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The Great Awakening
It is between the years of 1740 to 775 that ‘The Great Awakening’ took place. In the year 1714, George Whitefield was born and later in the year 1745, he became saved .It is estimated that as many as ten million people heard his sermons. The gospel, which was preached by George Whitefield, had many different interpretations from those who were present. Whitefield is known for influencing change in the puritan life, which was extremely religious. His messages are known for being extremely emotional, thus the reason for capturing the attention of many people. The most notable people were Nathan Cole and Ben Franklin who had their own opinions regarding George Whitefield’s preaching (Kidd, 2009. 45). The latter is known for being one of the world’s best known evangelists. He was mostly influential during the ‘The Great Awakening’.
The account given by Cole was extremely long and this is because he gave some information, which was not needed. On the other hand, Franklin’s account is shorter and is easily understood. Franklin describes Whitefield clearly and anyone who was not present will still have a lasting impression about him. According to him, Whitefield was a person who spoke well and had a voice, which drew people’s attention. Furthermore, he describes the location where the preaching took place, which was at the Market Street. Franklin’s description is extremely intellectual and this is witnessed form the grammar and words he uses. Words, which have been used by him to describe Whitefield, makes the reader want to know more about the great man being described. (Kidd, 2009. 48)
The account given my Cole is not as intellectual as compared to that of Franklins. Cole’s account is more emotional as compared to Franklin’s. The different location where the preaching was conducted by Whitefield is known, such as Jersey and Philadelphia. Cole mentions God a lot in his description and this has emotional appeal to the reader. One believes in the greatness of Whitefield’s preaching’s, which has been made to become extremely convincing. The Journey made by Cole to Middle Town is described in details. It is made known that he went on this journey with his wife while riding a horse. Also, it should be known that Cole’s choice of grammar is not as intellectual as that of Franklin. It may be interpreted that Cole was not as educated as Franklin as his grammar is not high-quality (Kidd, 2009. 54).
Cole describes everything he witnessed vividly and an example is how the masses behaved when they saw Whitefield. It is extremely evident that Whitefield was of great importance to Cole. This is from the manner, which he displays his emotions. Furthermore, his account has more religious information concerning his sentiments about God. Cole ensures that the reader of this account is aware of Whitefield’s appearance. Thus, it is helpful in making the account more appealing in an emotional manner. According to Franklin’s account there is a connection between him and Whitefield, despite them not know each other on a personal basis. Both accounts give a positive image of Whitefield’s character as he is viewed as a man who deems a lot of respect. They both praise his deeds as Whitefield is working for the good of mankind. In conclusion, the account given by Cole and Franklin provides useful information regarding Whitefield’s contributing towards ‘The Great Awakening’ (Kidd, 2009. 65).
Work Cited
Kidd, Thomas. The Great Awakening: The Roots of Evangelical Christianity in Colonial America. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Haven,_Connecticut” o “New Haven, Connecticut”New Haven: HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_University_Press” o “Yale University Press”Yale University Press, 2009. Print.
