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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2014
In 1734, one sermon critic complained:
It [preaching] is a laudable Method of haranguing the Populace, without Fear of Contradiction, or Reply. It is of the most dangerous Consequence, because it is not the Subject of free Examination, unless the Discourse should be publish'd from the Press: And even then, too many who heard it are not likely to attend the Controversy. Few read printed Sermons, tho Numbers hear them preach'd. And those unwary Multitudes, that, sway'd by the Authority of the Priesthood, attend the Preacher with too much Credulity.
What this critic considered the great danger of preaching, most preachers would have, of course, considered a boon, for they hoped that they could sway their audiences and that their sermons would not be subject to detailed criticism. Some preachers feared that their sermons would not be received charitably by critical hearers, and this anxiety was only heightened when preachers ventured into print, for as this critic noted, it was these sermons that were most likely to be subject to ‘free Examination’. The response to most preaching was oral, as either comments or occasional outbursts during sermons, or in discussions after the sermon in church, on the way home, in a coffee house or tavern. Some hearers also recorded their responses in commonplace books, diaries or letters to friends, family or acquaintances.
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