Considering the choice Q made to name his board the /greatawakening/ us anons should probably know a thing or two about the historical significance of that period of church history.

Why?

Because that movement (c. 1730-1755) directly preceded the founding of the United States and likely influenced the cause of liberty in the colonies just as we are seeing the cause of liberty kindled again in this turbulent time. Needless to say it's important to understand the unique spiritual atmosphere that had fallen over the newly forming nation.

For those that have ears to hear I needn't explain the spiritual significance of anything happening in the world today. We're all here for a reason whether you're a Christfag or not.

Excerpt from The Story of Christianity Vol. 2 by Justo L. Gonzalez (1 of 3)

The 18th century brought to North America the same Pietistic currents that it brought to Germany and England. Presbyterians, for instance, were divided by a controversy between those who insisted above all on strict adherence to the teachings of Westminster-The Old Side- and those of the New side, whose emphasis was on the experience of redeeming grace. Although the two sides would eventually come together, for a time the controversy led to schism- a schism that was made more acute by the enormous Pietistic wave which became known as the Great Awakening.

From an early date, many among the North American colonists had felt that a personal religious experience was a great importance to Christian Life. But that feeling became more generalized by a series of events that began in 1734, when the first signs of the Great Awakening appeared in Northampton, Massachusetts. The pastor there was Jonathan Edwards, staunch Calvinist who had been trained at Yale and was convinced of the need for personal experience of conversion. He had been preaching in Northampton for several years, with average results, when his preaching began evoking a response that surprised him. His sermons were not exceptionally emotive, although they did underscore the need for an experience of conviction of sin and of divine forgiveness. And that year of 1734, people began responding to his sermons, some with emotional outbursts, but many with a remarkable change in their lives, and with increased attention to devote practices. In a few months, movement swept the area and reached into Connecticut. Soon it subsided, and after 3 years the extraordinary signs had almost disappeared. But the memory remained, as well as the hope that it would be rekindled.

Excerpt from The Story of Christianity Vol. 2 by Justo L. Gonzalez (2 of 3)

Shortly thereafter, George Whitefield visited New England, and his preaching led to many experiences of conversion as well as Edward expressions of repentance and joy. Although Edwards was a Congregationalist, he invited the Anglican Whitefield to preach in his church, and it is said that while the visitor preached, the pastor wept. This gave the Awakening renewed impetus. The Presbyterian Ministers of the New Side, and others of similar inclinations, joined it. While some preachers followed Whitefield's example, traveling throughout the countryside, many local pastors of various traditions- Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists- brought new zeal to their pulpits, and extraordinary responses were evoked in their churches as well. People wept in Repentance for their sins, some shouted for Joy at having been pardoned, and a few were so overwhelmed that they fainted.

Such reactions to preaching led the enemies of the Great Awakening to accuse its leaders of undermining the solemnity of worship,and of substituting emotion for study and devotion. It must be said, however, that many of the leaders of the movement were not particularly emotive, that many were scholars, and that in any case the goal of the movement was not worship services marked by continual shows of emotion, but rather a single experience that would lead each believer to greater devotion and more conscientious study of scripture. This may be seen in Jonathan Edwards's sermons. They are not emotive harangues but careful expositions of profound theological matters. Edwards believed that emotion was important. But such emotion, including the high experience of conversion, should not eclipse the need for right doctrine and rational worship. The leaders of the Great Awakening were Orthodox Calvinists. It was precisely his Calvinism that led Whitefield to break with Wesley. And Edwards wrote solid and profound defenses of the doctrine of predestination. Although the movement in its early stages was led by Congregationalists and Presbyterians, in the long run it was the Baptists and Methodists who most profited from it.

Excerpt from The Story of Christianity Vol. 2 by Justo L. Gonzalez (3 of 3)

At first, the Baptist's opposed the movement, calling it frivolous and superficial. But the Awakening led many people to conclusions that were favorable to the Baptists. Indeed, if an experience of conversion had such central importance in Christian Life, this raised doubts regarding infant baptism. Therefore, many Congregationalists and Presbyterians, led by the Awakenings emphasis on personal experience, eventually rejected infant baptism and became Baptists. Entire Congregations did so.

The Great Awakening also lead both Baptists and Methodists to the Western frontier. At this time, whites were continually appropriating Indian lands, and it was the Methodists and Baptists who, imbued with the spirit of the Great Awakening, took up the task of preaching to these Western settlers and organizing their religious life. For that reason, these two groups became the most numerous in the newly settled areas. And, as a consequence of that Great Awakening, and of later similar movements, the hope for an "awakening" became typical of a significant sector of North American Christianity. Finally, the Great Awakening had political consequences. This was the first movement that embraced all of the thirteen colonies. That would eventually become the United States. Thanks to it, a sense of commonality began developing among the various colonies. At the same time, new ideas where circulating regarding human rights and the nature of government. Those ideas, combined with the growing sense of commonality among the colonies, would foment momentous events.

[Added from other thread, thanks again!]

Excerpt from Christian History Made Easy by Timothy Paul Jones, PhD

You say you want a revolution in religion?

