Wolfhart Pannenberg

  Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) Jonathan Edwards (October 5, 1703 – March 22, 1758) was an American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist theologian. A leading figure of the American Enlightenment, Edwards is widely regarded as one of America's most important and original philosophical theologians. Edwards' theological work is broad in scope but rooted in the paedobaptist (baptism of infants) Puritan heritage as exemplified in the Westminster and Savoy Confessions of Faith. Recent studies have emphasized how thoroughly Edwards grounded his life's work on conceptions of beauty, harmony, and ethical fittingness, and how central the Age of Enlightenment was to his mindset. Edwards played a critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening and oversaw some of the first revivals in 1733–35 at his church in Northampton, Massachusetts. His theological work gave rise to a distinct school of theology known as New England theology. Edwards delivered the sermon ...

  Holiness Movement in America 1839-1858               Timothy Merritt, a Methodist Episcopal pastor, became the first editor of the  Guide to Holiness  in 1839. The first issues emphasized the need for special promotion of holiness, and a connection with the Wesleyan revival in England. [1] These emphases would become central to the holiness revival throughout the century.             One individual who gave concrete expression to Merritt’s concern in the  Guide  was Luther Lee. Lee’s purpose was to defend the view of the Methodist Episcopal Church on sanctification. His biblical base was Mark 12:30, which spoke of loving God with all the heart and the neighbor as oneself, and I John 4:17-18, which spoke of perfect love. On this basis, he defined sanctification as conformity to the image of God, and therefore, a state of entire renewal. I...