The Encyclopedia of Protestantism: Volume 2 D–K
References and Further Reading
Finley, Robert. Thoughts on the Colonization of Free Blacks. Washington, D.C.: 1816.
Brown, Isaac V. Memoir of the Reverend Robert Finley. New Brunswick, NJ: Terhune and Leston, 1819.
Egerton, Douglas R. “‘Its Origin is not a little Curious’: A New Look at the American Colonization Society.” Journal of the Early Republic 5 no. 4 (1985): 463–480.
HOWELL WILLIAMS
FINNEY, CHARLES GRANDISON (1792–1875)
American revivalist. Finney was a prominent figure of the Second Great Awakening who scholars consider to be the “father of modern revivalism.” Born in Warren, Connecticut, in 1792, Finney’s family migrated west-ward to upstate New York and settled first in Oneida and later in Jefferson County. After a brief law career, he experienced CONVERSION in 1821 and soon dedicated his time to studying theology with Presbyterian minister George W.Gale in Adams, NY. The Presbytery of St.
Lawrence licensed him in 1823.
Finney brought the atmosphere of the rural CAMP MEETING revivals to the growing urban population. He delivered his message using a PREACHING style called “new measures” that blended his theological and legal training. He sparked REVIVALS throughout western New York in the 1820s. Abandoning conventional Sunday sermons, Finney preached on consecutive nights in a community for several weeks. His insistence on the human agency of conversions eventually led him away from PRESBYTERIANISM to CONGREGATIONALISM.
Finney settled in New York City in 1832, where he preached at the Second Free Presbyterian Church, and later the Congregationalist Broadway Tabernacle from 1834 to 1837. He accepted a position on the faculty at Oberlin College, Ohio in 1835, where he moved permanently in 1837. Finney served as President of Oberlin from 1851 to 1866. He died in Oberlin on August 16, 1875.
Finney’s urban EVANGELISM profoundly shaped the Protestant experience in the UNITED STATES. His theology is outlined in his Lectures on Revivals (1835) and Lectures on Systematic Theology (1847). Several books of his sermons were published posthumously.
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