Necessity of Religious Violence to Durable Happiness
This sermon represents Gilbert Tennent's contribution to the theological ferment of the Great Awakening, delivered during the height of his evangelistic ministry in the mid-1730s. As one of the leading Presbyterian revivalists and a graduate of his father's Log College, Tennent preached this message amid the spiritual upheaval that was transforming American colonial Christianity. The sermon addresses the paradox of spiritual struggle within the Christian life, using the provocative language of "violence" to describe the intensity required for authentic conversion and sanctification.
Tennent argues that true spiritual happiness demands a kind of holy violence against sin, self-will, and spiritual complacency. Drawing heavily on Jesus's words about the kingdom of heaven suffering violence and the violent taking it by force, he contends that genuine conversion requires more than gentle moral improvement—it demands an aggressive assault on one's own sinful nature. The sermon moves through the necessity of this spiritual warfare, the particular targets that must be violently opposed within the soul, and the eternal happiness that results from such decisive spiritual combat. Tennent emphasizes that this violence is not directed outward toward others but inward toward the corruptions that prevent union with God.
The work captures the theological intensity of early American revivalism while addressing perennial questions about the cost of discipleship. Tennent's vivid language and uncompromising vision of conversion influenced a generation of evangelical preachers and helped establish the American tradition of confrontational preaching about sin and salvation.
Who should read this: Students of American religious history and those interested in the rhetorical strategies of Great Awakening preaching will find this essential primary source material. Modern readers uncomfortable with aggressive metaphors for spiritual transformation should approach with caution, as Tennent's language reflects eighteenth-century assumptions about the violent nature of true spiritual change.