S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

The First Great Awakening (c. 1735-1743) and the Second Great Awakening (c.1795-1830) were theologically significant in that they helped to shape Christian thinking by the intense revivalism they c...

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July 01 2013 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Robert Hibbard Supporter Retired Christian High School Teacher

I appreciated Michael's review, as I think he "got it right" regarding the religious emphases of the time. I would simply add that with the non-Calvinist move to a more Arminian viewpoint, which is the majority view today between the two "paths," if you will, opened the door to a variety of other Christian denominations as well as non-Christian groups later in the century. Out of this time came Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, among others, which are sometimes called "cults" because they claim to be Christian but are unbiblical theologically. 

Another view was called "transcendentalism," which was more akin to humanism; it was a more man-centered view of life and the world. The dictionary offers one definition of transcendentalism as "a philosophy that asserts the primacy of the spiritual and transcendental over the material and empirical." Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau are famous names associated with the movement. There are some views there that Christians can support (e.g. man's value, caring for others, and appreciation of nature and beauty), but any belief of Christ as savior for sinful people is not a part.

So the Second Great Awakening not only brought another resurgence of Christian faith to America, but also created an atmosphere of exploring a variety of new ideas, some of which were Christian, and others not.

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