My PhD is in revivals of religion, and
as revival scholar, I'm always shocked by the
great amount of ignorance as to historical revivals
and how much inaccurate information exists out there
and is promoted as fact.
There's an evangelist on the internet who claims
to be an expert on the revival in
Rochester, New York under Charles Finney, and this
man has videos and a book full of
the wildest exaggerations and none of it's based
on the facts of history.
This man is going around saying that 100
,000 souls were saved in that revival in
Rochester in 1830.
If this young evangelist would study his history
books, he would learn that the entire population
of Rochester, New York in 1830 was 9
,200.
How do you get 100,000 converts?
Out of 9,200 people is beyond one's
wildest imagination.
The fact is there were 800 converts recorded
in the revival of 1830 in Rochester, New
York under Finney.
1,800 people is a far cry from
100,000.
The ignorance in historical revival is mind-boggling
to me.
I want to put the record straight, friends,
on this revival under Charles Finney, which was
indeed a poor revival for that time period,
but let reality speak for itself and not
outlandish fiction for sensationalism.
Rochester, New York was a growing community in
1830.
In 1821, it had 2,500 residents.
By 1823, the Erie Canal aqueduct over the
river was completed and ferry boats made the
city more accessible to travel so that by
1830, Rochester had grown to a population of
a little over 9,000 residents.
To have 800 converts out of that population
is a great number and it demonstrates the
power of that revival under Finney.
The revival had already commenced prior to Finney's
arrival in that city in the autumn of
1830.
During the spring and summer months before Finney
came, there was reported in the community a
solemnity in the churches and a visible change
had come over the public mind in regard
to religion.
You must bear in mind, friends, that America
itself was in the grip of the Second
Great Awakening.
Ministers like Charles Finney and Asahel Nettleton were
prominent in promoting revivals of religion, but there
were many pastors, unforgotten by history, who had
powerful moves of grace in their churches under
their own preaching.
By the time Finney arrived in Rochester to
begin preaching in the Third Presbyterian Church, the
city was already experiencing reformation.
Finney threw gas on the fire, and for
the next six months, many of the prominent
residents of Rochester were converted.
The revival had a profound effect on the
young professionals in the city, men who were
lawyers, bankers, and merchants.
More lawyers were converted in this revival in
Rochester than anywhere else Finney labored.
Several facts of this revival are noteworthy.
The District Attorney of Rochester was converted in
the revival, and this man was well acquainted
with the crime data of the city, and
it was his estimate that because of the
revival, crime decreased by two-thirds.
Another interesting fact was that in America during
this time period, theaters were considered to be
places of great corruption and vice.
And yet, in godless America today, we let
the theater into our homes every day, and
give it prominence in our living rooms through
television, and we wonder why we've become so
desensitized to sin.
But one of the facts of the revival
of 1830 in Rochester was that the theater
was closed down for lack of business, and
did not reopen again for another seven years.
The residents were more engrossed in spiritual concerns
than in entertainment.
I think it's important, friends, that we study
historical revivals ourselves, and do our own research
without being lazy and relying on other uninformed
individuals to make outlandish statements that don't line
up with the facts of the time.
It's hurtful to our understanding of revival to
say 100,000 souls were saved when in
reality it was 800.
I know 100,000 sounds better, but let's
quit rewriting history.
I've written two historical accounts of spiritual awakening
in America.
My larger work is two volumes and 1
,200 pages covering the Great Awakening under my
definitive biography on George Whitefield, and my work
on the Second Great Awakening can be found
in my 700-page book on the biography
of Azahel Nettleton entitled Azahel Nettleton, Revival Preacher.
I've spent decades studying revival, praying for revival,
writing about revival, and preaching for revival.
Take the time, friends, to learn as much
as you can about real revivals of religion.
It will be helpful to you when you
pray for revival to come in our day.
Let us pray.