87-865: Robert Haldane (28 February 1764 – 12 December 1842) was a religious writer and Scottish theologian. Author of Commentaire sur l'Épître aux Romains, On the Inspiration of Scripture and Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans. Robert Haldane 3rd of Airthrey was the son of James Haldane 2nd of Airthrey, and his wife, Katherine Duncan. Robert was born on 28 February 1764 in Queen Anne Street, Cavendish Square in London. Robert and his younger brother James Alexander Haldane were raised by their grandmother Lady Lundie and uncles. Robert and James attended classes at Dundee Grammar School ,
174-627: A dissenting church and "the congregation's response was dismal," he ascribed the response to "the people's being hardened" as were "Pharaoh and the Egyptians" in the Bible. Many New Englanders claimed that Whitefield destroyed "New England's orderly parish system, communities, and even families". The "Declaration of the Association of the County of New Haven, 1745" stated that after Whitefield's preaching "religion
261-601: A "sorcerer" and a "vain-glorious, self-seeking, puffed-up creature". In addition, Whitefield's collecting money for his Bethesda orphanage, combined with the hysteria evoked by his open-air sermons, resulted in bitter attacks in Edinburgh and Glasgow." Whitefield's itinerant preaching throughout the colonies was opposed by Bishop Benson who had ordained him for a settled ministry in Georgia. Whitefield replied that if bishops did not authorize his itinerant preaching, God would give him
348-795: A church, so he began preaching in parks and fields in England on his own, reaching out to people who normally did not attend church. In 1738 he went to Christ Church in Savannah , Province of Georgia , in the American colonies which had been founded by John Wesley while he was in Savannah. While there Whitefield decided that one of the great needs of the area was an orphan house. He decided this would be his life's work. In 1739 he returned to England to raise funds, as well as to receive priest's orders . While preparing for his return, he preached to large congregations. At
435-518: A dead dog as I am". He now said that he "highly esteemed bishops of the Church of England because of their sacred character". He confessed that in "many things" he had "judged and acted wrong" and had "been too bitter in my zeal". In 1763, in a defense of Methodism, Whitefield "repeated contrition for much contained in his Journals ". Among the nobility who heard Whitefield in the Countess of Huntingdon's home
522-410: A hermitage and a boundary wall which is nearly four miles in length. In 1790 he commissioned the neoclassical architect Robert Adam to make a draft for the building of Airthrey Castle of which Adam created two designs. Haldane picked his favourite design but chose to have Thomas Russell complete the works instead of Robert Adam. Airthrey Castle was completed in 1791 and as built corresponded largely to
609-573: A load and burden" to him. In 1743 after four miscarriages, Elizabeth bore the couple's only child, a son. The baby died at four months old. Twenty-five years later, Elizabeth died of a fever on 9 August 1768 and was buried in a vault at the Tottenham Court Road Chapel. At the end of the 19th century the Chapel needed restoration and all those interred there, except Augustus Toplady, were moved to Chingford Mount cemetery in north London; her grave
696-652: A mark of divine favor) all served to help make him one of the first celebrities in the American colonies. Like Edwards, Whitefield preached staunchly Calvinist theology that was in line with the "moderate Calvinism" of the Thirty-nine Articles. While explicitly affirming God's sole agency in salvation, Whitefield freely offered the Gospel , saying at the end of his sermons: "Come poor, lost, undone sinner , come just as you are to Christ ." To Whitefield "the gospel message
783-632: A moral judgment on slavery itself as an institution". Whitefield is remembered as one of the first to preach to slaves. Some have claimed that the Bethesda Orphanage "set an example of humane treatment" of black people. Phillis Wheatley (1753–1784), who was a slave, wrote a poem "On the Death of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield" in 1770. The first line calls Whitefield a "happy saint". Benjamin Franklin attended
870-803: A new form of pulpit oratory. Whitefield's "Abraham Offering His Son Isaac" is an example of a sermon whose whole structure resembles a theatrical play. Divinity schools opened to challenge the hegemony of Yale and Harvard; personal experience became more important than formal education for preachers. Such concepts and habits formed a necessary foundation for the American Revolution . Whitefield's preaching bolstered "the evolving republican ideology that sought local democratic control of civil affairs and freedom from monarchial and parliamentary intrusion." Whitefield's sermons were widely reputed to inspire his audience's devotion. Many of them, as well as his letters and journals, were published during his lifetime. He
