ‘pressure,’ say “Repent; repent now!’ : »»Later-in'the:morning his aunt:came: to. his r room to:find: out why: hé had not come dowh for breakfast. She: found: him-on:the: floor, calling :himself.a: “thousand fools.” is : heart was: completely. broken. Hée:had met-Jesus Christ:
ha:voice ‘seemed:to:
At the evening: service,: Weld: ‘got-upi rand askedif: he 7
coilld: ‘say:a few words: He made an eloquent; humble, and: beautiful confession ‘of. Christ. Gone!-were: the: titades and blasphemy against the revival. His life had been:rad= ically ‘and:wondrously transformed::He acknowledged the - stumbling block he had: been :and said-that now his only.
desire: was. shat his whole life might ec count: it for the cause -
; From the time. of this striking: conversion; ‘Weld: be=
cameé:.a diligent:servant of Christ and one of Charles’s
biggest supporters. Later on; he was influential :in various -. :
- Christian movements ’ -and in abolitionist: activities: ‘After ; that, he entered Lane: ‘Seminary. in Cincinnatiy. Ohio;-and ._ the rest of his life was used by God in many ways.
Two significant events happened to Charles while he was in Utica.. The first. occurred when he stayed at Pastor Aiken’s home and was introduced to the writings of Jonathan Edwards. Edwards’s works about the occur- rences of the First Great Awakening had a tremendous impact on the evangelist, altering his theology, preaching, and revival concepts. The other event was the rising of opposition against his “new measures.” He would learn, however, to deal with this situation quickly.
By 1826, Charles’s name was becoming well-known throughout western New York. The pastor. of the First Presbyterian Church of Auburn, Dr. Lansing, visited one of the Utica meetings and witnessed the power of the awakening. Overwhelmed by what he experienced, he invited Charles to preach in Auburn. Since he believed his work was done in Utica, the evangelist followed what he felt to be the Holy Spirit’s leading. His caution to wait on God’s Spirit meant that he never had to leave in the middle of a revival—he could remain one day or one year as he needed to.
But when Charles went to Auburn, another spirit began to plague him. Some of the religious leaders of a theologi- cal seminary in Auburn, along with some professors and students, got together to oppose the revival meetings. Then, a plan to confine Charles and his meetings to the western part of New York was set in motion. Several prominent ministers declared that he would never be allowed to come east and disrupt the churches of New England.
As soon as: the evangelist arrived in Auburn, he learned from various sources that a system of espionage was being carried on that was intended to create a network of ministers and churches to hedge him in and to prevent the spread of the revivals connected with his work.
Charles knew that rumors and false reports had been spread about him and the meetings. He realized he would need to deal with this situation but was not sure what to do. When his ministry in Auburn began, however, the Holy Spirit indicated that he would face some troubling times ahead:
I shall never forget what a scene I passed through one-day in my room at Dr. Lansing’s. The Lord showed me as in a vision what was before me. He drew so near to me, while I was engaged in - prayer, that my flesh literally trembled on my bones. I shook from head to foot,.under a full ~ sense of the presence of God. At first, and for some time, it seemed.more like being on the top.of Mount Sinai, amidst its full thunderings, than in °. the presence of the cross of Christ.
Never in my life, that I recollect, was I so awed and humbled before God as then. Nevertheless, instead of feeling like fleeing, I seemed drawn nearer and nearer to. God— seemed to draw nearer and nearer to that Presence that filled me with such an unutterable awe and trembling. After a season of great humil- iation before him, there came a great lifting up. God assured me that He would be with me and uphold me; that no opposition should prevail against me; that I had nothing to do, in regard at all.to this matter, but to keep about my work, and wait for the salvation of God.
The passage of Scripture the Spirit of God reminded Charles of, and upon which he trusted, was: “Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed” (Jeremiah 20:7). He knew God would see him through this difficult time.
