Part of the series on Christianity

History of Christianity Apostles Ecumenical councils Great Schism Reformation Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... image of a Latin cross. ... This article outlines the history of Christianity and provides links to relevant topics. ... Alternate meaning: See Apostle (Mormonism) The Christian Apostles were Jewish men chosen from among the disciples, who were sent forth (as indicated by the Greek word απόστολος apostolos= messenger), by Jesus to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, across the world. ... In Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, an ecumenical council is a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. ... The East-West Schism, known also as the Great Schism (though this latter term sometimes refers to the later Western Schism), was the event that divided Chalcedonian Christianity into Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which began in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church, but ended in division and the establishment of new institutions, most importantly Lutheranism, Reformed churches, and Anabaptists. ...

Christian theology Salvation · Grace Christian worship Christian theology practices theology from a Christian viewpoint or studies Christianity theologically. ... Salvation refers to deliverance from some undesirable state or condition. ... Divine grace is a Christian term for gifts granted to humanity by God, that God is under no need or obligation to grant. ... In Christianity, worship has been considered by most Christians to be the central act of Christian identity throughout Christian history. ...

The Bible: Old Testament New Testament Apocrypha The Gospels Ten Commandments Sermon on the Mount The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ... The Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures (also called the Hebrew Bible) constitutes the first major part of the Bible according to Christianity. ... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Deuterocanonical books. ... For the genre of Christian-themed music, see gospel music. ... The Ten Commandments on a monument in the grounds of the Texas State Capitol The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that feature prominently in Judaism and Christianity. ... The Sermon on the Mount was, according to the Gospel of Matthew, a particular sermon given by Jesus of Nazareth around 30 CE on a mountainside to his disciples and a large crowd (Matt. ...

Christian Church: Catholicism Orthodox Christianity Protestantism The term Christian Church expresses the idea of Christianity (the Christian religion) seen in its role as an institution. ... This article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. ... Orthodox Christianity typically comprises those Christian traditions which are centered in eastern philosophy, as opposed to those traditions centered in the west. ... Protestantism is a movement within Christianity, representing a split from the Roman Catholic Church during the mid to late Renaissance in Europe —a period known as the Protestant Reformation. ... Christian denominations Christian movements Christian ecumenism A denomination in the Christian sense is an identifiable religious body, organization under a common name, structure, and/or doctrine. ... Christian movements are theological, political, or philosophical intepretations of Christianity that are not generally represented by a specific church, sect, or denomination. ... Christian ecumenism is the promotion of unity or cooperation between distinct religious groups or denominations of the Christian religion, more or less broadly defined. ...

A Revival is the apparent restoration of a living creature from a dead state to a living state. In a New Testament story, Lazarus was revived by divine intervention. In religious terms, Revival is the substitution of religious fervor in life and worship, for an intellectualized, pragmatic approach to everyday conduct (often stigmatized by revivalists as 'pride'). Religion, sometimes used interchangeably with faith, is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the practices and institutions associated with such belief. ...

Definition of Christian revival

What is meant by the term revival? Other terms are renewal or awakenings. The following description is cobbled together from various bible scholars involved in revival experiences in the church over the past 300 years.

Revival is a work of God by his Spirit through his Word bringing the spiritually dead to living faith in Christ and renewing the inner life of Christians who have grown slack and sleepy. In revival God makes old things new, giving new power to the gospel and new spiritual awareness to those whose hearts and consciousness have been blind, hard and cold. Revival thus animates or reanimates churches and Christian groups to make a spiritual and moral impact on communities. It comprises an initial reviving, followed by a maintained state of revivedness for as long as the visitation lasts.

A revival or awakening is a movement of the Holy Spirit bringing about a revival of new testament Christianity in the church of Christ and in its related community. Such an awakening may change in a significant way an individual; or it may move a congregation or the churches in the city or district, or the body of believers throughout a country or continent; or indeed the larger body of believers throughout the world. The special outpouring of the Spirit, often described as like a wave, affects the reviving of the church, which is moved to engage in evangelism, in teaching, and in social action.

