of the will’s freedom to determine itself. Edwards’s treatise On the Freedom
of the Will argued for determinism, contending that the will cannot determine
itself and that the fallen will is unable to obey or believe in Christ. Drawing
on themes from 18th-century determinism, Edwards argued that the will is
always determined by its strongest motive.
He makes a subtle but inÀ uential distinction between our natural ability
to obey God and our moral inability. Natural ability means that nothing
physical, inside us or outside us, prevents us from obeying God. Our
natural ability means (contrary to hyper-Calvinism) that sinners can be held
responsible for their refusal to be converted. Moral inability means that we
are always unwilling to obey, and cannot choose to become willing, solely
because we are unwilling to make such a choice.
Later Edwardseans, when promoting revival, often emphasized the concept
of natural ability. Because the only thing preventing the conversion of
sinners is their own unwillingness, they can be held responsible for their
refusal to be converted (in contrast to hyper-
Calvinism). An Edwardsean Revivalist could
thus demand immediate repentance from
sinners, even though they were morally
incapable of it.
The prominent American Revivalist
theologian Charles Finney rejected the
concept of moral inability but retained the
concept of natural ability. Like Edwards,
Finney says the only thing preventing our
conversion is our unwillingness—but he does not call this an inability.
Finney’s new measures in Revivalism provided an alternative to waiting for
God to convert people. The new measures were not means of grace used
by sinners but techniques of Revivalism used by ministers. They involved a
deliberate stirring up of emotional excitement, active participation by laity
(including women), and praying for individuals by name, sitting on the
“anxious bench.” He calls himself a “soul winner,” taking as his motto, “He
that winneth souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30).
Methodists became
the fastest-growing
denomination in early
19 th century America,
in part because of their
success as Revivalists.