2 Quotes & Sayings By Charles Finney
Charles Finney (1792-1875) was born in New Hampshire, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1809, studied theology at Williston Seminary, and was ordained a Methodist minister in 1820. He worked for several months as a missionary on the western frontier but soon returned to New England. He then studied law under Montgomery Blair, whose son he would later succeed as the first president of the University of Rochester. In 1825 Finney accepted a teaching position at Oberlin College in Ohio, where he remained until his resignation in 1849
During his years at Oberlin, Finney pioneered the use of public discussions on moral issues to introduce young people to the Bible. His influence on American religious thought led him to be called “the most important single influence on the development of evangelical Protestantism in nineteenth century America” by historian George Mowry.