Customer Reviews

George Whitefield: The Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival - Volume I

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Well, I finally saved up the money and sprung for this two-volume full-length account of the life of George Whitefield. I had whetted my appetite on the abbreviated volume "George Whitefield: God's Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century" by the same author. I can honestly say this is one of the best investments I've ever made. Reading the life of such a great saint--this Christ-loving, gospel-centered minister--has served to rekindle my passion for the gospel and rejuvenate the love of God in my soul more than once. I most highly recommend it.

This Volume: This is the FIRST volume of Dallimore's two-volume biography of George Whitefield. This is very important if you intend on buying one volume now and purchasing the other later. The information on the Banner of Truth (the publisher's) website is incorrect--the green volume is volume #1 (picture of Whitefield in a field surrounded by a crowd) and the red volume is #2 (picture of an older Whitefield in a church pulpit). I had to wait an extra few months to recieve the first volume before I could begin reading either. Each volume is about 600 pages in length and is chock full of stories, information and insightful commentary. Dallimore does not spare the details of the lives of those closest to Whitfield--including John Cennick, Howell Harris, Jonathan Edwards, and of course John and Charles Wesley. This first volume deals with the period of time from Whitefield's birth, through the advent of the open-air ministry and his first visit to North America and closes with his return to England in the wake of Wesley's controversial ministry.

The Subject Matter: Wow. Simply wow. I mean--who knew? I'd always heard that John Wesley was the sole founder of Methodism. In fact, the only thing I knew about George Whitefield was that he was attributed with a few neat quotes (ie. "Let the name of Whitefield perish, but Christ be glorified!", "I am weary in Thy work, but not weary of it", etc.) and that he once spoke at Jonathan Edwards' Northhampton church (at which time he left Edwards in tears). I fully expect that if it were not for this work of Dallimore, the name of Whitefield truly would be lost to persons such as myself. What I expected was another (Calvinistic) Wesley. What I found was a man whose zeal, love, holiness of life and passion for Christ seemed to equal even those I hold in highest regard (among whom are Martin Luther and Charles Spurgeon). Whitefield was a tireless worker for God and his zeal for the gospel was only matched by his selfless compassion for his fellow man. He was the first of the great open-air preachers and nudged both John and Charles Wesley into evangelistic ministry. Whitefield's life is a beautiful illustration of Christian ministry and evangelistic zeal. I cannot recommend this man highly enough.

The Author: Dallimore was a Baptist pastor and semi-prolific biographer. This two-volume biography of George Whitefield is truly Dallimore's magnum opus. He has delved deeper into the mind and heart of this great evangelist than any of his previous biographers. It is both informative and inspirational. No space feels wasted despite the length of the account and the multitudinous strands of the storyline are brought together in a masterful way.

The Reader: Who should read this book? I would recommend it most highly to pastors and other evangelical Christians whose zeal for God and spiritual wells have begun to run dry. Evangelical Calvinistic Christians will get the greatest benefit from this read. But it may also prove of great interest to those of the Methodist heritage. Also, all who are called to the ministry of evangelism (teaching and preaching) could not but benefit from this work. Whitefield's zeal is contagious and his meekness humbling. The mere historian might enjoy the factual aspects of the book, but it was written from a distinctively evangelical Christian perspective.

"Weary in Thy work, but not weary of it." -G. Whitefield

Few recent books have so wide and so deep an impact as Arnold Dallimore's magisterial biography of George Whitefield. The first volume, stretching from Whitefield's birth in 1714 to his section visit to American in 1740 was published in 1970 and has since been reprinted six times. The second volume, which stretches from 1740 until Whitefield's death in 1770, was published ten years later in 1980. It has been reprinted three times. Together the volumes comprise some 1200 pages of detailed biography. Rarely have I had a biography recommended to me by so many and by men of such distinction. Rarely have I benefited more from reading about another man's life.

I have noticed a strange phenomenon with this biography. Where most books of this one's scope and impact have been widely and thoroughly reviewed, this one seems to be an exception. As I attempted to write a review I may have found out why this is: it is very difficult to adequately sum up so much content in just a few words. And, as with any biography, it is difficult to measure and summarize the impact of such a book. Instead I am left doing what others have done--writing thoughts on the book that somehow seem disconnected and inadequate. Even Gary Gilley, a reviewer who is rarely lost for words, can write no more than this: "It would be difficult to lavish too much praise on Dallimore's two volume biography of the famous eighteenth century evangelist George Whitefield. This is the definitive work of Whitefield's life and ministry, dispelling many misconceptions while showing the true character and impact of this most remarkable man. Along the way the reader also receives valuable insight into the lives of the Wesleys, Jonathan Edwards and the Moravians. This is one of the greatest biographies ever written."