957-528: A new nature within that wants to serve God, not in order to be saved, but because one has been graciously and undeservedly saved. In 1736, after Whitfield's conversion, the Bishop of Gloucester ordained him a deacon of the Church of England . Whitefield preached his first sermon at St Mary de Crypt Church in his home town of Gloucester, a week after his ordination as deacon. The Church of England did not assign him
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#17328593371781044-510: A place of strong Gospel influence, with a wholesome atmosphere and strong discipline. Having raised the money by his preaching, Whitefield "insisted on sole control of the orphanage". He refused to give the trustees a financial accounting. The trustees also objected to Whitefield's using "a wrong method" to control the children, who "are often kept praying and crying all the night". In 1740 he engaged Moravian Brethren from Georgia to build an orphanage for negro children on land he had bought in
1131-851: A plain reading of Article 17 —the Church of England's doctrine of predestination —and disagreed with the Wesley brothers' Arminian views on the doctrine of the atonement . However, Whitefield finally did what his friends hoped he would not do—hand over the entire ministry to John Wesley. Whitefield formed and was the president of the first Methodist conference, but he soon relinquished the position to concentrate on evangelistic work. Three churches were established in England in his name—one in Penn Street, Bristol , and two in London, in Moorfields and in Tottenham Court Road —all three of which became known by
1218-489: A preacher's eloquence and fervency". During Whitefield's 1744–1748 visit to America, ten critical pamphlets were published, two by officials of Harvard and Yale . This criticism was in part evoked by Whitefield's criticism of "their education and Christian commitment" in his Journal of 1741. Whitefield saw this opposition as "a conspiracy" against him. Whitefield would be derided with names such as "Dr. Squintum", mocking him for his esotropia . When Whitefield preached in
1305-718: A revival meeting in Philadelphia and was greatly impressed with Whitefield's ability to deliver a message to such a large group. Franklin had previously dismissed as exaggeration reports of Whitefield preaching to crowds of the order of tens of thousands in England. When listening to Whitefield preaching from the Philadelphia court house, Franklin walked away towards his shop in Market Street until he could no longer hear Whitefield distinctly—Whitefield could be heard over 500 feet. He then estimated his distance from Whitefield and calculated
1392-592: A sea captain. The youngest son of Captain James Haldane of Airthrey Castle (who died two weeks before he was born), (his older brother Robert Haldane was also a clergyman) in Stirlingshire , he was born at Dundee . His mother was sister to Admiral Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan . He was educated first at Dundee Grammar School and afterwards at the High School in Edinburgh and University of Edinburgh . At
1479-507: A tree to urinate on him." In 1760, Whitefield was burlesqued by Samuel Foote in The Minor . Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, made Whitefield her personal chaplain. In her chapel, it was noted that his preaching was "more Considered among persons of a Superior Rank" who attended the countess's services. Whitefield was humble before the countess saying that he cried when he was "thinking of your Ladyship's condescending to patronize such
1566-600: A true Christian than had Muhammad". He also attacked Richard Allestree's The Whole Duty of Man , one of Anglicanism's most popular spiritual tracts. At least once Whitefield had his followers burn the tract "with great Detestation". In England and Scotland (1741–1744), Whitefield bitterly accused John Wesley of undermining his work. He preached against Wesley, arguing that Wesley's attacks on predestination had alienated "very many of my spiritual children". Wesley replied that Whitefield's attacks were "treacherous" and that Whitefield had made himself "odious and contemptible". However,
1653-466: A wife, yet wanting to live as if without one—brought Whitefield a disappointing love life and a largely unhappy marriage. On 14 November 1741 Whitefield married Elizabeth (née Gwynne), a widow previously known as Elizabeth James. After their 1744–1748 stay in America, she never accompanied him on his travels. Whitefield reflected that "none in America could bear her". His wife believed that she had been "but
1740-564: Is a prevailing misconception that Whitefield was not primarily an organizer like Wesley. However, as Luke Tyerman, a historian of Wesley, states, "It is notable that the first Calvinistic Methodist Association was held eighteen months before Wesley held his first Methodist Conference ." He was a man of profound experience, which he communicated to audiences with clarity and passion. His patronization by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, reflected this emphasis on practice. Whitefield welcomed opposition because as he said, "the more I am opposed,
