"Revival—or even more, the longing for revival—has been central throughout American Christian history. But what is meant by revival? Robert Caldwell's well-researched and exceedingly evenhanded book explains clearly what leaders of the American First and Second Great Awakenings taught concerning conversion, free will, the Holy Spirit, and how to interpret Scripture. He also explores with rare sensitivity what they assumed in their revival theologies. The result is a book rich in historical insight but also practical in guiding believers today in thinking about this vitally important matter."
"Robert W. Caldwell's Theologies of the American Revivalists offers an illuminating and authoritative review of how leading American revivalists, from Jonathan Edwards to Charles Finney, grappled with issues such as the nature of gospel preaching, conversion, and sanctification. I recommend it highly."
"Conversion experiences and narratives have long been central to evangelical identity, but the doctrines undergirding them are seldom understood with much clarity by their subjects, let alone most others. In this evenhanded history of theologies of revival from the time of George Whitefield to that of Charles Grandison Finney, Robert Caldwell helps us out. He supplies what we need to understand our own experiences, those of converts in churches with different doctrinal perspectives, and the engine of the evangelical movement itself. Everyone interested in American church history, evangelicalism, or the history of revival and evangelistic methods will want to read this reliable, comprehensive, and fair-minded book."
"Theologies of the American Revivalists should be a valuable resource for scholars, evangelists, and laypersons. It provides clear accounts of the various understandings of evangelical conversion from the days when proponents of revival thought carefully about and debated such matters."
"Robert Caldwell offers a sophisticated and thought-provoking analysis of revivalist theology, rooted in the peculiarities of Jonathan Edwards's Reformed and evangelical theology, but developing and bearing fruit in ways that at times were flatly contradictory to Reformed doctrine. Linking Finney to post-Edwardsean theologians like Hopkins, Caldwell's monograph will stimulate scholarly discussion on a topic important both for the history of theology and the practice of the modern church."
"Theologies of the American Revivalists is a skilled presentation of historical theology that admirably serves historical, theological, and pastoral purposes. I highly recommend the work."
"How can we explain the transformation of American revivalism between Edwards and Finney? Why did Americans move from eighteenth-century convictions about the bondage of the will to nineteenth-century confidence in the will's freedom? What drove the transformation of American theology from systematic constructs to common-sense approaches? Caldwell's study provides new answers to these important questions. It is an immensely helpful work of historical theology that is well researched and clearly written. Recommended for all students of American religion and theology."
"In this one volume, Robert Caldwell has carefully traced the fascinating story of revival through an event-filled century of change. Dependent on primary sources and freshly locating figures from Fuller to Finney, this is important theology presented by an even-handed guide."
"Since it entered the English language in 1820, the term revivalist has come to be used generically. Like a one-size-fits-all shoe, the designation has been deemed equally applicable to every evangelistic preacher from Whitefield to Moody, from Edwards to Graham. But these awakeners were not just so many duplicates. The strength of Robert Caldwell's Theologies of the American Revivalists is that it helps us see that there were distinguishable ideas of Christian revival in circulation prior to the Great Awakening, that the Great Awakening immediately spawned competing theologies of revival, and that the early nineteenth century's Second Awakening spawned still more. This is now the go-to volume for those wanting to trace these developments and to understand their bearing on our time."