The Foreword to the first volume is supplied by no one less than Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The Doctor suggests that he waited decades to find a thorough and authoritative biography of Whitefield, a man he regarded as a historical hero. This book, he felt, which appeared on the bi-centenary of Whitefield's death, achieves the excellence Lloyd-Jones knew had long been missing. Reflecting on the life of the subject he writes "May the reading of this book produce in us the same spirit of utter submission, ready obedience, and unshakeable reliance upon the power of the Holy Spirit that characterized his life and ministry. Whitefield never drew attention to himself but always pointed people to his God and exalted his Lord and Savior. May he, though now dead for nearly 200 years, do the same for countless thousands through the reading of this book!" The intervening years, almost forty of them, have shown this to be the case.

This book's subtitle, The life and times of the great evangelist of the 18th century revival, is important in understanding the book. Whitefield found himself one of the sparks of the the Great Awakening and the revival of the 18th century. While other men played important roles, Whitefield was the pin at the center of the wheel. His tireless itinerancy took his preaching ministry to almost every corner of the United Kingdom and to almost the whole of the settled portion of the United States. But for illness he would also have extended his ministry to Canada. Perhaps one of this book's greatest contributions is in helping people separate the life and contributions of George Whitefield from those of John Wesley--a man who Whitefield always loved but who so often opposed him. This biographies shows conclusively that it was Whitefield's ministry that sparked the awakening.

I was grateful to see that Dallimore deals fairly with Whitefield's shortcomings in these volumes. This is no hagiography--worship of a saint that is free from difficult examinations of the subject's failings. Though Dallimore has to confess that he finds surprisingly little fault with the man, he deals frankly and forthrightly with those areas in which Whitefield showed immaturity, poor judgment or poor discernment. He questions Whitefield's decision to marry and the unusual circumstances surrounding his first rejected proposal of marriage. He does not shy from discussing Whitefield's role in justifying and even promoting slavery in the colonies. He does not allow the passing of the years or his deep respect for his subject to mislead him or to excuse sin. Experience shows that this quality is surprisingly rare in such biographies.

Eminently readable despite its length and depth, this biography only reinforces my belief that biographies can be among the greatest catalysts to spiritual growth. It is a classic and one that takes its place among my favorite biographies along with such great titles as Marsden's Jonathan Edwards and Dallimore's own Spurgeon. It will prove valuable to pastors or evangelists as they see the example of a man who labored tirelessly for the gospel; it will prove valuable to all Christians as they see the example of a man who labored tirelessly to grow even and ever closer to his Savior. Whitefield is a man who stands as an example to all of us. Dallimore has done us a great service in opening up to us the life of this great man of God.

Together these two volumes represent a financial investment that is not insignificant. Purchased together they are likely to cost at least sixty or seventy dollars. But I can testify, as can a long list of people of far greater wisdom and discernment than I, that they are well worth the investment.

In place of my Bible, no other books in my library have my heart like Dr. Dallimore's two volume biography on the Rev. George Whitefield. Dr. Dallimore spent 10 years writing the first volume. The demand from all over the world to have a second volume prompted Dr. Dallimore to resign his pastorate of over 20 years and proceed to spend the next 15 years writing the sequel. It is a masterpiece.

He travelled to England five times in his research and is known around the world as the Whitefieldian expert. Dr. Dallimore was 86 years old when he died on March 20, 1998, in Cottam, Ontario, Canada. I had the blessed opportunity of meeting Dr. Dallimore and his dear wife, May, on two occasions late in 1997. Every Christian ought to have all of Dr. Dallimore's books on their bookshelf, but especially "George Whitefield." Reading these books was like talking with a good friend.

Paul Miller 11/9/98

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand witnessing, evangelism, the Great Awakening, and the roots of many current ministries including the Methodists. For pastors who have a heart for the lost, this book will be a particular pleasure.