1827-495: Is in the collection of the Gloucester City Museum & Art Gallery . It was John Wesley who preached his funeral sermon in London, at Whitefield's request. Whitefield left almost £1,500 (equivalent to £263,000 in 2023) to friends and family. Furthermore, he had deposited £1,000 (equivalent to £175,000 in 2023) for his wife if he predeceased her and had contributed £3,300 (equivalent to £578,000 in 2023) to
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#17328593371781914-508: Is now in a far worse state than it was". After Whitefield preached in Charlestown , a local newspaper article attacked him as "blasphemous, uncharitable, and unreasonable." After Whitefield condemned Moravians and their practices, his former London printer (a Moravian) called Whitefield "a Mahomet, a Caesar, an imposter, a Don Quixote , a devil, the beast, the man of sin, the Antichrist". In
2001-473: Is now my parish'. In 1740, Whitefield had attacked Tillotson and Richard Allestree's The Whole Duty of Man . These attacks resulted in hostile responses and reduced attendance at his London open-air preaching. In 1741, Whitefield made his first visit to Scotland at the invitation of "Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine , leaders of the breakaway Associate Presbytery . When they demanded and Whitefield refused that he preach only in their churches, they attacked him as
2088-484: Is unmarked in its new location. Cornelius Winter , who for a time lived with the Whitefields, observed of Whitefield, "He was not happy in his wife." And, "He did not intentionally make his wife unhappy. He always preserved great decency and decorum in his conduct towards her. Her death set his mind much at liberty." After Elizabeth's death, however, Whitfield said, “I feel the loss of my right hand daily.” In 1770,
2175-506: The British Empire . Whitefield could enthrall large audiences through a potent combination of drama, religious eloquence, and patriotism . He used the technique of evoking strong emotion, then using the vulnerability of his enthralled audience to preach. Whitefield was born on 27 December [ O.S. 16 December] 1714 at the Bell Inn, Southgate Street, Gloucester . Whitefield
2262-657: The Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania . Following a theological disagreement, he dismissed them and was unable to complete the building, which the Moravians subsequently bought and completed. This now is the Whitefield House in the center of the Moravian borough of Nazareth, Pennsylvania . Beginning in 1740, Whitefield preached nearly every day for months to large crowds as large as eighty thousand people as he travelled throughout
2349-636: The London Missionary Society . He briefly returned to Scotland in 1793, and began preaching on an itinerant basis. He remained in HEICS until 1797, his final action being on home ground in the Spithead mutiny , where he boarded the " Dutton ". He left the HEICS in the summer of 1797 and, encouraged by friends, began as a lay preacher in Gilmerton south of Edinburgh . In about 1796 he became acquainted with
2436-667: The Royal High School in Edinburgh , and the University of Edinburgh . In 1780 Robert joined HMS Monarch as an officer, of which his maternal uncle, Adam Duncan , was in command. In 1781, he was transferred to HMS Foudroyant . He was on HMS Foudroyant under John Jervis during the night engagement in April 1782 with the French ship Pegase and greatly distinguished himself. Haldane
2523-540: The " Preaching Braes " of Cambuslang in 1742—two journeys to Ireland, and one each to Bermuda, Gibraltar, and the Netherlands. In England and Wales, Whitefield's itinerary included every county. Whitfield County, Georgia , is named after Whitefield. When the act by the Georgia General Assembly was written to create the county, the "e" was omitted from the spelling of the name to reflect the pronunciation of
2610-416: The " Rodborough congregation"—a gathering of 10,000 people—at a place now known as "Whitefield's tump". Whitefield sought to influence the colonies after he returned to England. He contracted to have his autobiographical Journals published throughout America. These Journals have been characterized as "the ideal vehicle for crafting a public image that could work in his absence." They depicted Whitefield in
2697-459: The "best possible light". When he returned to America for his third tour in 1745, he was better known than when he had left. Whitefield was a plantation owner and slaveholder and viewed the work of slaves as essential for funding his orphanage's operations. John Wesley denounced slavery as "the sum of all villainies" and detailed its abuses . However, defenses of slavery were common among 18th-century Protestants, especially missionaries who used
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2784-457: The 'marvel of the age'. Whitefield was a preacher capable of commanding thousands on two continents through the sheer power of his oratory. In his lifetime, he preached at least 18,000 times to perhaps 10 million hearers. In terms of theology, Whitefield, unlike Wesley, was a supporter of Calvinism. The two differed on eternal election , final perseverance, and sanctification, but were reconciled as friends and co-workers, each going his own way. It
