Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) was preeminent as a theologian in the eighteenth century American colonies, deeply involved in the religious revival known as the Great Awakening. He was also the first American Puritan, or Calvinist, to recognize the challenges to traditional views of the world posed by figures like John Locke and Isaac Newton. Thus he is a pivotal figure as American thought evolved from heavily religious beginnings toward populism and a new rationalism in the young nation. His many books include Freedom of the Will, Religious Affections, and Original Sin, although he is probably best known for a legendary sermon he titled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

 

Perry Miller’s study of Jonathan Edwards as a writer and an artist is regarded as one of the great studies of “the life of a mind.” He challenges readers to understand Edwards as an intellectual who, living in his own time and place, wrestled with issues relevant to the modern world. This Bison Books edition, with an introduction by John F. Wilson, will help to introduce Jonathan Edwards to a new generation of readers.