Before the great revival of Christian faith in the 18th century, most English people thought that gaining Salvation merely meant viewing oneself as a Christian. Wrong! In the first volume of this amazing two-volume biography, Pastor Arnold Dallimore patiently describes how George Whitefield came to be saved and learned how to lead others to be born again. Almost immediately he gained fame by attracting huge crowds, numbering in the thousands. Many opposed his preaching, and he soon found himself speaking outdoors to as many as 20,000 or more people without any form of amplification after churches barred their doors.

Unlike today's evangelist who heads a huge organization built around his speaking, Whitefield was simply sharing his love of God and his experience of being born again. He usually arrived without any announcement, but people would stream in as soon as the word reached them. He often didn't seek an offering, and the offerings he did receive were to establish an orphanage in the struggling colony of Georgia. In search of souls and funds for the orphanage, he similarly took the American colonies by storm. While his evangelism soared, his projects to provide practical assistance on Earth met many problems and opponents . . . providing even more problems to go with his sicknesses.

Wanting to be sure that souls would be tended, he would return to the same locations whenever possible. If he couldn't, he found another man to play the same role. Many famous clergy of the day found their footing through being called to speak instead of Whitefield, including John and Charles Wesley.

Pastor Dallimore does readers a great service by doing an excellent job of setting the stage for giving us a sense of how rampant misbehavior was in those times . . . and how thirsty people were for Christ's living water. He also draws heavily from Whitefield's journals, sermons, and letters to give us a sense of the man's theology and personal views.

One of the major contributions of this volume is to see that Whitefield has been maligned by many who falsely described his views, his actions, and didn't take into account how young and inexperienced he was when he gained fame and started publishing.

I was attracted to this book after my pastor described how Whitefield suffered from much pain and weakness while evangelizing . . . and that this might have been God's way of helping to keep him from becoming proud. Clearly, the man suffered a lot . . . but Christ sustained him.

It was very moving to think about how much more can be done to move closer to Him through reading this excellent biography.

This book is exceptionally written. It is very readable and full of the all kinds of details about George Whitefield, about his conversion, about his work, about his preaching to 1, 000's. I think the central theme in this 1st volume is Regeneration, the New Birth or being Born Again. This is the key to George Whitefield's life and ministry. Once he understands the New Birth, he is a changed man and no one could shut him up.

This is an incredible story of how God used this one man to preach to literally over 2 million people, finish 2 missionary journeys to America, and mature - all by the young age of 26. This was an incredible time. The back drop to this story is the Church of England and John and Charles Wesley. The Church of England was dead as dead could be. They did not hold nor preach the New Birth and were offended when George Whitefield did. He was one of the first to do open air preaching and his preaching centered on the New Birth, Conversion, Regeneration, and how ever you want to describe it. The masses of people were moved by his clarity to this unfamiliar message. God used him mightily to preach this message.

When in America, he again preached this message of the New Birth, not only to the mass of people but also to the ministers. And not just to the ministers of the Church of England, but also to the Presbyterian ministers and other churches as well. His message was "How can am unconverted minister preach to unconverted people"? It made no sense. Before you can call people to conversion, you must first be converted yourself.

I know there are people that think that the author has exaggerated the life of George Whitefield and down played the lives of John and Charles Wesley. But as you read this book, you will read the letters of several people (I would guess 100's) that G.W. wrote to and letters he received. These are not the words of the author, but of people who lived at the time of G.W. and knew G.W. They loved him. And the author does not just take things out of context, but often quotes large portions of letters. So much of this is from people who had first hand knowledge.

This is an incredible story and it is all because of the New Birth. Now on to Volume 2!!

When I began to read this book, I expected to be entertained and informed, but what has impressed me most so far is how spiritually profitable it has been to me. Whitefield's earnestness about spiritual things, carefulness about doctrine and practice, wisdom and prudence in all his dealings, courage under attack, tireless zeal to serve the Lord and others... all are humbling and instructive.

Chiefly instructive, so far, has been the gentleness, humility, and tender affection of his pleadings with Wesley, in the face of Wesley's hostility and treachery. It reminded me much of what John Newton counseled on controversy in his letters, but somehow it affected me more to read Whitefield's own words as a model. His ability to receive--even his eagerness to ask for!--a rebuke from anyone has been a helpful (though painful) mirror in which to reflect upon my own character.

