Yale University Press
George Whitefield: America's Spiritual Founding Father
Key Metrics
- Thomas S Kidd
- Yale University Press
- Paperback
- 9780300223583
- 9.2 X 6.1 X 0.9 inches
- 0.95 pounds
- Biography & Autobiography > Historical
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
In the years prior to the American Revolution, George Whitefield was the most famous man in the colonies. Thomas Kidd's fascinating new biography explores the extraordinary career of the most influential figure in the first generation of Anglo-American evangelical Christianity, examining his sometimes troubling stands on the pressing issues of the day, both secular and spiritual, and his relationships with such famous contemporaries as Benjamin Franklin, Jonathan Edwards, and John Wesley.
Based on the author's comprehensive studies of Whitefield's original sermons, journals, and letters, this excellent history chronicles the phenomenal rise of the trailblazer of the Great Awakening. Whitefield's leadership role among the new evangelicals of the eighteenth century and his many religious disputes are meticulously covered, as are his major legacies and the permanent marks he left on evangelical Christian faith. It is arguably the most balanced biography to date of a controversial religious leader who, though relatively unknown three hundred years after his birth, was a true giant in his day and remains an important figure in America's history.
Author Bio
Thomas S Kidd is a distinguished Professor of History, and teaches at Baylor University James Vardaman Endowed Professor of History and Associate Director, Institute for Studies of Religion.
Recent publications include
- Who Is an Evangelical?: The History of a Movement in Crisis (Yale University Press, 2019)
- Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father (Yale University Press, 2017)
- American Colonial History: Clashing Cultures and Faiths (Yale University Press, 2016)
- Baptists in America: A History, with Barry Hankins (Oxford University Press, 2015)
- Education
Ph.D., University of Notre Dame, 2001
- Research Interests
"My research interests are in eighteenth-century North America, particularly the history of evangelicalism."
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