The Great Awakening - Essay Example

History In America, great awakening begun in the year the 1730s and lasted for a longer period until 1743. Due the pocketsof revivalism that had occurred prior in the ministry of Solomon and the grandfather of Jonathan Edwards. The emergence of the rivalry resulted in the involvement of the Edwards congregation being involved in the differences that were termed to be “Frontier Rivals”. Despite these rivalries by the religious leaders and the group, a religious historian Sydney E. Ahlstrom stood firm and made sure that Great Awakening will still come. The great British evangelist, George Whitefield, was assisting him. The arrival of Whitefield made a tremendous upgrade to the path that was being taken towards Great Awakening. The various Protestants gave the support of the movement and from this, British, Dutch, and the German churches were influenced. Between the old and the new light ministers, the central debate was the rebellion against the authoritarian religious rule, which was being spread across the other areas of the colonial life. Within the growing population of the early colonies that was present in the eighteenth century along with the mass of public gathering, there was an emergence of these ministers. The primary reason as why these ministers considered the rivalry to be threatening was that it targeted in the affecting of culture and the political sphere of the entire country. Despite the quarrelsome error, they were living in the colonial period, civility customs and courtesy, governing norms of life and other rules were put aside.1 The appealing of the vast awakening to the Americans colonialist particularly none-elites was because they wanted to change some of the practices. The practices had been brought into the mindsets of some individuals with a view of bringing a change like never before. The non-elites had an objective towards the great awakening, but they lacked the necessary support from both the colonies and the old ministers. In my opinion, the legacies of the great revival did not contribute to the breaking with Great Britain. Instead, it strengthened the relationship through the influencing not only the British churches but also the Dutch and the Germans.2 The Great Awakening document addresses particular problems. The major challenge was the focus on the American identity. Due to the differences in the character and races, the rivalry in the colonies emerged. The rivalry being addressed is through the visitation of the preachers. The challenge of competition is not only a colonial issue, but comprised both the churches that dominated during colonial time. The document, on the other hand, delves into preserving of culture. Social norms and the courtesy of governing individual are set to be a priority despite the rivalry that is witnessed. Great Awakening had a positive effect on the social impact of the congregation. The new denominations considered both the fracturing of the existing policies and the new colonial rules.3 Great Awakening had effects on the entire unity of the nation. The upper hand of this unity was to advocate and bring the attitude that is initially going against the differential thinking that bring by the political English region. The demonstration and the illustration of the multiple perspectives were given priority in the document. The colonialists underrated interpreting of the fundamental theologies by the monarchs and the bishops. The reason that colonialism gave for this was that they considered themselves as being able to perform the task by them. The multiplicity of the perspective also relied on the chain of authority. In this, the defining power did not no longer run from God to people. Instead, it was structured to be from God to people than to the rulers. The trend did not end either because the children of the revivalism took part and echoed the movement from where it was left with the target of radicalizing the American Revolution. They acted against the sanctions and the ways of tyranny that were laid in pale by George the third. The rule was directly taken to the supreme judge of the world instead of it being declared by the independent church. From these unclear adherences of the protocols, colonist finally had an opportunity to come out of the established protectorate of Christian churches and asserting religious control over their nation’s destiny.4 The common ground in the document is the contract government. The growth of the notion of the state rule as a contract with its people was another challenge that great awakening was working towards. The gaining of the understanding by the parishioners on order to get the real meaning of the covenants as it was scheduled and contacted by their scheme. They have an argument that each believer must possess obedience towards the church. In return, the church has an obligation to teach the congregation the faithfulness of the word. Due to the overtime transition, a larger story in the ideas of the puritanical covenant and manifestation of the theology where there are social compact and the declaration of the independence is well covered.5 Under the influence of the historical importance that the document explores, it has lost an implication to the statement, disassociation, and the status nature of the agreed live bound. Another impact is the frequency by which believers gathered in large groups in different churches to form unions to propel the church to a greater level. The church developed and gained branches and from this, they divided from the main denomination.6 Religious uniformity became the most dominant fuel that took the church and the congregation to achieve spiritual nourishment. Unity in both the old and the new ministers enables the entire community to attain required respect and focus. Rivalry not only to the church but also to the government down to the Commonwealth divides people on the different basis of hate, hypocrisy, and bad will. The right choice for the healthy living community is peace love, unity, and treating each other equally. List of References: Fisher, L. (2012). "It Proved But Temporary & Short Lived": Pequot Affiliation in the First Great Awakening. Ethno-history, 59(3), 465-488. doi:10.1215/00141801-1587433 Heimert, A., & Miller, P. (1967). The Great Awakening: documents illustrating the crisis and its consequences. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill. Kidd, T. (2007). The Great Awakening. New Haven: Yale University Press. Lambert, F. (1999). Inventing the "great awakening". Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Read More