2871-433: The 55-year-old Whitefield continued preaching in spite of poor health. He said, "I would rather wear out than rust out." His last sermon was preached in a field "atop a large barrel". The next morning, 30 September 1770, Whitefield died in the parsonage of Old South Presbyterian Church , Newburyport, Massachusetts , and was buried, according to his wishes, in a crypt under the pulpit of this church. A bust of Whitefield
2958-720: The Bethesda Orphanage. "Questions concerning the source of his personal wealth dogged his memory. His will stated that all this money had lately been left him 'in a most unexpected way and unthought of means.'" In an age when crossing the Atlantic Ocean was a long and hazardous adventure, he visited America seven times, making 13 ocean crossings in total. (He died in America.) It is estimated that throughout his life, he preached more than 18,000 formal sermons, of which 78 have been published. In addition to his work in North America and England, he made 15 journeys to Scotland—most famously to
3045-569: The Church of England. In response, clergy called Whitefield one of "the young quacks in divinity" who are "breaking the peace and unity" of the church. From 1738 to 1741, Whitefield issued seven Journals . A sermon in St Paul's Cathedral depicted them as "a medley of vanity, and nonsense, and blasphemy jumbled together". Trapp called the Journals "blasphemous" and accused Whitefield of being "besotted either with pride or madness". In England, by 1739 when he
3132-541: The Commissary, Alexander Garden , suspended him as a "vagabond clergyman." After being suspended, Whitefield attacked all South Carolina's Anglican clergy in print. Whitefield issued a blanket indictment of New England's Congregational ministers for their "lack of zeal". In 1740, Whitefield published attacks on "the works of two of Anglicanism's revered seventeenth-century authors". Whitefield wrote that John Tillotson , archbishop of Canterbury (1691–1694), had "no more been
3219-596: The Countess of Huntingdon. This included 4,000 acres of land and 49 black slaves. In 1740, during his second visit to America, Whitefield published "an open letter to the planters of South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland" chastising them for their cruelty to their slaves. He wrote, "I think God has a Quarrel with you for your Abuse of and Cruelty to the poor Negroes." Furthermore, Whitefield wrote: "Your dogs are caressed and fondled at your tables; but your slaves who are frequently styled dogs or beasts, have not an equal privilege." However, Whitefield "stopped short of rendering
3306-477: The Gospel at Home in Edinburgh. In 1799 Robert organised for Plean Estate to be sold and this was bought in 1800 by Francis Simpson . Over the next twelve years (1798–1810) he gave over £70,000; this was used to further the cause of the Society for Propagating the Gospel at Home by building chapels for congregations, supporting missionaries and helping to maintain institutions for young men to be educated to carry on
3393-509: The Haldanes practiced baptism by immersion, weekly communion, and congregational polity (autonomous government). The Haldanes also operated a seminary, and were influenced in their principles by other independent thinkers such as John Glas and Robert Sandeman . James Haldane The Rev James Alexander Haldane aka Captain James Haldane (14 July 1768 – 8 February 1851) was a Scottish independent church leader following an earlier life as
3480-476: The Haldanes practised baptism by immersion, weekly communion, and congregational polity (autonomous government). The Haldanes also operated a seminary and were influenced in their principles by other independency thinkers such as John Glas and Robert Sandeman of the Glasite church. As advancing years compelled him to withdraw from the more exhausting labours of travel and open-air preaching, he sought to influence
3567-467: The University of Pennsylvania campus. On 2 July 2020, the University of Pennsylvania announced they would be removing the statue because of Whitefield's connection to slavery. "I believe it is God's will that I should marry", George Whitefield wrote to a friend in 1740. But he was concerned: "I pray God that I may not have a wife till I can live as though I had none." That ambivalence—believing God willed
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3654-637: The Whitefield meeting house, with its Charity School, to be purchased as the site of the newly-formed Academy of Philadelphia which opened in 1751, followed in 1755 with the College of Philadelphia, both the predecessors of the University of Pennsylvania . A statue of George Whitefield was located in the Dormitory Quadrangle, standing in front of the Morris and Bodine sections of the present Ware College House on
3741-626: The age of seventeen he joined the Honorable East India Company as a midshipman on board the ship, the Duke of Montrose . After four voyages to India, in the summer of 1793, he was promoted to captain and commander of the Melville Castle . He started a careful study of the Bible during his voyages, and also came under the evangelical influence of David Bogue of Gosport, one of the founders of
