Revival is the arguable heartbeat of evangelical Christianity. Though a theologically diverse and globally diffused phenomenon, evangelicalism originated in a distinctly Calvinistic milieu. Many Puritans in the seventeenth century, ""evangelicals before the revivals,"" emphasized the work of the Holy Spirit, including the importance of personal conversion. Unlike theologically Arminian proponents of revival such as Charles G. Finney, many Puritans and early evangelicals believed and taught that the absolute sovereignty of God was compatible with human responsibility. Calvinistic Baptists in the early eighteenth century who rejected this tension declined numerically, yet a new generation of pastors led their denomination through this impasse. Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) defended Reformed