Christians
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
A German philosopher; a Professor of Logic; his critical philosophy
impacted Christian thought in a profound way. The moralism of
Kant and his critique of metaphysics have made him congenial to
some Protestant theologians. Roman Catholic philosophical theologians
tend to see in Kant the scholastic proofs of God's existence and
are very critical of him.
1749-1750 Challoner Revision of Bible, Roman Catholic revision of Rheims-Douai
1786 Proposed Book of Common Prayer
1789
The Prayer Book of 1789 was the first for the U. S. Episcopal
Church and served the Church for over 100 years, until the revision
of 1892. This book owed much to its predecessor, the English 1662
Book
of Common Prayer, and, at least for the major services, is very
similar to it.
The 1789 Book of Common Prayer was in use in the United States
from 1790 until 1892.
John Wesley (1703-1791) founded Methodism, a system of religious faith and practice, while at Oxford in 1729. The term Methodism was subsequently applied to the evangelical movement led by John Wesley, his brother Charles and George Whitefield in the late 1730s.
In 1729 in England, a small group of Oxford University
students were ridiculed as "Bible Bigots, " the
"Holy Club" and "Methodists" because they
spent so much time in methodical prayer and Bible
reading. Led by John and Charles Wesley, the students held their
ground against jeering students
and went out to preach and pray with those considered to be the
underbelly of English society.
The United Methodist Church is the result of the 1939 merger of
three Methodist bodies (Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal
South and Methodist Protestant churches), and a 1968 union of
the Evangelical United Brethren and The Methodist churches.
(From The United Methodist Story, Our History, Our Beliefs
& Our Mission, The United Methodist Publishing House)
In the fall of 1740 and the winter of 1741, George Whitefield (1714-1770), a young English priest ventured north on a preaching tour, passing through Maryland and Virginia on his way to Savannah in December 1740. He spent a month preaching to huge crowds in South Carolina and Georgia and became the first truly American celebrity. His preaching and those of other revivalistic preachers of other denominations came to be known as the Great Awakening. Whitefield participation in the Awakening was initially a cause of pride for the Anglican clergy.