3828-431: The area of a semicircle centred on Whitefield. Allowing two square feet per person he computed that Whitefield could be heard by over 30,000 people in the open air. After one of Whitefield's sermons, Franklin noted the: wonderful ... change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seem'd as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro'
3915-527: The authority. In 1740, Jonathan Edwards invited Whitefield to preach in his church in Northampton. Edwards was "deeply disturbed by his unqualified appeals to emotion, his openly judging those he considered unconverted, and his demand for instant conversions". Whitefield refused to discuss Edwards' misgivings with him. Later, Edwards delivered a series of sermons containing but "thinly veiled critiques" of Whitefield's preaching, "warning against over-dependence upon
4002-465: The celebrated evangelical, Charles Simeon of Cambridge , in whose company he toured Scotland, distributing tracts and trying to awaken others to an interest in religious subjects. He moved to Edinburgh and befriended Rev David Black of Lady Yester's Kirk and Walter Buchanan Second Charge of Canongate Kirk who persuaded him to become a minister. In May 1797 he preached his first sermon, at Gilmerton near Edinburgh , with encouraging success. In
4089-703: The church on the wall backing onto Princes Street Gardens . He married twice and had 13 children. He married first Mary Joass on 18 September 1793. Believed to have been born on 27 October 1771, she died on 27 February 1819. They had the following children: In 1822 he married for a second time to Margaret Rutherford, daughter of Daniel Rutherford . They had the following children: Among Haldane's numerous contributions to theological discussions were: He also published: George Whitefield George Whitefield ( / ˈ hw ɪ t f iː l d / ; 27 December [ O.S. 16 December] 1714 – 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield ,
4176-425: The colonies, especially New England . His journey on horseback from New York City to Charleston, South Carolina , was at that time the longest in North America ever documented. Like Jonathan Edwards , he developed a style of preaching that elicited emotional responses from his audiences. But Whitefield had charisma, and his loud voice, his small stature, and even his cross-eyed appearance (which some people took as
4263-427: The colony would never be prosperous unless slaves were allowed to farm the land. Whitefield wanted slavery legalized for the prosperity of the colony as well as for the financial viability of the Bethesda Orphanage. "Had Negroes been allowed" to live in Georgia, he said, "I should now have had a sufficiency to support a great many orphans without expending above half the sum that has been laid out." Whitefield's push for
4350-508: The discussion of current religious and theological questions by means of the press. In later years he adopted Baptist views. He lived his final years at 34 Drummond Place in Edinburgh's Second New Town . He died on 8 February 1851 aged 82, and is buried in the Haldane family plot in St Cuthbert's Churchyard at the west end of Princes Street in Edinburgh . The grave lies immediately east of
4437-509: The estate he had bought in 1809, Auchengray and partly in Edinburgh at 10 Duke Street (later renamed Dublin Street). Like his brother James, he took part in many of the religious controversies of the time, mainly through correspondence in the newspapers. Robert's later writing included a number of pamphlets on the Apocrypha controversy , as well as a treatise On the Inspiration of Scripture which
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#17328593371784524-692: The evangelical church shortly after his brother James converted. Robert became one of the first members of the London Missionary Society in 1795, the same year that he was converted. He offered the British Government and the East India Company to sell Airthrey Estate in order to set up a vast mission in Bengal but was turned down by the East India Company, and the mission was abandoned. In December 1797 he also joined his brother and some others in
4611-528: The final design by Robert Adam without the forecourt which was never built. Although there were changes to the north facade in the late nineteenth century, the south facade is still essentially as designed by Adam. Robert's tutor was David Bogue of Gosport . After reading about the start of the French Revolution he grew to disapprove strongly of the war with France. Robert resolved to devote himself to advancing Christianity . In 1795 Robert converted to
4698-442: The financial woes of his Bethesda Orphanage to Georgia's prohibition of black people in the colony. He argued that "the constitution of that colony [Georgia] is very bad, and it is impossible for the inhabitants to subsist" while blacks were banned. Between 1748 and 1750, Whitefield campaigned for the legalisation of African-American emigration into the colony because the trustees of Georgia had banned slavery. Whitefield argued that