Indeed, there is a marked similarity to the experience of Israel during the period of the Judges in the old testament. The same cycle of sin and apathy, decline and defeat, desperate prayer for God's help and, finally, His powerful intervention, characterises every revival.

Timeline of Christian revival

Since the 16C Reformation, some writers identify six waves of special revival or "Awakenings" in the church worldwide - from 1727, 1792, 1830, 1857, 1882 and 1904. Great Awakenings are commonly said to be periods of religious revival in Anglo-American religious history. ...

The Great Awakening

There are many great names and events associated with each of these. George Whitefield and John Wesley were associated with the First Great Awakening (1727 on). George Whitefield was a minister in the Church of England and one of the leaders of the Methodist movement. ... John Wesley was an 18th century theologian, preacher and the founder of the Methodist denomination of Protestant Christianity. ... The First Great Awakening was a religious movement among American colonial Protestants in the 1730s and 1740s. ...

Second Great Awakening

The Second Great Awakening (1792 on) in UK resulted in the founding of the British and Foreign Bible Society, The Religious Tract Society, The Baptist Missionary Society, The London Missionary Society, The Church Missionary Society and a host of other evangelistic agencies. It also achieved considerable social reform; the abolition of the slave trade, prisons were reformed, Sunday Schools began and a number of benevolent institutions were commenced. The revival affected the whole of Europe and the US. The Second Great Awakening was the second great religious revival in United States history and consisted of several kinds of activity, distinguished by locale and expression of religious commitment. ... The British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS; more commonly known as Bible Society) is a charity that was founded on March 7, 1804. ...

Resurgence

The third Awakening or maybe "resurgence", from 1830, was largely influential in America and many countries worldwide including India and Ceylon. The Plymouth Brethren started with John Nelson Darby at this time, a result of disillusionment with denominationalism and clerical hierarchy. John Nelson Darby, (November 18, 1800 - April 29, 1882), British evangelist, an influential figure of the original Plymouth Brethren, and considered the father of modern Dispensationalism. ...

Third Great Awakening

The next Great Awakening (sometimes called the Third Great Awakening) began from 1857 onwards in Canada and spread throughout the world including America and Australia. Significant names include Dwight L. Moody, Ira D. Sankey, William and Catherine Booth (founding of the Salvation Army), Charles Spurgeon and James Caughey. Hudson Taylor began the China Inland Mission and Barnardo founded his famous orphanages. The Keswick convention movement began out of the British Holiness movement, encouraging a lifestyle of holiness, unity and prayer. The Third Great Awakening was a period in American history from 1886 to 1908. ... Dwight Lyman Moody, circa 1900. ... Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908) was an American Gospel singer and composer associated with evangelist Dwight L. Moody. ... The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian evangelical denomination, as well as a charity and social services organisation, with international headquarters at 101 Queen Victoria Street London, England. ... Charles Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon, commonly C.H. Spurgeon, (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892) was Englands best-known and most-loved preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. ... The Higher Life movement was a movement devoted to Christian holiness in England and throughout the British Isles. ... Holiness means the state of being holy, that is, set apart for the worship or service of God or gods. ...

Further resurgence

The next Awakening (1880 - 1903) has been described as "a period of unusual evangelistic effort and success", and again sometimes more of a "resurgence" of the previous wave. Moody, Sankey and Spurgeon are again notable names. Others included Sam Jones, J. Wilber Chapman and Billy Sunday in North America, Andrew Murray in South Africa, and John McNeil in Australia. The Faith Mission began in 1886. Billy Sunday William Ashley Billy Sunday (November 19, 1862 - November 6, 1935) was noted first as a professional baseball player, and then more famous evangelist. ... The Faith Mission is a protestant evangelical Christian organization founded in Scotland in 1886 by John George Govan. ...