Revival in the colonies-the Northampton Awakening

When he was 18, an American colonist name Jonathan Edwards wrote in his diary, "Resolved: That all men should live to the glory of God. Resolved, secondly: That whether or not anyone else does, I will."And he did.

Yet Jonathan Edwards wasn't the type who could naturally move people's souls. And his day it was stylish to be short. Edwards was tall. Early in his ministry, you read his messages in a squeaky monotone. His sermons sometimes lasted 2 hours. He served as the pastor of Northampton Congregational Church for five years with few visible results.

Nevertheless, in 1734, flashes of Revival begin to pierce the Northampton churches spiritual darkness. The Holy Spirit convicted and converted 300 church members. What they once believed in their heads became embedded in their hearts. "The Town," Jonathan Edwards wrote, " was never so full of love, call Joy, and yet so full of distress, as was then." this first wave of Revival lasted only three years. Had it not been for a new movement in Europe [Pietism], Northampton Revival might never have developed into a Great Awakening

For many the historical Great Awakening represents one of the first instances of modern church revival as we know it today.

“What is Christian Revival?” an article from gotquestions.org

Answer: Revival refers to a spiritual reawakening from a state of dormancy or stagnation in the life of a believer. It encompasses the resurfacing of a love for God, an appreciation of God's holiness, a passion for His Word and His church, a convicting awareness of personal and corporate sin, a spirit of humility, and a desire for repentance and growth in righteousness. Revival invigorates and sometimes deepens a believer's faith, opening his or her eyes to the truth in a fresh, new way. It generally involves the connotation of a fresh start with a clean slate, marking a new beginning of a life lived in obedience to God. Revival breaks the charm and power of the world, which blinds the eyes of men, and generates both the will and power to live in the world but not of the world.

In the USA, the first revival, also called the First Great Awakening, produced an upsurge of devotion among Protestants in the 1730s and 1740s, carving a permanent mark on American religion. It resulted from authoritative preaching that deeply moved the church members with a convicting awareness of personal guilt and the awesome nature of salvation through Christ. Breaking away from dry ritual and rote ceremony, the Great Awakening made Christianity intensely personal to the average person, as it should be, by creating a deep emotional need for relationship with Christ.

Revival, in many respects, replicates the believer's experience when he or she is saved. It is initiated by a prompting of the Holy Spirit, creating an awareness of something missing or wrong in the believer's life that can only be righted by God. In turn, the Christian must respond from the heart, acknowledging his or her need. Then, in a powerful way, the Holy Spirit draws back the veil the world has cast over the truth, allowing the believers to fully see themselves in comparison to God's majesty and holiness. Obviously, such comparisons bring great humility, but also great awe of God and His truly amazing grace (Isaiah 6.5). Unlike the original conversion experience that brings about a new relationship to God, however, revival represents a restoration of fellowship with God, the relationship having been retained even though the believer had pulled away for a time.

God, through His Holy Spirit, calls us to revival in a number of situations. Christ's letters to the seven churches reveal some circumstances that may necessitate revival. In the letter to Ephesus, Christ praised the church for their perseverance and discernment, but He stated that they had forsaken their first love (Revelation 2:4-5). Many times as the excitement of acceptance to Christ grows cold, we lose the zeal that we had at first. We become bogged down in the ritual, going through the motions, but we no longer experience the joy of serving Christ. Revival helps restore that first love and passion for Christ. Revelation 2:10-11 refers to the church at Smyrna, which was suffering intense persecution. The cares and worries of life can beat us down, leaving us emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted. Revival can lift us up to new hope and faith.

Revelation 2:14-16 talks about the problem of compromise with the world and incorporating worldly values into our belief systems. Revival helps us to rightly discern what values we should hold. Revelation 2:20-23 discusses the problem of tolerating false teaching in our churches. We need to examine the messages that we hear and compare them to the message of the Bible. Revival helps us to find the truth. Revelation 3:1-6 describes a dead church, a church that goes through the motions outwardly, but there is nothing underneath. Here is a picture of nominal Christianity, outwardly prosperous, busy with the externals of religious activity, but devoid of spiritual life and power. Revival helps to resuscitate spiritual life. In Revelation 3:11, we are further warned against complacency, a life that does not bear fruit. All of these scenarios call for revival.

The evidence of revival, a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon believers, is changed lives. Great movements toward righteousness, evangelism, and [true and effective] social justice occur. Believers are once again spending time in prayer and reading and obeying God’s Word. Believers begin to powerfully use their spiritual gifts. There is confession of sin and repentance.

Jonathan Edwards wrote many sermons, but the most famous or infamous depending on how you view his fire and brimstone approach was “SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD” which was preached at Enfield on July 8th, 1741. This sermon is still read and circulated to this day in churches and seminaries alike

I've been reading it over and it has a lot of inspirational albeit grim ammunition:

There is no Want of Power in God to cast wicked Men into Hell at any Moment. Mens Hands can’t be strong when God rises up: The strongest have no Power to resist him, nor can any deliver out of his Hands.

