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Oberlin Theology

The fruit of a strong revivalistic, perfectionistic ("Perfectionist" A word used to describe the people of God who believe that with the infusing of the Holy Spirit, we can obey and please God.) , and reforming tradition in nineteenth century American evangelical life. It was closely associated with the work of Charles Finney, America's most famous revivalist, and with the faculty at Oberlin College, Ohio (founded 1833), of which Finney was a president, shortly after it was founded until his death. But the theology also contained emphases that were shared widely in American Christianity among New School Presbyterians, Methodists, many Baptists, members of Disciples and Christian churches.

Finney's theology was shaped by his own experience (a dramatic conversion in 1821) and by his early approval of the work of Congregationalist N. W. Taylor. With Taylor, Finney came to conclude that individuals possessed the freedom of will to make the choice for Christ, and with Christ, for holy living. Finney's own evangelism stressed the fact that, with God's help, and our willingness we could spread the gospel. Early in his ministry he also explored the effects of such conversions on the reform of society. After Finney left the Presbyterians and took a pastorate in New York City, he came to the conclusion, as he put it, "that an altogether higher and more stable form of Christian life was attainable, and was the privilege of all Christians." Shortly after this Finney encountered John Wesley's Plain Account of Christian Perfection, which confirmed his belief in entire sanctification. When Finney became professor of theology at Oberlin College in 1835, he carried with him the outlines of a distinctive theological emphasis. And in 1839, during a revival season at Oberlin, the emphasis received distinct articulation as a perfectionistic theology.

Along with Finney the Oberlin theology was promoted by Asa Mahan, first president of the college and a driving force in its establishment; Oberlin professor Henry Cowles; and many of the students who went out from Oberlin to evangelize and reform America. The theology emphasized a belief in a second, more mature stage of Christian life. This second stage carried different names, "entire sanctification," "holiness," "Christian perfection," or even "the baptism of the Holy Ghost." Finney took it to be more a matter of perfect trust in God and commitment to his way rather than complete sinlessness. And he also came to feel that this state of spirituality would be reached through steady growth rather than through a single, dramatic "second blessing." Other teachers emphasized more a distinct second work of grace and spoke as if the state of the sanctified would be nearly without sin. In these discussions, which also included a consideration of the relative place of human exertion and God's free grace in going on to sanctification, the Oberlin theology showed remarkable parallels with the development of Methodist theology stretching back to the time of John Wesley. The Oberlin theology represented an immensely important strand of nineteenth century evangelical belief, not only because of its influential convictions but also because of its practical effects. Finney had earlier pioneered new measures in revivalism (including the "anxious bench" and the protracted meeting). And he also had actively encouraged a heightened concern for reforming evils in America like slavery, intemperance, and economic injustice. The perfectionistic emphases of the Oberlin theology greatly aided its revivalistic and reforming concerns. Some of its exponents also believed that the millennial age was at hand, and this conviction also added to the widespread social impact of the theology.

The Oberlin theology retained an important place at Oberlin into the twentieth century. It contributed also to many strands of modern evangelicalism such as the Holiness Movement, more indirectly to Pentecostalism, and to the Higher Life and Keswick movements as well.

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