225 years ago: The birth of Charles G. Finney

On August 29, 1792, Charles Grandison Finney, a Presbyterian minister who was associated with the Second Great Awakening in the United States and who has been accurately called "The Father of American Revivalism," was born in Warren, Connecticut. He was President of Oberlin College in Ohio from 1851-1966 and died in Oberlin on August 16, 1875, 13 days before his 83rd birthday.

Mr. Finney believed in manipulating people's emotions in order to produce conversions, and I have no doubt that if he were around today, he would be a televangelist--and I don't mean that as a compliment. Click on the links for the excellent articles Charles Finney's Influence on American Evangelicalism by Bob DeWaay and The Disturbing Legacy of Charles Finney by Michael Horton.