Welsh and Pentecostal revivals

The final Great Awakening (1904 onwards) had its roots in the Holiness movement which had developed in the late 19C. The Pentecostal revival movement began, out of a passion for more power and a greater outpouring of the Spirit. In 1902, the American evangelists Reuben Archer Torrey and Charles M. Alexander conducted meetings in Melbourne, Australia, resulting in over 8,000 converts. News of this revival travelled fast, igniting a passion for prayer and an expectation that God would work in similar ways elsewhere. The holiness movement is composed of people who believe and propagate the belief that the carnal nature of man can be cleansed through faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit if one has had his sins forgiven through faith in Jesus. ... The Pentecostal movement within Protestant Christianity places special emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. ...

Torrey and Alexander were involved in the beginnings of the great Welsh revival (1904) which led Jessie Penn-Lewis to witness the working of Satan during times of revival, and write her book "War on the Saints" ("The aftermath of the Revival in Wales, which was a true work of God, revealed numbers of 'honest souls' swept off their feet by evil supernatural powers, which they were not able to discern from the true working of God"). In 1906 the modern Pentecostal Movement was born in Azusa Street, in Los Angeles. The Welsh Methodist revival of the 18th century was one of the most significant religious and social movements in the history of Wales. ... The Azusa Street Revival (1906–1909) took place in Los Angeles, California, and was led by William Seymour (1870–1922), an African American preacher. ...

History of Christian revival

Many Christian revivals drew inspiration from the missionary work of early monks, from the Protestant Reformation (and Catholic Reformation) and from the uncompromising stance of the Covenanters in 17th century Scotland and Ulster, that came to Virginia and Pennsylvania with Presbyterians and other Non-conformists. Its character formed part of the mental framework that led to the American War of Independence and the Civil War. A missionary is a propagator of religion, often an evangelist or other representative of a religious community who works among those outside of that community. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement which emerged in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. ... The Catholic Reformation or the Counter-Reformation was a strong reaffirmation of the doctrine and structure of the Catholic Church, climaxing at the Council of Trent, partly in reaction to the growth of Protestantism. ... The Covenanters, named after the Solemn League and Covenant, were a party that, originating in the Reformation movement, played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England, during the 17th century. ...

The 18th century Age of Enlightenment had a chilling effect on spiritual movements, but this was countered by the Methodist revival of John Wesley and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield in Britain and the Great Awakening in America prior to the Revolution. A new fervor spread within the Anglican Church at the end of the century, when the Evangelical party of John Newton, William Wilberforce and his Clapham sect were inspired to combat social ills at home and slavery abroad, and founded Bible and missionary societies. The Age of Enlightenment refers to the 18th century in European philosophy, and is often thought of as part of a larger period which includes the Age of Reason. ... The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... John Wesley was an 18th century theologian, preacher and the founder of the Methodist denomination of Protestant Christianity. ... Charles Wesley (12 December 1707 - 29 March 1788) was a leader of the Methodist movement, the younger brother of John Wesley. ... Great Awakenings are commonly said to be periods of religious revival in Anglo-American religious history. ... Evangelical has several distinct meanings: In its original sense, it means belonging or related to the Gospel (Greek: euangelion - good news) of the New Testament. ... William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 - 29 July 1833) was an English parliamentarian and leader of the campaign against the slave trade. ...

Early in the 19th century, the Scottish geologist Thomas Chalmers had an important influence on the evangelical revival movement. Chalmers began life as a moderate in the Church of Scotland and an opponent of evangelicalism. During the winter of 1803–04, he presented a series of lectures that outlined a reconciliation of the apparent incompatibility between the Genesis account of creation and the findings of the developing science of geology. However by 1810 he had become an evangelical and would eventually lead the Disruption of 1843 that resulted in the formation of the Free Church of Scotland. Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (March 17, 1780 - May 31, 1847), Scottish divine, was born at Anstruther in Fife. ... Disruption generally refers to the normal workings of something being interrupted. ...

