Evangelist George Whitefield toured Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia in 1739 following a stint in Ireland. As in Whitefield’s native England, Philadelphia ministers barred the famed preacher from using their pulpits. So Whitefield took his message about the new birth directly to the masses, preaching in fields and town squares—wherever an audience gathered.
Revival despite differences
The huge, diverse crowds that turned out to hear Whitefield impressed Franklin. The future founding father of the United States never actually believed what Whitefield preached, that sinners must be born again by believing in Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and resurrected from the dead. He marveled at how the crowds agreed with what Whitefield preached, “notwithstanding his common abuse of them, by assuring them they were naturally half beasts and half devils.” He might not have approved of the message about man’s depravity, but Franklin couldn’t deny the evidence of revival that accompanied Whitefield’s visit. Continue Reading>>>
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