Gilbert Tennent
Gilbert Tennent (February 5, 1703 – July 23, 1764) was a religious leader, born in County Armagh, Ireland. Gilbert was one of the leaders of the Great Awakening of religious feeling in Colonial America, along with Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. His most famous sermon, "On the Danger of an Unconverted Ministry" compared anti-revivalistic ministers to the Pharisees described in the gospels.
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[edit] Biography
Tennent was an Irish-born American Presbyterian clergyman, son and brother of three other Presbyterian clergymen. He was born on February 5, 1703 in County Armagh, Ireland. His father, William Tennent, emigrated to America in 1718, and was the founder of a theological school at Warminster, Pennsylvania called, because of the way it was housed, the Log College. Log College is no longer regarded as the precursor to Princeton University.
He was the pastor for the First Presbyterian Church of New Brunswick from 1726 to 1743.
He died on July 23, 1764 in Philadelphia.
[edit] Presbyterians
The Presbyterians split on the wisdom of revivals, with the “New Side” faction strongly supportive and the “Old Side” holding back. Tennent was the most uncompromising of New Side Presbyterians. His sermon, "The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry" (1739) played a major role in the schism that divided the Old Side and New Side. However, there was another side of Tennent's faith, one characterized by the pietism that nurtured religious renewal in the 18th century. This pietism is best seen in Tennent's celebration of the Sacramental Season, with its emphasis on Christian love and fellowship. Indeed, Tennent, like other revivalists, drew inspiration from the communal emphasis that permeated the sacramental celebration. In 1757, Tennent wrote a sacramental sermon, entitled "Love to Christ." It contains those elements of pietistic communion that inspired this "Son of Thunder" to work feverishly for the reunion of the New York and Philadelphia Synods, which took place the very next year.[1]
Tennent was one of the clergymen who was sent as an emissary by John Penn to the Paxton Boys in February, 1764 as they marched on Philadelphia, threatening the lives of about 200 Moravian Indians. [2]
[edit] Notes
- ^ James B. Bennett, "'Love To Christ': Gilbert Tennent, Presbyterian Reunion, and a Sacramental Sermon". American Presbyterians 1993 71(2): 77-89. 0886-5159
- ^ Kenny, p.162
[edit] Sources
- Coalter, Milton J. (1986). Gilbert Tennent, son of thunder: a case study of continental Pietism's impact on the first great awakening in the middle colonies. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 227. ISBN 0313255148, 9780313255144. http://books.google.com/books?id=TVjVAtXnpGAC.
- Kenny, Kevin (2009). Peaceable Kingdom Lost: The Paxton Boys and the Destruction of William Penn's Holy Experiment. Oxford University Press. pp. 293. ISBN 978-0-19-533150-9. http://books.google.com/books?id=9f5ZU3AEYAoC.
- For notices of Gilbert and other prominent members of the Tennent family, consult W. B. Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, volume iv (New York, 1858)
[edit] External links
- Gilbert Tennent at Find A Grave
- Sermon: On the Danger of an Unconverted Ministry
- Picture: The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry
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