Jonathan Edwards on the Doctrine of Original Sin

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Biographical Information JONATHAN EDWARDS was born to the Reverend Timothy Edwards and his wife Ester, October 5, 1703. He was the fifth of eleven born to the Reverend; who made their home in East Windsor, Connecticut. Being from an evangelical Puritan household, he was also expected to study and learn the Bible as well as the strict tenants of Calvinism. The debates over his Reformed Calvinist faith and the “liberal” movements captivated his thoughts and his pen. He considered Anglican Arminianism and Deism to be heresy that stood in direct opposition to his Reformed Puritan upbringing. He synthesized Protestant Calvinism with Newtonian physics and Locke’s psychology. Beauty, to Edwards was an essential aspect of any entity. Beauty subsisted in harmony of agreement of its parts. Today we can see that this contribution still exists in modern ethics. At his graduation at Yale, Edwards gave the valedictorian speech to his graduating class. By now he was well grounded in philosophy. After this he spent two years in New Haven studying theology. Edwards came to Northampton, Massachusetts on August 29, 1726 to assist Solomon Stoddard, a famous revivalist and Edwards’ grandfather. Interestingly, Edwards was considered a scholar-pastor, where his rule for himself was to study 13 hours a day. Upon the death of Stoddard on February 11, 1729 he took the helm of the largest and most influential church outside of Boston. Out of necessity, his attentions turned from the theoretical to practical divinity. Edwards would remain the under-shepherd at Northampton for nearly twenty-four years. What is commonly known as the “First Great Awakening” found its initial stirrings here, beginning in 1734. Edwards oversaw these mighty moves of the Spiri... ... middle of paper ... ... New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. —. The Great Christian doctrine of Original sin Defended. Boston, New England: S Kneeland opposite to the Probate Office in Queen-ftreet, 1758. Harwood, Adam PhD. The Spiritual Condition of Infants. Eugine: Wipf & Stock, 2011. JohnWesley. "Original Sin." Sermons of John Wesley. Edited by Thomas Jaction. n.d. Marsden., George M. A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards. Grand Rapids Mich.: Eerdmans, 2008. Minkema, Kenneth P.;. "Jonathan Edwards: Biography." The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University. 2003. http://edwards.yale.edu/research/about-edwards/biography (accessed september 27, 2011). Wainwright, William. "Jonathan Edwards,The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy." http://plato.stanford.edu. Edited by Edward N. Zalta. Fall 2009. url{http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2009/entries/edwards/ (accessed september 24, 2011).

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