Window on the World - Franklinity

Excerpt: 'Benjamin Franklin also had a keen interest in religion. However, he was doubtful about the person and work of Jesus Christ and it is not clear that he ever came to saving faith. Indeed, it seems unlikely that he ever did. But this was not for lack of hearing the gospel. Franklin made a special point of going to hear the famous evangelist George Whitefield when he came to Philadelphia in 1739, preaching to thousands and transforming the spiritual climate of the city.

Fascinated by Whitefield's remarkable ability to project his voice, Franklin spent one outdoor sermon measuring the preacher's range and estimating the number of people who could hear him at roughly 30,000. This fact is noteworthy for what it tells us about George Whitefield, but as much for what it tells us about Benjamin Franklin. Ever the practical man, Franklin was more interested in the projection of sound than in the proclamation of the gospel. When he listened to Whitefield's voice, did he hear what the evangelist was saying about the cross and the empty tomb?'

The Window on the World is our weekly opportunity to examine our culture from the vantage point of biblical Christianity.

Many of these are now published in 'My Father's World: Meditations on Christianity and Culture', 2002, and 'He Speaks to Me Everywhere', 2004, both by Philip Graham Ryken, P&R Publishing.

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