Before he had preached very long in Auburn, the church broke down in confession. The entire church body wanted to publicly acknowledge their backsliding and spir- itual poverty, so they prepared a written confession and submitted it to the church. At the time of the document’s presentation, the whole congregation stood in agreement, weeping as they did: so. After that, the work continued unabated, and many souls were swept into the kingdom of God. In 1831, .a number of years later, when Charles re- turned to Auburn, another powerful revival began. The peo- ple of Auburn were always glad to see him and welcomed him wholeheartedly.
Early in the autumn of 1826, the evangelist accepted an invitation from Dr. Nathaniel Beman, as Charles noted “to labor with them for the revival of religion.” Charles spent the autumn and winter in Troy, New York, and as often happened in these meetings, “a very earnest spirit of prayer” came forth. A prayer meeting took place daily at eleven o’clock, going from house to. house. These prayer services deepened until they were used by God to bring many souls into the kingdom.
At one of the meetings, a bank cashier was so pressed by the spirit of prayer that when the nieeting was dis- missed, he was unable to rise from his knees. He remained upon his knees, and writhed and groaned in agony. According to Charles, “He said, ‘Pray for Mr.___,’ presi- dent of the-bank of which he was cashier. This president was a wealthy, unconverted man. When it was seen that his soul was in travail for that man, the praying people knelt down, and wrestled in prayer for his conversion. As soon as the mind of Mr. S..was:so relieved that he could go home, we all retired; and soon after the president of the bank, for whom we prayed, expressed hope in Christ. He had not before this attended any of the meetings; and it was not known that he was concerned about his salvation. But prayer prevailed, and God soon took his case in hand.”
In the midst of the revival, a young lady traveled to Troy from New Lebanon in Columbia County. She had come ‘to buy a dress for a ball in her hometown. A cousin in Troy, who was a recent convert because of the Finney revival, invited her to one of the services. Although she did not-want to go, she finally gave in to her cousin’s urg- ing. The Spirit of God worked mightily that night, and the.woman was wondrously converted.
The young woman, dismissing her dress and the ball, returned to New Lebanon and started to work for a revival there. Before long, her father, a deacon in the local church, experienced a revival in his life. Then the woman visited her pastor’s daughter, who was not a Christian. She per- suaded the young lady to put her faith in Christ, so she, too, became a believer. The two of them began to pray together for others in their community. By the time they had prayed a week, they agreed that Charles Finney should come and preach in New Lebanon. When they went to “Charles Finney
Troy to talk with him, he said he would come.
‘Charles began preaching in New Lebanon, and God blessed the work almost at. once. Dramatic conversions were multiplied, and what he called “a great and blessed change” came over the entire community. Most of the leading citizens of the small town were converted.
During the time of the New Lebanon revival, the con- troversy over Charles’s “new measures” was coming to a head. What became known as the Great Western Revivals — and Finney’s methods were a growing topic of conversa- tion. Letters flew thick and. fast between Christians in western New York, who were sympathetic to Charles’s revivals and methods, and the leading “Eastern brethren,” ‘such as evangelist Ashel Nettleton and pastor Lyman
_ Beecher. The controversy had taken on a life of its own.
Charles knew he needed to do something about the issue, so a date was set in late July 1827 to hold a conven: tion to consider the issue of “measures” in revivals. They decided to hold the convention in New Lebanon. Charles felt assurance from the Lord that he would be ready.
the Western. Revivals ha nearly. “reached. their. height. and..Charles. Finney was
also rl eee pe strength and threatened to ‘undo what. : ever the. revivals; had achieved., bel
preached i in those, days, ee powerful and the exci news. was reported:in. local periodicals, little. -Mmentio s made of Charles himself i in-connection with. the meetings. :
Besides, practically everyone in Jefferson and St. Law- rence Counties had either been converted or was deeply moved by the revivals.
Later, however, when the revival fires began to reach Oneida County, they were getting too impressive to ignore. Also, places like. Gouverneur, Utica, and Rome were growing rapidly and becoming some of New York’s largest cities. Any revivals in these places would attract attention. Now the name Charles Finney was being men- tioned in the same breath as the revivals, and revival news spread as far east as Boston.