Historically, this book is rich and accurate. There are so many primary sources included in the text and in the footnotes, that it hardly qualifies as a secondary source. It corrects many myths and mistakes propagated by Wesley's many biographers. It uses the words of the people of the time to take you into their experience--particularly the experience of Whitefield himself.

However, the main character of this volume hasn't been Mr. Whitefield. The Holy Spirit has been the main character. How could any lover of God's glory, lover of Christ, and lover of the eternal souls of men read this volume and not be stirred up to beg the Holy Spirit to move with power in our day to give men the new birth? Oh that He would possess men now--even me, Lord! use me!--to preach and convince others of their sin and of the grace of God in Christ! Such, I trust, will be the response of every believer to this book. I cannot commend it more highly. If there were not a second volume to begin next week, I would miss reading it after spending many months in it.

If you would like to read more detailed summaries of the content of the book, you may wish to visit[...] -- where I have linked to precis that I wrote of each chapter as I read it.

I must join with the others who have written rave reviews of Dallimores book George Whitefield. I wish all authors who desire to write biographies would learn from this man, how to research and then convey without bias, his best opinion of the facts gathered. After reading the books, both volume 1 and 2, I have asked myself what my beliefs are, what is a christian, how are we to live as a christian. Even deeper, my family ancestry was affected by his ministry here in America because many were Methodists and Methodist preachers and some have the Methodist preacher on Horseback Medalians on their gravestones, given to preachers who travelled from town to town sharing the gospel. I never knew why they were so zealous, now I know, because of the Great Awakening headed by George Whitefield. Read these books, learn of the Great Awakening, and see if you can escape a Great Awakening in your own heart as you see what God has done, and can do for us again through mere man. I am now a Arnold Dallimore fan, and a George Whitefield fan. A man like that is still creating disciples, years after his death. A truly incredible story.

How should I describe George Whitefield; perhaps the greatest evangelist since the days of the apostles? Several terms that come to mind are "The People's Pastor," "The Energizer Bunny Evangelist," and "The Gracious Philanthropist." The first term is true because people everywhere; across the Atlantic from England to Wales to America; those who lived in the cities and villages alike, loved Whitefield; even the African-American slaves. Though it is regrettable that Whitefield did not push far enough toward abolition, yet the slaves loved him still because this man simply loved people including themselves and they knew it. It shows when one loves people with a sincere heart.

"Of his experience during a period of grave sickness, [Whitefiled] reports, `The poor negroes crowded round the windows and expressed a great concern for me. Their master had acquainted them, I believe, that I was their friend.' And time after time negro people, as well as whites, came to him expressing their desire to follow him whitersoever he might go." (p.501).

Even Jonathan Edwards, whose stereotype profile might conjure up a cold and compassionless minister with his fiery and brimstony sermons, wept when Whitefield preached in Northampton. The only group of people who hated him; the root of which I suspect was out of envy; was some intellectuals; the ministers and the officers of the Church of England and several Presbyterian ministers in New York who called themselves "The Querists;" the later was stirred up to anger when Whitefield insisted against ordaining unconverted ministers, and thus demanded strict examinations on ministry candidates. I wouldn't characterize John Wesley's contention with Whitefield as hatred, but I still think there was an element of envy and bitterness on Wesley's side. Other than these, Whitefield was greatly respected and loved with heartfelt and tearful affections by the English, the Welch, and the Americans; by people from all walks of life; governors, ministers, military officers, the rich and the poor; men, women and children. In addition to his genuine compassion, Whitefield was a humble Calvinist. This humility is visible in one of the letters where he urged the doctrines of election and final perseverance "are not to be contended for with heat and passion" because such a proceeding will only prejudice the cause to be defended (p.576-577). He was neither afraid nor ashamed of admitting and correcting mistakes, as evident for example, when he answered some charges brought up by the Querists (p.560-561). Another demonstration of his humility is he sought counsels, and corrections; an attitude clearly displayed in many of his letters.