4785-584: The formation of the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel at Home," in building chapels or "tabernacles" for congregations, in supporting missionaries, and in maintaining institutions for the education of young men to carry on the work of evangelization. In 1798 he sold the Airthrey Estate to Robert Abercromby to obtain funding for his mission work and with the funds raised to set up the Society for Propagating
4872-567: The group of children remained in the London area at what became known as the African Academy in Clapham . From 1799 to 1807, Robert set up theological seminars in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee to train young men with a passion for the gospel. Young men would come and train for 2–3 years with all their expenses paid for. Over this time 300 men were trained and sent out to spread their teachings all over
4959-644: The head of Leith Walk (now the site of the Playhouse Theatre). Haldane was never a preacher for the Church of Scotland , but was an evangelical preacher, who proved more popular than the established church. His studies of the New Testament led him to leave that denomination behind and work in an independent church movement. Along with his brother, Robert Haldane , and others, James established 85 independent churches in Scotland and Ireland. Churches originated by
5046-425: The institution to emphasize God's providence. Whitefield was at first conflicted about slaves. He believed that they were human and was angered that they were treated as "subordinate creatures". Nevertheless, Whitefield and his friend James Habersham played an important role in the reintroduction of slavery to Georgia. Slavery had been outlawed in the young colony of Georgia in 1735. In 1747, Whitefield attributed
5133-432: The legalization of slave emigration in to Georgia "cannot be explained solely on the basics of economics". It was also his hope for their adoption and for their eternal salvation. Black slaves were permitted to live in Georgia in 1751. Whitefield saw the "legalization of (black residency) as part personal victory and part divine will". Whitefield argued a scriptural justification for black residency as slaves. He increased
5220-586: The more joy I feel". He proved himself adept at creating controversy. In his 1740 visit to Charles Town , it "took Whitefield only four days to plunge Charles Town into religious and social controversy." Whitefield thought he might be martyred for his views. After he attacked the established church he predicted that he would "be set at nought by the Rabbies of our Church, and perhaps at last be killed by them". Whitefield chastised other clergy for teaching only "the shell and shadow of religion" because they did not hold
5307-499: The morning, helping them bathe, cleaning their rooms, carrying their books, and assisting them with work. But, Whitfield would later confess that though he did good works and tried to obey the law of God, he was not yet truly converted to Christ. It was Henry Scougal 's book, The Life of God in the Soul of Man, that Whitfield says opened his eyes to the Gospel and led to his conversion. It was that book he says, that God used to show him that he
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#17328593371785394-400: The name of "Whitefield's Tabernacle". The society meeting at the second Kingswood School at Kingswood was eventually also named Whitefield's Tabernacle . Whitefield acted as chaplain to Selina, Countess of Huntingdon , and some of his followers joined the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion , whose chapels were built by Selina, where a form of Calvinistic Methodism similar to Whitefield's
5481-429: The name. George Whitefield College , Whitefield College of the Bible , and Whitefield Theological Seminary are all named after him. The Banner of Truth Trust 's logo depicts Whitefield preaching. Kidd 2014 , pp. 260–263 summarizes Whitefield's legacy. Mark Galli wrote of Whitefield's legacy: George Whitefield was probably the most famous religious figure of the eighteenth century. Newspapers called him
5568-484: The necessity of a new birth, without which a person would be "thrust down into Hell". In his 1740–41 visit to North America (as he had done in England), he attacked other clergy (mostly Anglican) calling them "God's persecutors". He said that Edmund Gibson , Bishop of London with supervision over Anglican clergy in America, knew no "more of Christianity, than Mahaomet , or an Infidel". After Whitefield preached at St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Charleston, South Carolina ,
5655-404: The number of the black children at his orphanage, using his preaching to raise money to house them. Whitefield became "perhaps the most energetic, and conspicuous, evangelical defender and practitioner of the rights of black people". By propagating such "a theological defense for" black residency, Whitefield helped slaveholders prosper. Upon his death, Whitefield left everything in the orphanage to