Rev. Charles Finney, 1792-1875 was a key leader of the evangelical revival movement in America. From 1821 onwards he conducted revival meetings across many north-eastern states and won many converts. For him, a revival was not a miracle but a change of mindset that was ultimately a matter for the individual's free will. His revival meetings created anxiety in a penitant's mind that they could only save their souls by unrestricted submission to the will of God, as illustrated by his quotations from the Bible. Finney also conducted revival meetings in England, first in 1849 and later to England and Scotland in 1858-59. Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875), often called Americas foremost revivalist, was a major leader of the Second Great Awakening in America that had a profound impact on the history of the United States. ...

The established churches too, were influenced by the evangelical revival. In 1833, a goup of Anglican clergymen led by John Henry Newman and John Keble began the Oxford Movement. However its objective was to renew the Church of England by reviving certain Roman Catholic doctrines and rituals, thus distancing themselves as far as possible from evangelical enthusiasm. In Germany on he other hand, a new wave of evangelicalism, the Erweckung, spread across the land, which cross fertilized with British movements, while a parallel development occurred in France and the Netherlands, the Reveil. J H Newman age 23 when he preached his first Sermon John Henry Newman (February 21, 1801 – August 11, 1890) was an English convert to Catholicism, later made a cardinal. ...

Revival movements continue down to the present day. Rev. Ian Paisley's Free Presbyterian church was established in 1951. He is a revivalist and preaches evangelistically across Ireland. More recently, in 1977 the Alpha Course movement was started by the Anglican clergyman Charles Marnham. It is a 10 week practical introduction to the Christian faith, designed primarily for non-churchgoers and those who have recently become Christians. The latest manifestation of revivalism, the Toronto Blessing, started at the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church on January 20, 1994. It is characterized by the phenomenon of "holy laughter,"and members of the congregation are sometimes moved to to cry, leap, dance, roar and even bark as the result of what the church calls "a move of the Holy Spirit" The Reverend Ian Richard Kyle Paisley (born April 6, 1926) is a controversial politician and church leader in Northern Ireland, and head of the Democratic Unionist Party. ... Also referred to as The Fathers Blessing, The Anointing, The Awakening, The River, The Fire. The Toronto Blessing is a term coined by the British press to describe the revival and resulting phenomena that began in January of 1994 at Toronto Airport Vineyard Christian Fellowship, now known as Toronto... The Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, in Trinitarian Christian belief, is God, the third Person of the Holy Trinity; the word Spirit commonly translates the Greek New Testament word pneuma. ...

Background to the 1857-1860 Revival in America, Ireland and Great Britain.

Dean William Buckland published Reliquae Diluvianae in 1823, describing accumulations of bones found in caves, which were interpreted as relics of the Noachian Deluge. This started a great debate that set scientists of a religious disposition at loggerheads with pragmatic scientists who were concerned only with evidence that was visible to their own eyes. In the former category Buckland was followed by Hugh Miller (Foot-Prints of the Creator (1849) and "Testimony of the Rocks" (1857)) and Edward Hitchcock The Religion of Geology and its Connected Sciences which attempted to unify and reconcile geology and religion. A rising tide of scientific opinion sided with the pragmatists, culminating with the publication in 1859 of Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species". Unfortunately Hugh Miller was already dead. Unable to reconcile his religious beliefs with the mounting flood of geological evidence that contradicted the creation stories in the Judeo-Christian Bible, he committed suicide in 1856. William Buckland (12 March 1784 - 24 August 1856) was a prominent English geologist and palaeontologist who wrote the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, a proponent of Old Earth creationism and Flood geology who later became convinced by the glaciation theory of Louis Agassiz. ... Hugh Miller (1802 - 1856) was a Scottish geologist and writer. ... Edward Hitchcock (24 May 1793 – 27 February 1864) was the third President of Amherst College, from 1845 to 1854. ... Charles Darwin in 1854, five years prior to the publication of The Origin of Species Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809–19 April 1882) was a British naturalist who achieved lasting fame as originator of the theory of evolution through natural selection. ... The 1859 edition of On the Origin of Species First published in 1859, The Origin of Species (full title On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life) by British naturalist Charles Darwin is one of the pivotal...

