Charles Grandison Finney
Although the early YWAM was drenched with praise for C. G. Finney, there was a clear double standard. Even now, the YWAM schools are humanistic in nature and there is very little study of theology. It is experience that is primary and theology is placed on the back shelf as though it were an unrighteous judge.
If there are any good results in YWAM it is because enough of the Word of God has gone forth that the Holy Spirit can use it to bring forth such results. Any good results in any of our lives should go to the credit of the Lord Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word. That is simply good, biblical theology that gives the proper honor and praise to God and does not place it on a person or organization.
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"A minister’s course of study and training for his work should be exclusively theological. "I mean just as I say. I am not now going to discuss the question whether all education ought not to be theological. But I say education for the ministry should be exclusively so." Charles Grandison Finney, Revivals of Religion, Fleming H. Revell Company, n.d., n.p., p. 245. |
Unfortunately, although Finney talked a good talk about studying theology, his own writings are filled with human philosophy and contain very little of Scripture. The core of Finney's teaching would be "eternally condemned" [Galatians 1:8-9] by none other than the Apostle Paul because Finney admits that he teaches a different Gospel than that Paul preached.
There is an excellent article about Finney by Phillip R. Johnson at his "Really Bad Theology" website, called "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing." In it he says, "Charles Grandison Finney was a heretic. That language is not too strong. Though he excelled at cloaking his opinions in ambiguous language and biblical-sounding expressions, his views were almost pure Pelagianism. The arguments he employed to sustain those views were nearly always rationalistic and philosophical, not biblical. To canonize this man as an evangelical hero is to ignore the facts of what he stood for."
If you are grappling with the truth about Scripture and the truth about Finney, A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing is a "must read." After reading it I realized that the same spirit of arrogance, self-righteousness, self-exaltation, and delusion that is present in much of YWAM, was also present in Finney. Like so many of the leaders in YWAM, Finney was too much in love with himself to be very honest with himself or others.
You may also find Phillip Johnson's "Finney" links helpful:
"Assessing the Influence of Religious Ideas: Charles Finney's Perfectionism," by Leo P. Hirrel.
"C.F.W. Walther Versus Charles Grandison Finney," by Dr. Tom Baker.
"Charles Finney and the Disappearance of Revival" by Clive Taylor.
"Charles Finney vs. The Westminster Confession," by Michael Horton.
"Charles Finney's Doctrine of Justification," by David H. Linden
"Finney: The Aftermath," by Monte E. Wilson.
"The Legacy of Charles Finney," by Michael Horton.
On Revivals of Religion: A Review of Charles G. Finney, by Albert Dod. (Be sure to see also Part 2 of this fine article, a critique of Finney by one of his contemporaries.)