The unbelieving community sounded the first alarm about the revival. Different tactics were used—from sim- ple ridicule to acts of violence. When Father Nash men- tioned the Oneida revivals on May 11, 1826, he said, “The work of God moved forward in power, in some places against dreadful opposition. Mr. Finney and I have been hanged in effigy. Sometimes the opposition made a noise in the house of God; sometimes they gathered around the house and stoned it, and discharged guns.”
The religious opposition to the revivals came from three different sources: the Unitarians, the “old school” Calvin- ists, and critics of the “new measures.” The “new mea- sure” critics represented a’ wide range of theological thought. Thus, people of various theological beliefs united against Charles and his friends, objecting to the method- ologies he used. Incredibly, many of the “new measure” critics were diligent advocates of revivals themselves. A number of them even used some’ of the “new measure” _ methods to their own advantage.
Chaves Pinney :
"While critical: yéices’ hadbeen: raised against: thé :
Finney revivals:for some time, they reached ‘a’ ‘high pitch’... ‘- by::the~ time! of the: Utica tevival:::An™ outstanding: -
spokesman for the. opposition’ was-the Reverend: William R. Weeks. He:was pastor of the: Congregational chutch:at
Paris. Hill in Oneida County;-and: adhered: to ‘the: thought vie
of Samuel Hopkins;.so he was:known:as:a “Hopkinsian:”. . Hopkins® himsélf:: followed: the ideas? of: Dri Nathaniel” Emmens, one ofthe leading: old:school? Galvinistic the= ologians:' Weeks had tried to.impose his theological ideas... - on the local'believers'and churches in Oneida County. but without: sticcess; "so? he ‘parted company ‘with ‘theni‘and : formed his: own group: called ‘the:“Oneida Association.” Following: the break, Weeks: employed -various sate: to: disgrace Charles’s new measures. : i :<Weeks‘used different ‘methods t achieve - his: “boa ; First, -he ‘corresponded :with:men: of: influence: an:New:
England; in particular, he:sought:out:those:who: approved. - of revivals in. general: 'He hopediby’ ‘persuading: these indis
viduals. of; Charles’s “errors”? to'create ‘a’ division: among the “new school”: theologians. Moreover; he started send- ing detrimental: pamphlets.:and: aiticles:that’ énjoyed :a wide: circulation:: The: most. damaging pamphlet:Weeks..- wrote contrary to'the new measures came:out under the title “A: Pastoral Letter:to the Ministers: of : the’ Oneida Association’ to the Churches: undet: Their: Care. ont Subject: of‘ Revivals’ of: Religion.”!:Since: the pamphlet appeared first:in-Oneida® Eounly where. the tevivals were being held, many ‘people-read it. HUPg Sule” Cleverly, Weeks did:not come 6 right out t and col demn revivals. He knew the eastern clergy were usually :
fea be)
favorable to them. Jonathan Edwards, a leader in the first Great Awakening during the previous century, had come from New England. Weeks‘ maintained, however, that those historic movements did not contain any outlandish practices (which he considered the new. measures to be) since the mature clergy would not allow them. As the opposition gathered momentum, both “old” and “new school” ministers began to side with Weeks, causing the opposition toward Charles to gain ground.
In addition, Weeks worked to incite the “new school” men of New England. Weeks fervently desired to discredit Charles in front of them. He did not have to bother that much with the “old school” people since they had already dismissed the evangelist. Some. of the accusations that flew fast and furious were ridiculous things like charging the evangelist with wild emotionalism, weird theology, and bizarre practices. One of the most damaging reports declared that parents were beating their. children to force them to become Christians: Finally, Weeks stated that Charles wanted to alienate the position and respect of the pastors and:churches where he held revivals. .
The “Bunker Hill” pamphlet was published by the Unitarians and widely circulated. Why did the Unitarians and other groups oppose Charles’s revivals? The answer most likely is that they relished seeing the orthodox clergy sparring with each other. In the “Bunker Hill” pamphlet, for example, in addition to criticizing the new measures, Charles’s foes maligned his character and ques- tioned his motives. The title page. of the pamphlet is as follows:
Charles,Finney
-. BUNKER HILL, CONTEST:
‘Between the “Hely Alliance? for the Establishment of: ..-Hierarchy:and Ecelesiastical Domination: i over the Human Mind.:
ONT THE ONE SIDE, :.
