The_Great_Awakening

The Great Awakening THE GREAT AWAKENING With the decay of the Puritan clergy, in wake of the Salem Witch Trials, the main elements of religious zeal fell into decline. In the backcountry, religion was becoming primitive. Preachers were described as " ignorant wretches who could not read or write", and "a gang of lunatics". In light of this spiritual decay came engelistic preachers like the Congregationalists Johnathan Edwards and George Whitefield. Their preaching through sermons, such as "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" and "Gales of Heavenly Wind" brought followers into a different state of mind. Often people would fall to the ground in a faint, or cry aloud that they really did feel the power and love of God. These preachers of The Great Awakening made Hell real and vivid, and taught of a vengeful God. The Great Awakening began in the middle colonies in the late 1730's and spread to New England and some areas in the south. One of the main preachers of this revival was Johnathan Edwards. He declared that people would not be saved for eternal life just by attending services and praying regularly. people, began, preachers, new, great, awakening, south, revival, religious, lights, god, feel, whitefield, single, should, result, one, main, johnathan, hear, george, england, edwards, different, believed, beliefs, backcountry, zeal, write, wretches, witch, wind, way, wake, vivid, very