5742-416: The open air in Dublin , Ireland (1757), Whitefield condemned Roman Catholicism , inciting an attack by "hundreds and hundreds of papists" who cursed and wounded him severely and smashed his portable pulpit. On various occasions, a woman assaulted Whitefield with "scissors and a pistol, and her teeth". "Stones and dead cats" were thrown at him. A man almost killed him with a brass-headed cane. "Another climbed
5829-449: The revival of evangelical Protestant Christianity across the continent of Europe ( Le Réveil ), impacting France, Germany (Die Erweckung) and the Netherlands (Het Reveil). Through conversion and missionary impetus the effects of this revival were felt as far afield as Italy and Hungary . In 1819, Robert had his theological prelections published in a Commentaire sur l'Épître aux Romains . He returned to Scotland in 1819 to live partly at
5916-420: The revivalist preacher and the worldly Franklin. True loyalty based on genuine affection, coupled with a high value placed on friendship, helped their association grow stronger over time. Letters exchanged between Franklin and Whitefield can be found at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. These letters document the creation of an orphanage for boys named the Charity School. In 1749, Franklin chose
6003-426: The same year he established a non-sectarian organization for tract distribution and lay preaching called the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel at Home . During the next few years he made repeated missionary journeys, preaching wherever he could obtain hearers, and generally in the open air. Around 1815 he moved to the city centre, living at 16 George Street and began preaching at the huge Tabernacle Church at
6090-440: The suggestion of friends he preached to the miners of Kingswood , outside Bristol, in the open air. Because he was returning to Georgia he invited John Wesley to take over his Bristol congregations and to preach in the open air for the first time at Kingswood and then at Blackheath, London . Whitefield, like many other 18th century Anglican evangelicals such as Augustus Toplady , John Newton , and William Romaine , accepted
6177-445: The town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street. Franklin was an ecumenist and approved of Whitefield's appeal to members of many denominations but unlike Whitefield was not an evangelical. He admired Whitefield as a fellow intellectual, and published several of his tracts, but thought Whitefield's plan to run an orphanage in Georgia would lose money. A lifelong close friendship developed between
6264-566: The two reconciled in later life. Along with Wesley, Whitefield had been influenced by the Moravian Church, but in 1753 he condemned them and attacked their leader, Count Nicolaus Zinzendorf , and their practices. When Joseph Trapp criticized Whitefield's Journals , Whitefield retorted that Trapp was "no Christian but a servant of Satan". English, Scottish, and American clergy attacked Whitefield, often in response to his attacks on them and Anglicanism. Early in his career, Whitefield criticized
6351-742: The work of evangelization. Robert was inspired by George Whitefield 's two tabernacles in London and built preaching centres strategically placed throughout Scotland. These tabernacles were located in Glasgow , Dundee , Perth , Thurso , Wick , Edinburgh and Elgin . His brother James took over the Edinburgh tabernacle until 1851. Robert funded John Campbell 's Society for the Education of Africans which initially planned to evangelise in Africa by bringing over native children to be trained as Christian missionaries in Edinburgh. However, owing to an outbreak of smallpox ,
6438-502: The world. In 1816 Robert published a work on the Evidences and Authority of Divine Revelation . In the summer of 1816 Robert Haldane visited Europe, first at Geneva and afterwards in Montauban . He lectured and interviewed large numbers of theological students with remarkable effect; among them were César Malan , Frédéric Monod and Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné . This circle of men spread
6525-597: Was Lady Townshend. Regarding the changes in Whitefield, someone asked Lady Townshend, "Pray, madam, is it true that Whitefield has recanted ?" She replied, "No, sir, he has only canted ." One meaning of cant is "to affect religious or pietistic phraseology, especially as a matter of fashion or profession; to talk unreally or hypocritically with an affectation of goodness or piety". In the First Great Awakening, rather than listening demurely to preachers, people groaned and roared in enthusiastic emotion. Whitefield
6612-423: Was a "passionate preacher" who often "shed tears". Underlying this was his conviction that genuine religion "engaged the heart, not just the head". In his preaching, Whitefield used rhetorical ploys that were characteristic of theater, an artistic medium largely unknown in colonial America. Harry S. Stout refers to him as a "divine dramatist" and ascribes his success to the theatrical sermons which laid foundations to
