Charles Grandison Finney (August 29, 1792-August 16, 1875) was an American revivalist, author and educator of the early 19th century. He was the president of Oberlin College, in Ohio, 1852. He believed that every human life was valuable and strongly supported giving freedom to the slaves.
His college was a busy station on the Underground Railroad, which secretly brought slaves to freedom. Under Charles Finney's direction as president, Oberlin College was the first university in America to award college degrees to women and to blacks.
His college graduated Mary Jane Patterson, the first black woman ever to receive a bachelor's degree in the United States.
Charles Finney was the grandfather of artist Kenyon Cox (1856-1919), known for his murals on public buildings.
His Lectures on Revivals, 1835, had a powerful impact in England, profoundly affecting George Williams, who went on to found the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), 1844, and William and Catherine Booth, who founded The Salvation Army, 1865.
Charles G. Finney helped form the Benevolent Empire, a great network of volunteer societies organized to aid in solving social problems.
Among them were the: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, 1810; American Bible Society, 1816; American Sunday School Union, 1817; American Tract Society, 1826; American Home Mission Society, 1826; and American Temperance Society, 1826. By 1834, the budget of these organizations was almost as large as the federal budget of that time.
Charles Finney said concerning the Kingdom of God:
<Every member must work or quit. No honorary members.> 1792CF001
As recorded in his Memoirs, Charles Finney stated:
<The church must take right ground in regards to politics....The time has come for Christians to vote for honest men, and take consistent ground in politics or the Lord will curse them....
God cannot sustain this free and blessed country, which we love and pray for, unless the Church will take right ground. Politics are a part of a religion in such a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to their country as a part of their duty to God....
God will bless or curse this nation according to the course Christians take in politics.> 1792CF002
Pastor Charles Finney, a leader during the Second Great Awakening, stated:
<If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discernment, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in Christianity, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it.> 1792CF003
--
American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1792CF001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Charles Grandison Finney, "In the Wake of the Second Great Awakening" (Carol Stream, IL: Christian History), Vol. VIII, No. 3, Issue 23, p. 31.
1792CF002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Charles Grandison Finney, Memoirs (NY: A.S. Barnes, 1876). Revival Lectures (first published in 1835, reprinted Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming Revell Co., 1970), Lecture XV, pp. 336-337. Pat Robertson, America's Dates with Destiny (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986), (some differences in language), p. 144. Peter Marshall & David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg's Heart 'N Home, 1991), 11.2.
1792CF003. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Charles Grandison Finney, statement during the Second Great Awakening.