A Sketch of the Life and Labors of George Whitefield
Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816-1900Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019
Rating 3.4- Word count
- 71K words
- Chapters
- 8
Tags
English Originals General BiographyReligion Group BiographyHumanistic CareInspirationSpiritual PracticeMoral CultivationPopular NarrativeSummary
Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Sketch of the Life and Labors of George Whitefield by J. C. RyleAuthor: Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816-1900,Language: English, Class: E186: History: America: Colonial History (1607-1775), Release Date: Dec 22, 2010Editor's review
J. C. Ryle's sketch of the life and labors of George Whitefield belongs to nineteenth-century evangelical biographical writing. Its readability comes from a clear narrative line: Ryle, as both pastor and biographer, outlines Whitefield's faith journey, preaching ministry, and historical setting while making his evaluative stance plain. For readers, the book can serve both as an introduction to the background of eighteenth-century Anglo-American religious revival and as a text for observing how a nineteenth-century biographer shaped a spiritual model. Read with attention to the author's evaluative tone and purpose; do not treat the whole book as neutral historiography. It is short, suited to chapter-by-chapter reading alongside relevant historical background for a fuller understanding of the figure and his era.Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in eighteenth-century Anglo-American religious revival and biography
- Readers wishing to understand Ryle's biographical style and theological stance
- Students and researchers of church history or the evangelical tradition
- English learners needing public-domain biographical sketches as reading material
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting neutral academic historiography
- Readers with no interest in religious figures or theological issues
- Researchers needing in-depth social or political history analysis
Reading tips
- Read the introduction or first chapter first to clarify Ryle's purpose and evaluative stance before entering the life narrative.
- Trace Whitefield's faith turning points, preaching activity, and controversies chronologically, taking brief notes.
- Read alongside background on eighteenth-century Anglo-American religious revival to avoid understanding the figure in isolation.
- Note how the author selects materials and words, distinguishing historical narration from biographical evaluation.
About the publisher
Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.
Contents
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
FAQ
Is this book a complete academic biography?
No. The title itself calls it a "sketch"; its length and approach are those of a summary introduction to the life and ministry, with the author's clear theological evaluation, and it is not equivalent to a full academic biography.What is Ryle's stance in writing this book?
Ryle was a nineteenth-century evangelical pastor; the book presents Whitefield with emphasis on spiritual example and faith ministry, and its evaluative tone is evident. Readers should take the author's stance into account rather than treating it as neutral narration.What background knowledge is needed before reading?
A basic understanding of eighteenth-century Anglo-American religious revival and evangelical preaching traditions is helpful. If the figures and terms are entirely unfamiliar, consult brief background materials first for smoother reading.This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816-1900 Author · British · 1816–1900J. C. Ryle (John Charles Ryle, 1816–1900) was an Anglican bishop and Evangelical writer. Public information on his early education and ecclesiastical career is limited, and this page makes no conjecture about them. Two of his works are held here: Practical Religion and A Sketch of the Life and Labors of George Whitefield. The former addresses ordinary believers, discussing prayer, Bible reading, holy living, and other everyday practices of faith in plain, earnest exhortation; the latter is a biographical account of the eighteenth-century evangelist Whitefield's life and labors, reflecting the author's concern for the Evangelical revival tradition. His writing avoids speculation and aims to awaken the reader's religious conscience through clear, simple prose, and has circulated widely among Evangelical readers in the English-speaking world.