Knowra Charles Grandison Finney Charles Grandison Finney Charles Grandison Finney (1792–1875) was an American Presbyterian minister, evangelist, and theologian who became a leading revivalist of the Second Great Awakening.
Lyman Beecher : An American Congregationalist minister and prominent advocate of Protestant revivalism and social reform. Beecher and Finney became leading, sometimes competing, voices in the revival culture of the Second Great Awakening.
New Measures : A set of innovative revival practices, including protracted meetings and public invitations to conversion. Finney’s use of these methods made revival meetings more direct and controversial.
Oberlin College : A private college in Ohio, founded in 1833, known for religious education and early admission of women and Black students. Finney taught and served as president at Oberlin, where revivalism met educational and reform projects.
Old School–New School Controversy : A nineteenth-century Presbyterian division over theology, church governance, and revivalism. Finney’s revival theology and methods became flashpoints in disputes between Presbyterian factions.
Theodore Dwight Weld : An American abolitionist and educator who helped organize antislavery activism and train reformers. Weld was converted under Finney’s preaching and later worked in the abolitionist movement Finney supported.
Protracted Meeting : A series of religious services held over several consecutive days to encourage conversion and renewal. Finney used extended meetings to sustain attention and press people toward decisions.
Second Great Awakening : A broad Protestant revival movement in the United States from the late eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century. Finney became one of its best-known preachers, especially in the northeastern United States.
Westminster Confession of Faith : A seventeenth-century Reformed confession that became a doctrinal standard for many Presbyterian churches. Finney rejected or revised doctrines associated with the confession, particularly inherited guilt and predestination.
Asa Mahan : An American Congregationalist minister and educator who served as president of Oberlin College. Mahan joined Finney at Oberlin and helped advance its religious and reform commitments.
Anxious Bench : A place in revival meetings where people seeking conversion were invited to sit for prayer and counsel. This conspicuous invitation exemplified Finney’s effort to make conversion publicly actionable.
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