Charles Finney

This stuff is good.

http://www.theologywebsite.com/etext/finney/00preface.shtml

I like the first line.

“To a great extent, the truths of the blessed gospel have been hidden under a false philosophy.”

What an opening line!

That's nearly as good as 'Blessed are the poor in spirit for there’s is the Kingdom of Heaven.' or ' The spirit of The Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.'

He then says “. In my early inquiries on the subject of religion, I found myself wholly unable to understand either the oral or written instructions of uninspired religious teachers.”

I believe that these teachers were inspired but were inspired by the wrong thing. They were into a ‘theology’ based on knowledge rather than a relationship with Christ.

He also says “. I was struck with the fact that they so seldom defined, even to themselves, their own positions. Among the words of most frequent use, I could find scarcely a single term intelligibly defined. I inquired in what sense the terms "regeneration," "faith," "repentance," "love," etc., were used, but could obtain no answer, at which it did not appear to me that both reason and revelation revolted. The doctrines of a nature, sinful per se, of a necessitated will, of inability, and of physical regeneration, and physical Divine influence in regeneration, with their kindred and resulting dogmas, embarrassed and even confounded me at every step. I often said to myself, "If these things are really taught in the Bible, I must be an infidel." But the more I read my Bible, the more clearly I saw that these things were not found there upon any fair principles of interpretation, such as would be admitted in a court of justice.”

What I like about this is the fact that Finney is using both scripture and reason. What he is saying is clear and easy to understand.
I have come too hate dogmatism. Jesus was never a dogmatist. When Christ spoke it was clear and undogmatic. The gospel that Christ spoke is easy to understand. Why have people made it so complicated?

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life. Jesus is the son of God and he died on a cross for everybody so that whoever believes in him has eternal life and then three days later he rose from the dead and he is alive today.