Even though our arrogant secular historians do not acknowledge this fact, Second Great Awakening changed America for the better. Charles G. Finney was preaching tirelessly to the masses. People were turning to Christ in repentance and then going out to reform their neighborhoods.
First came the salvation of the soul, then came edification of the body
First came the recognition of sin, then came the movements of reform
Out of Second Great Awakening many social reform movements were born:
Virtue: During Second Great Awakening, a distinct Christian America was born. Three factors played a role in this transformation. 1. Revival 2. Millennial expectation and 3. Virtue.
- Revival: Don’t keep your faith to your head. Fill your heart with faith. Live with passion.
- Millennial expectation: When Jesus comes back and establish his 1000 year reign, there will be a perfect human society. We don’t have to sit back and leave our society as it is. We can reform our neighborhoods as a foretaste of Jesus’ millennial kingdom.
- Virtue: They also emphasized virtue. Believe in Jesus, repent your sin, and embrace virtue. Today we have completely abandoned the concept of virtue. I heard on the news this morning that Congressman Anthony Weiner got 21 months in prison. This married man was caught sexting a 15 year old girl. A 50 year old man sitting in the Congress sending sexually explicit messages and images to a minor girl. Many sex scandals are coming out of Fox News. What is the point of talking about family values when you harass and exploit women who are working around you?
Care for the Poor: Charles Finney rebuked the Wall Street. With all the greed for money and worldly possessions, you are ignoring your soul. Repent and get saved. Spend your money for the poor.
Abolitionism: Second Great Awakening called for immediate and total abolition of slavery. Prior to Second Great Awakening, antislavery movements were working for resettlement of slaves in Africa and gradual emancipation. Charles Finney and others did not agree with resettlements. They treated slaveholding as a mortal sin. They confronted slave masters, ‘If you want to be saved, you should not hold any slaves’. ‘If you want to go to heaven, free your slaves’
Today we have violent organizations like Antifa fighting against racism and inequality. They will never achieve those goals through violence. They should look back and see what happened during Second Great Awakening. Racism was treated as a sin, a moral problem. Unless we recognize that racism is a sin that must be subdued through the spirit of Christ, we will never be able to conquer it. Our media is going insane. ESPN recently pulled one of its announcer. What is his crime? His name is Robert Lee. I am afraid soon they will deny people with names like Washington and Jefferson. Protesting at games, rioting in the streets or shouting in the halls of Congress do not help. We need the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
In the college campuses we often hear, ‘Stand up and admit you are a racist’. It should be, ‘Stand up and admit you are a sinner who need salvation’.
Women’s rights: Finney’s teachings specifically appealed to women. The first women’s rights movements in the United States came from Second Great Awakening. Secular feminists in our time completely rejected God. They are using violent language like Madonna who said, ‘I want to blow up the White House’. They should look back and learn from women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Julia Ward Howe who took their inspiration from Christian principles.
Julia Ward Howe: Her life was between 1819 to 1910. She worked for women’s rights and abolition of slavery. She wrote the famous song, ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free
While God is marching on.
You can see the spirit of Second Great Awakening in that song.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.
See the beauty of Christ,
See the glory of Christ
Let that beauty transform you and me
Let that glory transform you and me.
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free
While God is marching on.
You see, holiness and freedom go together. As Jesus died to make men holy, let us die to make men free. Just as Jesus sacrificed for us, let us sacrifice for others. Marxist violence is not going to achieve racial equality and women’s rights. We need Christian grace and sacrifice.
Education: Horace Mann fought for public education for all. He insisted on Bible teaching and family values. Soon America was building world class public education system. Today our public schools and colleges are a big mess because we abolished Bible teaching and abandoned family values. Atheism, Darwinism and moral relativism became the main themes of modern public education.
Horace Mann also emphasized the importance of patriotism. First you love God, then your country, then your world. That’s the order. The secular atheists of our time destroying the concept of patriotism in their pursuit of globalism. They say patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. In fact, patriotism is the first refuge of a good citizen. First love God, then your country, then your world. Not your world before your country. Not your country before God. The secular Left destroyed patriotism in its pursuit of globalism. It became the last refuge of the scoundrel, it is the first refuge of any good citizen.