6699-616: Was afterwards present at the relief of Gibraltar in September 1782. Some months later after the peace treaty of 1783 , he left the Royal Navy . Soon after leaving the Navy, he settled on his family estate Airthrey , near Stirling where he contacted the Whites of Durham to landscape the grounds. These estate improvements included the creation of a man-made loch, rolling lawns, several wooded plantations,
6786-502: Was an English Anglican minister and preacher who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement . Born in Gloucester , he matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford in 1732. There, he joined the " Holy Club " and was introduced to John and Charles Wesley , with whom he would work closely in his later ministry. Unlike the Wesleys, he embraced Calvinism . Whitefield
6873-460: Was educated at The Crypt School in Gloucester and at Pembroke College, Oxford . Because business at the inn had diminished, Whitefield did not have the means to pay for his tuition. He therefore came up to the University of Oxford as a servitor , the lowest rank of undergraduates. Granted free tuition, he acted as a servant to fellows and fellow-commoners; duties including teaching them in
6960-683: Was ordained after receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree. He immediately began preaching, but he did not settle as the minister of any Church of England parish ; rather, he became an itinerant preacher and evangelist . In 1740, Whitefield traveled to British North America where he preached a series of Christian revivals that became part of the First Great Awakening . His methods were controversial, and he engaged in numerous debates and disputes with other clergymen. Whitefield received widespread recognition during his ministry; he preached at least 18,000 times to perhaps ten million listeners in
7047-449: Was ordained priest, Whitefield wrote that "the spirit of the clergy began to be much embittered" and that "churches were gradually denied me". In response to Whitefield's Journals , the bishop of London, Edmund Gibson , published a 1739 pastoral letter criticizing Whitefield. Whitefield responded by labelling Anglican clergy as "lazy, non-spiritual, and pleasure seeking". He rejected ecclesiastical authority claiming that 'the whole world
7134-799: Was published in 1828 and a later Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans published in 1835, which has been translated into French and German. Robert died on 12 December in 1842 in Edinburgh and was buried in Glasgow Cathedral. Robert Haldane married Catherine Cochrane Oswald, daughter of George Oswald of Scotstoun, on 24 April 1785. They were married for 58 years and had one child, Margaret Haldane, during their marriage. Margaret married James Farquhar Gordon in 1805. Robert died on 12 December 1842 (1842-12-12) (aged 78), Catherine six months afterward. Margaret died on 29 September 1849. Along with his brother, James Haldane, Robert Haldane established 85 churches in Scotland and Ireland. Churches planted by
7221-464: Was so critically important that he felt compelled to use all earthly means to get the word out." Thanks to widespread dissemination of print media, perhaps half of all colonists eventually heard about, read about, or read something written by Whitefield. He employed print systematically, sending advance men to put up broadsides and distribute handbills announcing his sermons. He also arranged to have his sermons published. Much of Whitefield's publicity
7308-460: Was still lost despite all his attempts to gain the favor of God by means of good works. Only by God's grace can a person realize they have offended God and their need for Jesus Christ, God's Son, and His righteousness imputed to them by faith. Henry Scougal's book showed him the need for a man to be born of God from above, and that this is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit creating a new heart and
7395-463: Was taught. Many of Selina's chapels were built in the English and Welsh counties, and one, Spa Fields Chapel , was erected in London. Whitefield's endeavour to build an orphanage in Georgia was central to his preaching. The Bethesda Orphanage and his preaching comprised the "two-fold task" that occupied the rest of his life. On 25 March 1740, construction began. Whitefield wanted the orphanage to be
7482-411: Was the fifth son (seventh and last child) of Thomas Whitefield and Elizabeth Edwards, who kept an inn at Gloucester. His father died when he was only two years old, and he helped his mother with the inn. At an early age, he found that he had a passion and talent for acting in the theatre, a passion that he would carry on with the very theatrical re-enactments of Bible stories he told during his sermons. He
7569-456: Was the work of William Seward, a wealthy layman who accompanied Whitefield. Seward acted as Whitefield's "fund-raiser, business co-ordinator, and publicist". He furnished newspapers and booksellers with material, including copies of Whitefield's writings. When Whitefield returned to England in 1742, an estimated crowd of 20–30,000 met him. One such open-air congregation took place on Minchinhampton Common , Gloucestershire. Whitefield preached to
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