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Wikipedia: Charles Finney (Finney (August 29, 1792 • August 16, 1875) -
- An American preacher and leader in the Second Great [American]
Awakening - He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism
[Alter calls and the 'sinners prayer'] - Finney was best known as an
innovative revivalist, an opponent of Old School Presbyterian theology,
an advocate of Christian perfectionism, a pioneer in social reforms in
favor of women and blacks, a religious writer, and president at Oberlin
College -- {Note: Charles Finney (1792 -1875) was one of the greatest
men of the Christian faith. -- Finney was a primary influence on the
"revival" style of theology which emerged in the 19th century (1800's).
Though coming from a Calvinistic background, Finney rejected
(Shepherding) tenets of "Old Divinity" Calvinism "Old School
Presbyterian theology" which he felt were unbiblical and counter to
evangelism and the Christian mission. - Wiki.com}
Theology: Finney was a primary influence on the "revival" style of theology which emerged in the 19th century.
Though coming from a Calvinistic background, Finney rejected tenets of "Old Divinity" Calvinism which he felt
were unbiblical and counter to evangelism and Christian mission. -- Finney's theology is difficult to classify, as can
be observed in his masterwork, Religious Revivals. In this work, he emphasizes the involvement of a person's will
in salvation. Whether he believed the will was free to repent or not repent, or whether he viewed God as inclining
the will irresistibly (as in Calvinist doctrine, where the will of an elect individual is changed by God so that they
now desire to repent, thus repenting with their will and not against it, but not being free in whether they choose
repentance since they must choose what their will is inclined towards), is not made clear. Finney, like most
Protestants, affirmed salvation by grace through faith alone, not by works or by obedience. Finney also affirmed that
works were the evidence of faith. The presence of unrepentant sin thus evidenced that a person had not received
salvation. -- In his Systematic Theology, Finney remarks that "I have felt greater hesitancy in forming and
expressing my views upon this Perseverance of the saints, than upon almost any other question in theology." At the
same time, he took the presence of unrepented sin in the life of a professing Christian as evidence that they must
immediately repent or be lost. Finney draws support for this position from Peter's treatment of the baptized Simon
(see Acts 8) and Paul's instruction of discipline to the Corinthian church (see 1 Corinthians 5). This type of teaching
underscores the strong emphasis on personal holiness found in Finney's writings. -- Finney's understanding of the
atonement was that it satisfied "public justice" and that it opened up the way for God to pardon people of their sin.
This was the so-called New Divinity which was popular at that time period. In this view, Christ's death satisfied
public justice rather than retributive justice. As Finney put it, it was not a "commercial transaction." This view of
the atonement is typically known as the governmental view or government view. -- Princeton Theological Seminary
Professor Albert Baldwin Dod reviewed Finney's 1835 book Lectures on Revivals of Religion and rejected it as
theologically unsound from a Calvinistic perspective, not necessarily from a Christian perspective. Dod was a
defender of Old School Calvinist orthodoxy (see Princeton theologians) and was especially critical of Finney's view
of the doctrine of total depravity.
Charles Finney Revivals - Charles Finney Messages - Sermons From
The Penny Pulpit (Resources)
CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE: LECTURES TO PROFESSING CHRISTIANS (1836-37). DELIVERED IN THE
CITY OF NEW-YORK, 1836 AND 1837. BY CHARLES G. FINNEY - What is the gospel, and what is
Christianity? Are there false converts in the church? What is the real difference between true and false converts?
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