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/* Jonathan Edwards */
The Awakening was thus an 18th century transatlantic revival involving England and its [[13 Colonies|North American colonies]]. The revival was spurred by the sense that Christian worship had become too formulaic and devoid of emotion. Among the most notable clergy who fueled the awakening was [[Theodore Frelinguysen]] who led a revival in the 1720s among members of the [[Dutch Reformed Church]] in New Jersey.
===Jonathan Edwards===
The revival began with [[Jonathan Edwards]], a well-educated leading theologian and Congregationalist minister from philosopher of [[Northampton, MassachusettsThe Enlightenment]]; he was a Congregationalist minister based in Northampton, who came in western Massachusetts. Edwards emerged from [[Puritan]], and [[Calvinist]] roots, but emphasized the importance and power of immediate, personal religious experience. Edwards was said to be 'solemn, with a distinct and careful enunciation, and a slow cadence.'[http://people.bu.edu/wwildman/WeirdWildWeb/courses/mwt/dictionary/mwt_themes_420_edwards.htm] Nevertheless, his sermons were powerful and attracted a large following. "[[Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God]]," is his most famous sermon.
Winiarski (2005) examines Edwards's preaching in the Suffield, Massachusetts, meetinghouse on 6 July 1741 and the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" that he preached at Enfield two days later. At Suffield and Enfield, Edwards countenanced the "noise" of the Great Awakening, but his approach to revivalism became more moderate and critical in the years immediately following. The discovery of an anonymous letter composed by one who attended the Suffield service provides evidence for a reassessment of that seminal moment in the Great Awakening.<ref> This letter, likely written by Samuel Phillips Savage, a strong supporter of evangelical Protestantism, is published in the appendix to Winiarski (2005). </ref>
Edwards' greatest contribution to the awakening was probably his book, ''A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God.'' For many younger untried clergymen, Edward’s book was a “how to manual” that instructed them as to the finer points of conducting a revival. It influenced even the most famous of the Great Awakening ministers, [[George Whitefield]].
===George Whitfield===
The Methodist preacher [[George Whitefield]], visiting from England, continued the movement started by Jonathan Edwards, traveling across the colonies and preaching in a more dramatic and emotional style, accepting everyone into his audiences.