“And the Abtertégs 6 of: Free & Inquiry, Bible Religion. iChristian Freedom. and Civil Liberty: 4 et ON THE OTHER rs
: THE REV. CHARLES F FINNEY
; “Home 1e Missionary” ‘and High Priest of the: Alliance. ins fou the Interior of New-York: a 4 i:cHeadquarters:. County-of: Oneida, y
Some of the pamphlet’ s distortions spiokb of Charles's s “anxious” meetings. being held: in: dark.-rooms: with: an atniosphere chatgedwith: groans and. subdued, whis ers which brought about false conversions: ' : oe - Fhe truth:about these.distortions:was:that:in Charles’ 's early days:in:the revival. ministry,-he did not even.use: the anxious) meeting. He invited concerned: people: to come: to the'front of. the church following: dismissal -Of the ‘ser- vice so-he could counsel them pétsonally . and individually. After the revivals increased in size;:the evangelist used the anxious meeting. Nevertheless, the mestings | were always orderly, «: ‘ : The: “Bunker Hill”. ‘paraphlet 3 was i pupatedlys writ: _ten by a-plain farmer from: Trenton, New Jersey; but: the - language was such that a plain farmer of the day could not have written it. Ephraim Perkins’s name has been associated with the pamphlet, but it is thought that a man named Henry Ware of Trenton printed it. The pamphlet questioned Charles’s personal life as well as the credibil- ity of his new measures.
The best objections to the actual issues involved in the new measures were presented in the Reverend Weeks’s pastoral letter.’ He covered in twenty-nine correspond- ing points the “evils to be guarded against” in the Finney movement. The problem with Weeks’s letter is that he lumped together other itinerant evangelists who were guilty of the wild, bizarre extravagance that he accused Charles of. He included as well a few good pastors who used the new measures with discretion and good results. Weeks did not separate the worthwhile methods from the worthless ones.
In an effort to discount the letter, the Oneida Presbytery printed a tract called “A Narrative-of the Revival of Religion in the Country of Oneida.” Charles’s revivals, according to the tract, took place with less “excitement and_passions” and more “wisdom and discretion” than any could recall in any previous meetings. The most signifi- cant section appeared under the heading “Means Which Appear to Have Been Blessed in Promoting Revivals,” where thirteen such means of blessing were given.
Some of the new measures included in this section were that people “anxious” about their conversion were asked to attend a special meeting for counsel on how to be saved. Charles employed the anxious meeting a great deal in.his ministry, finding it most effective. The main purpose.of this special kind of meeting was.to help peo- ple unsure of their salvation to find Christ. Charles never wished to bring on shallow conversions, although he was accused of doing :just that. His very theology shows the reverse of shallowness: he believed that people made their own decisions for or against Christ.
Further, when Charles rejected extreme Calvinism, he took a position highly respectful of man’s free will. Charles believed that God’s: Spirit brings conviction: to: sinners, showing them their need of salvation.. People must then make their own:“free will” decisions. All that a Christian can do is to point the seeker to God’s forgiveness in Christ. So the anxious meeting was set up to. provide guidance and help for seekers.
The second point considered by the opposition con- cerned. Charles’s method of house-to-house visitation. Incredibly, the evangelist’s critics thought the practice of calling on people concerned about their salvation and counseling them on ‘how to receive forgiveness and sal- vation was much too humanistic.
The third point of contention. pertained: to the “anx ious seat.” For Charles to tell people anxious about their relationship to Christ to take a special place in the church building was’ revolting, in particular to the old: school. Doing this, they believed, set aside the work of the Holy Spirit. People were not necessarily called to the anxious seat at the close of a meeting. Often it was suggested they sit in the anxious seat at the outset of the service when no particular emotion was present.
As a point of fact, Charles did not invent the anxious