The uninformed multitude naturally aligned themselves with the creationists, and their bewildering dilemma reached crisis point during the Panic of 1857. On 21st September that year Jeremiah Lanphier began a series of prayer meetings in New York, seeking divine guidance. By the beginning of 1858 his congregation was crowded and prayer became the order of the day. In March, a noon prayer meeting commenced in a large theatre. It was packed out, the great majority being businessmen. The newspapers began to sit up and take notice and to report on the happenings. It became front-page news that over 6,000 were attending various prayer meetings in New York, and 6,000 in Pittsburgh. Daily prayer meetings were held in Washington DC at 5 different times to accommodate the crowds. Other cities followed the pattern. Soon, a common mid-day sign on business premises read, "We will re-open at the close of the prayer meeting". By May, 50,000 of New York's 800,000 people were new converts. Finney wrote of this revival, "This winter of 1857-58 will be remembered as the time when a great revival prevailed. It swept across the land with such power that at the time it was estimated that not less than 50,000 conversions occurred weekly." The Panic of 1857 abruptly ended the boom times that followed the Mexican War. ...

Coincidentally, the very month that Jeremiah Lanphier began his prayer meeting in New York, 4 young Irishmen began a weekly prayer meeting in a village near Ballymena. This meeting is generally regarded as the origin of the 1859 revival that swept through most of the towns and villages in the north of Ireland and in due course brought 100,000 converts into the churches. So great was the interest in the American movement that in 1858 the Presbyterian General Assembly meeting in Londonderry appointed two of their ministers, Dr. William Gibson and Rev. William McClure to visit North America. Upon their return the two deputies had many public opportunities to bear testimony to what they had witnessed of the remarkable outpouring of the Spirit across the Atlantic, and to fan the flames in their homeland yet further. Thus in Ulster the revival was frequently characterized by manifestations of mass hysteria and individual catalepsy. Such was the strength of emotion generated by the preachers' oratory that many made spontaneous confessions seeking to be relieved of their burdens of sin. Others suffered complete nervous breakdown.

The movement spread to Wales, Scotland and England , with estimates that a million people were converted in the United Kingdom. Missionaries carried the movement abroad and the consequences of the revival are still being felt right down to the present day. They contribute significantly to various recognizable national characteristics.

Revival hymns

Following the Protestant Reformation, from about 1700 to 1850, many non-conformist churches produced lively popular hymns that expressed one's personal relationship with God, like Cecil Frances Alexander's "All things bright and beautiful" that contains the lines: The Protestant Reformation was a movement which emerged in the 16th century as a series of attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe. ... In English history, a non-conformist is any member of a Protestant congregation not affiliated with the Church of England. ... A church building is a building used in Christian worship. ... A hymn is a song specifically written as a song of praise, adoration or prayer, typically addressed to a god. ...

The rich man in his castle,

The poor man at his gate,

God made them, high or lowly,

And ordered their estate.

Later hymns were written in a movement called "revivalist" (1850 - 1920). Songs such as "Washed in the blood of the Lamb" came from Moody and Sankey's Hymn Book. "The Land where you Never Grow Old" dates from 1914 and "Gospel songs" have been recorded by the Carter Family, Johnny Cash and Blue Murder. The churches which promoted these songs were generally followers of literal interpretations of the bible, temperance-inclined and often Baptist. In the UK, "Onward Christian Soldiers" is perhaps the best known revivalist hymn. Maybelle, A.P. and Sara The Carter Family was a rural country music group that performed between 1927 and 1943. ... Johnny Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was a vastly influential singer and songwriter. ...

External links

(see. 1904-1905 Welsh Revival and Welsh Methodist revival) The 1904–1905 Welsh Revival was the last full scale Christian Revival the nation of Wales has seen. ... The Welsh Methodist revival of the eighteenth century was one of the most significant religious and social movements in the history of Wales. ...

For a fuller discussion of Christian revival, see History of Christianity#20th Century and Beyond. This article outlines the history of Christianity and provides links to relevant topics. ...

• Web edition "War on the Saints"