Prison Reform: Lewis Dwight fought for prison reform: Don’t just put criminals behind the bars, try to reform them. Try to evangelize them, try to educate them. Soon prison reforms were in place all across America. People were turning to God even in prisons. Today our prisons became breeding grounds for future terrorists.
Healthcare : Those days mentally sick persons were confined to atrocious conditions. Dorothea Dix she worked on the care of the mentally ill people. I am a medical doctor. Recently I heard on the news that one of my patients was arrested for selling his prescriptions to others. We complain medicaid is broken. But there are people who are selling their medications to make money. Republicans and Democrats have been struggling in Washington to fix health care. But we should realize that there is a moral dimension to our health care.
Temperance: The most important reform movement that came out of Second Great Awakening was Temperance movement. In 1830s alcoholism became a major problem in America. The consumption per person was three times what it is today. Think about that, two hundred years ago, people were consuming three times as much alcohol as they are drinking today. Alcohol was destroying families, marriages, and economic growth. Countless widows and orphans were sprouting up due to alcohol related deaths. Second Great Awakening changed all of that. People found meaning and purpose in God and voluntarily abandoned alcohol. They destroyed alcohol containers and bottles in the streets. Alcoholic Anonymous was born during this time.
They wrote down the Twelve Traditions as their guidelines. Second Tradition states, ‘For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority – a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience’.
Without a loving God who express Himself in our conscience, how are we going to battle these deadly addictions?
Today we have an opioid epidemic wreaking havoc across America. This epidemic is destroying precious lives of young men and women in our time. Our leaders are spending billions of dollars to combat illicit drug trade. Second Great Awakening has a valuable lesson for us: First we should fill our lives with God and His Spirit, then comes temperance. A clean spirit precedes a clean body.
People who say, ‘Keep God away from Politics’ should realize that Second Great Awakening brought lot of political and cultural changes in America.
Conclusion:
Living in 21st century, we do not appreciate the impact of First and Second Great Awakenings on America.
Alexis de Tocqueville was visiting the United States in the midst of the Second Great Awakening. In his famous book Democracy in America he wrote,
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in his famous book Democracy in America,
“There is no country in the whole world in which the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America; and there can be no greater proof of its utility, and of its conformity to human nature, than that its influence is most powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth”
“The (Christian) sects which exist in the United States are innumerable. They all differ in respect to the worship which is due from man to his Creator, but they all agree in respect to the duties which are due from man to man. Each sect adores the Deity in its own peculiar manner, but all the sects preach the same moral law in the name of God.
The stresses of Colonial life – natural, social, economic, religious, and political – produced unusual social eruptions that were aimed at regaining some sense of control. The Great Awakening, a revival of radical Protestant religion across New England, helped people recover a sense of spiritual significance and moral direction; it also touched off violent religious controversy.
We should not lose heart, Jonathan Edwards wrote the book he titled, ‘A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God’. When we submit ourselves to God with faith, God will do surprising and wonderful things in our culture.
First Great Awakening
Second Great Awakening
We need another Great Awakening
US Capital building is modeled on St.Paul’s Cathedral in London. Many times we just see the US capital we forget it was modeled on St.Paul’s Cathedral. The structure of all our social institutions owe their existence to Judeo-Christian foundations. When we forget that as New York times writer bemoaned, our democracy will lose its legitimacy.
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, we pray for your grace and mercy on us. We repent for neglecting your Word. We pray that you forgive our sins. We pray that you anoint us with your Word and Spirit. We pray that you move the hearts of men and women in our time to see you and accept you as their Lord and Savior. We pray that you bless America with unity and love. In your mighty and wonderful name we pray, Amen.
Paul Kattupalli
References
Democracy in America – Vol. I. and II.
By Alexis de Tocqueville
Jonathan Edwards
By Perry Miller
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/19/politics/kfile-roy-moore-asked-for/index.html
The Life and Travels of George Whitefield, M. A.
By James Paterson Gledstone