He is not only able to cast wicked Men into Hell, but he can most easily do it. Sometimes an earthly Prince meets with a great deal of Difficulty to subdue a Rebel, that has found Means to fortify himself, and has made himself strong by the Numbers of his Followers. But it is not so with God. There is no Fortress that is any Defence from the Power of God. Tho’ Hand join in Hand, and vast Multitudes of God’s Enemies combine and associate themselves, they are easily broken in Pieces: They are as great Heaps of light Chaff before the Whirlwind; or large Quantities of dry Stubble before devouring Flames. We find it easy to tread on and crush a Worm that we see crawling on the Earth; so ‘tis easy for us to cut or singe a slender Thread that any Thing hangs by; thus easy is it for God when he pleases to cast his Enemies down to Hell. What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose Rebuke the Earth trembles, and before whom the Rocks are thrown down?

>>108750

Your Wickedness makes you as it were heavy as Lead, and to tend downwards with great Weight and Pressure towards Hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend & plunge into the bottomless Gulf, and your healthy Constitution, and your own Care and Prudence, and best Contrivance, and all your Righteousness, would have no more Influence to uphold you and keep you out of Hell, than a Spider’s Web would have to stop a falling Rock. Were it not that so is the sovereign Pleasure of God, the Earth would not bear you one Moment; for you are a Burden to it; the Creation groans with you; the Creation is made Subject to the Bondage of your Corruption, not willingly; the Sun don’t willingly shine upon you to give you Light to serve Sin and Satan; the Earth don’t willingly yield her Increase to satisfy your Lusts; nor is it willingly a Stage for your Wickedness to be acted upon; the Air don’t willing serve you for Breath to maintain the Flame of Life in your Vitals, while you spend your Life in the Service of God’s Enemies. God’s Creatures are Good, and were made for Men to serve God with, and don’t willingly subserve to any other Purpose, and groan when they are abused to Purposes so directly contrary to their Nature and End. And the World would spue you out, were it not for the sovereign Hand of him who hath subjected it in Hope. There are the black Clouds of God’s Wrath now hanging directly over your Heads, full of the dreadful Storm, and big with Thunder; and were it not for the restraining Hand of God it would immediately burst forth upon you. The sovereign Pleasure of God for the present stays his rough Wind; otherwise it would come with Fury, and your Destruction would come like a Whirlwind, and you would be like the Chaff of the Summer threshing Floor.

>>108750

However unconvinced you may now be of the Truth of what you hear, by & by you will be fully convinced of it. Those that are gone from being in the like Circumstances with you, see that it was so with them; for Destruction came suddenly upon most of them, when they expected nothing of it, and while they were saying, Peace and Safety: Now they see, that those Things that they depend on for Peace and Safety, were nothing but thin Air and empty Shadows.

>>108750

>>108755

>>108761

These are just a smattering of quotes from the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” which is available to read for free online. It might be a worthwhile read for anons seeking to understand the Christian symbolism and diction utilized by Q in some of his/her/their posts.

[Thanks again]

>>123254

I actually think that what we are seeing currently in the public, social, and political sphere, the things you've dubbed adult concerns, can be directly compared to past revivals. I even think the Q team has been deliberate in labeling the wider movement “the great awakening” for that reason. The first great awakening began as you stated, with Spirit-led manifestations of emotional catharsis during a period where the cold and emotionless religious ceremony was all that people knew. The great awakening was the first step in defining a new American expression of Christianity. Americans in 18th century began to realize that church wasn't just the Mass performed by priests or a dull Congregational service, but that they could share a real and tangible connection with their creator. It was an awakening when people realized that they needn't only read about the miracles of the gospels, but that they could partake of them, live them out, and experience God's presence in their own lives. They became alive to the truth of the gospels.

I think that what we are experiencing today is indeed unparalleled, but it too is an awakening of a similar sort. Though most don't see the driver of what is happening as spiritual, it's still significant in the way it relates to the historic revival. Today we see people who are trapped in a cold and malevolent system awakening to their individual importance, having their hope and emotions kindled to get behind this movement of nationalism and populism. Growing alive and using all their autistic potential to help alter the course of American history and fight back in the ways that they can (i.e. coordinated twitter strikes to influence wake people up and alter the MSM narrative). The Q group seems to be trying to wake people up to the fact that determined individuals can make a difference even when faced with monolithic opposition. All of these wider issues of social justice that will hopefully be addressed all begin with changes in the hearts and minds of individuals, dealing with those exact insecurities to which you refer.

The modern great awakening as we have come to know it is seemingly much less about Christianity and much more about Americanism and what it represents. I'm still hashing out the historical connections, but I do believe that the first great awakening directly influenced America's push for independence. I think that those seeds of revival sown into the land resulted in individual empowerment which resulted in social change and a reformed America. I think that characterizes exactly what we are seeing now, Q sows bread crumbs which result in individual empowerment which hopefully will lead to social change and a vastly different America. As you mentioned, those that experience that shift will have lasting impressions and reformed attitudes that are carried with them for the rest of their lives. Every great revival, even if it appealed to supposed childish insecurities still resulted in a renewal of faith and (usually) a positive alignment with truth and biblical values which affected entire communities.