The other two terms that I consider appropriate to describe Whitefield; "The Energizer Bunny Evangelist" and "The Gracious Philanthropist" are something the readers would agree as we look at the highlights of his ministry at twenty-six years of age that I can describe as follows. I write with reverence and out of an admiration when I label Whitefield as "The Energizer Bunny Evangelist" as well as for a good reason. He seemed to have a non-stop preaching schedule; at least once a day, twice or more on Saturdays and Sundays. Unless he was on travel, he was almost always besieged by people hungering and pressing to hear him preaching, expounding, praying and counseling to a total of hundreds of thousands of people; an enormous crowd of humanity considering the total population of England and the English Colonies in America. The congregation at his farewell service in Philadelphia was estimated at nearly twenty-thousand, and this was undoubtedly the largest gathering in American history to that date in 1740. Whitefield was blessed with a God-given mouth that not only served as an instrument of the delivery of the gospel with an excellent oratory skill, but also a natural high-power sub-woofer, whose voice can be heard within a radius of two miles, according to Benjamin Franklin's calculation in Philadelphia (p.439, the number two miles is calculated from Franklin's finding that Whitefield's voice could be heard by more than thirty thousand people with each person took two-square-feet of area). Whitefield traveled extensively by land and by sea covering New England to the Southern Plantation regions of South Carolina and Georgia. Keep in mind there was no Boeing 737 or Amtrak or car in Whitefield's days, so all travels were by horse or ship that might take hours to go short distances such as from a city to a nearby village and days for long distances such as from Philadelphia to Charleston. Traveling long distances in those days wasn't pleasant, particularly when you have to preach right away once you arrive. Consider an entry from Whitefield's journal,

"Set out before sunrising, and reached Amwell, thirty-five miles from Shippack, where I had appointed to preach by six at night. Some thousands of people were gathered together expexting I would have been there by noon... In my way thither, I was brought low by inward trials, and very great weakness of body, occasioned by the heat of the sun, want of sleep, and the length of the journey; but before I preached six minutes, bodily and spiritual strength was given me, and the Lord set his seal to what He enabled me to deliver" (p. 485).

He built an orphanage in Savannah, the first in Georgia. In addition, he established a building to minister to the slaves called Nazareth in Philadelphia, and in collaboration with Benjamin Franklin serving as a member of the trustees, another building that he could use as a pulpit where he preached twice a day (yes, twice a day, not a week), as well as a "charity school'; both in Philadelphia and the latter became the University of Pennsylvania of the present day. (p.497, 569). All these preaching, evangelistic tours and philanthropic works were accomplished only after four years of ministry.

Reading this first volume of the life of George Whitefield left me wondering whether there has been or there is now or there will ever be another one like him. Though I am so far from the rich, reputable and educated associates of his; people like William Seward, Charles Delamonte and John Cennick, I would entertain the thought of working for him like they did, and deep down inside, I wish I lived in Whitefield's days, were converted under his preaching and joined his ministry. I went away happy, humbled and stunned as the eighteenth century revival in England and America came to life under the blessed work of Arnold Dallimore. Romans 11:33 comes to mind as I recall these events and the unsuspecting man of God who set the fire of revival ablaze, "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!"

This is the most definitive biography I have ever read. He quotes extensively from John and Charles Wesley, Mrs. Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, Ben Franklin, Whitefield himself, and a multitude of others. At times, Dallimore reports almost on a day-by-day basis. This biography reports on his life, his loves, his work, his theology, his acheivements and failures. These books are a remarkable biography considering the author lived in the middle of nowhere, USA.

The author tried to present a balanced view of Whitefield, although from the text, one can infer how much Dallimore admires Whitefield and agrees Whitefield's theology. Dallimores realizes this and goes out of his way to point out what he perceives as Whitefield's weaknesses. Most of the weaknesses occur early in his ministry.

Dallimore writes well, but at times he seems stilted. I think Dallimore misses some of Whitefield's weaknesses, but the biography is so extensive that the reader can make his or her own judgments on the matter. Another slight weakness is that Dallimore quotes so extensively that it slows down the narrative at times. On the whole though, he does a very good job.

Whitefield was an amazing man. He gave himself wholeheartedly to his ministry. This biography did a great job of placing Whitefield in his historical context.

Dallimore's Whitefield is perhaps the best biography of that great man ever written. One is taken into his life and Age. After reading 'Whitefield' one knows the man before his conversion and after his personal awakening that not only quickened his spirit, but awakened many generations to the reality of a living God. The scholarship is complete and does not slow down the exciting narrative of the life of one of the most active men of the 18th century. The coverage of the friendship and debate between Whitefield and Wesley is both sensitive and accurate conveying both the heat and the goodwill that joined and separated the two friends. The book is a boon for our less than spiritual Age and will do much to transmit the living mystery Whitefield dedicated his life to proclaim.