The Testimony of the President, Professors, Tutors and Hebrew Instructor of Harvard College Against the Rev. George Whitefield
Overview
A brief criticism of George Whitefield, this resource expounds on several specific points of concern. Supposing him to be impulsive in his efforts to be led by the Holy Spirit, the authors felt that he was also "an uncharitable, censorious, and slanderous man". The writers of this resource were also vigorously opposed to the idea of the itinerant preacher, and expressed the supposed dangers of this expository style at length. The Testimony of the President, Professors, Tutors and Hebrew Instructor of Harvard College Against the Rev. George Whitefield gives a fascinating glance at Whitefield through the lens of his critics.
Reading the life of such a great saint—this Christ-loving, gospel-centered minister—has served to rekindle my passion for the gospel and rejuvenate the love of God in my soul more than once.
—Online Reviewer
- Title: The Testimony of the President, Professors, Tutors and Hebrew Instructor of Harvard College Against the Rev. George Whitefield
- Authors: Edward Holyoke, Henry Flynt, Edward Wigglesworth, Judah Monis, Belcher Hancock, Joseph Mayhew, Thomas Marsh, John Winthrop
- Publisher: T. Fleet
- Publication Date: 1744
- Pages: 15
George Whitefield (1714–1770) was one of the founders of Methodism and influential in the spread of the Great Awakening in both Britain and the British North American colonies. He believed in preaching his sermons without notes in order to allow room for the Holy Spirit to guide his speaking, and was known for his theatrical delivery.
Whitefield studied at Oxford, where he met Charles and John Wesley. The Wesley brothers were a part of what was referred to as the “Holy Club” on campus, which Whitefield joined and by which he was quite influenced, later becoming the president. In 1738, he came to America for the first of seven trips he would make across the ocean. During this first trip, he founded the orphanage Bethseda just outside of Savannah, Georgia.
Throughout his life, he toured all over New England, England, Scotland, and Wales, preaching to crowds of up to tens of thousands at a time, greatly influencing the Great Awakening and the early Methodist Church.
Selected Sermons of George Whitefield contains over 50 of Whitefield’s sermons on a variety of topics, which are still edifying to read and study today, and you can find hundreds of his letters and journal entries in The Works of George Whitefield (13 vols.).