Protestant Reformers & Pastors Codexery

Jonathan Edwards (theologian)

American revivalist preacher and theologian of the First Great Awakening.

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The First Great Awakening was significantly influenced by Edwards, who also directed early revival efforts at his Northampton, Massachusetts church during 1733–35.[1] After taking up the presidency at the College of New Jersey in Princeton, Edwards passed away from a smallpox inoculation.[2]

Life and work

Edwards was born the fifth of 11 children and only son of Timothy Edwards, a minister at East Windsor, Connecticut.[3] He entered Yale College in 1716 at just under the age of 13.[4] In 1748, there had come a crisis in his relations with his congregation.[5] That same year, Sarah Pierpont became Edwards's wife.[5]

The sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" was given by Edwards at a 1741 revival gathering in Enfield, Connecticut.[2] Rather than raising his voice or shouting, Edwards delivered his sermons in a soft, emotionally charged tone.[6] After his dismissal, Edwards accepted a pastorate in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1751, also serving as a missionary to the Housatonic Indians.[7] March 22, 1758 marked Edwards's death, which was caused by the inoculation he received.[5]

What the cited sources add

A bill of sale from June 1731 records Edwards's purchase of a "Negro girl named Venus" for eighty pounds.[8] Edwards owned several slaves throughout his lifetime, and a "Negro boy named Titus" was listed among the "Quick Stock" in the inventory of his will.[8] Kenneth Minkema, director of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale, has done thorough research on Edwards as a slave owner.[8] The Banner of Truth website describes Edwards as "that greatest of metaphysical divines" and notes he integrated the divine attribute of 'beauty' into his theological contemplation.[9]

The Banner of Truth account states that only Hans Urs von Balthasar has developed the theme of 'theological aesthetics' at length in a way that closely echoes Edwards.[9] According to the ABE Books listing, Edwards's adherents were called New Light Calvinist ministers.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Jonathan Edwards (theologian)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lee 2005, p. 34–41; Marsden 2003, p. 93–95, 105–12, 242–49, 607 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Jonathan Edwards (theologian)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Marsden 2003, p. 93–95, 105–12, 242–49, 607; Marsden 2003, p. 93–95, 105–12, 242–49, 607; "Jonathan Edwards at the College of New Jersey", Princeton University (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Jonathan Edwards (theologian)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Marsden 2003, p. 93–95, 105–12, 242–49, 607; Gardiner Webster 1911, p. 3; Minkema, "Jonathan Edwards on Slavery and the Slave Trade", The William and Mary Quarterly, 1997, p. 823–834 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Jonathan Edwards (theologian)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "A Jonathan Edwards Reader", Yale University Press, 1995, p. xx; Gardiner Webster 1911, p. 3 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Jonathan Edwards (theologian)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gardiner Webster 1911, p. 3 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Jonathan Edwards (theologian)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Marsden 2003, p. 93–95, 105–12, 242–49, 607 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Jonathan Edwards (theologian)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Jonathan Edwards and the Great Awakening: Did You Know?", Christian History Institute; "Jonathan Edwards - Dismissal from Northampton of Jonathan Edwards", Encyclopedia Britannica, 2023-03-18 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Stinson, "The Other Side of the Paper: Jonathan Edwards as Slave-Owner", Valley Advocate, April 5, 2012. facts only, no text reused. valleyadvocate.com
  9. Banner of Truth website, Charity and Its Fruits. facts only, no text reused. banneroftruth.org
  10. ABE Books website, A careful and strict Enquiry into the Modern Prevailing Notions of that Freedom of Will, which is supposed to be essential to Moral Agency, V. facts only, no text reused. abebooks.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Jonathan Edwards (theologian) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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