John Williamson Nevin (1803-1886) was a conservative opponent of the enthusiastic revivalism that characterized 19th-century American Protestantism.

Born in Franklin Country, Pa., on Feb. 20, 1803, John Williamson Nevin grew up on his parents' farm, imbibing their strict Presbyterianism. He graduated at the age of 19 from Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., and then attended Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey, although uncertain of his call to the ministry. After completing studies at Princeton, he accepted appointment as professor of biblical literature at Western Theological Seminary in Allegheny, Pa. Finally, in 1835, he received ordination as a minister in the Presbyterian Church.

A scholar by temperament, Nevin learned the German language and studied the German theologians of the day. His newspaper articles on temperance and abolition spread his reputation; in 1840 the trustees of the German Reformed Church's seminary at Mercersburg, Pa., offered him a professorship in theology. It was a big...