Jonathan Edwards as Theologican

Edwards was a student of Locke and Newton and was himself a figure in the Enlightenment, but he also criticized that movement and sought to rectify what he considered important in it with his view of a Christian God. Underlying Edwards' thought is a conception of reason derived from Locke and others and colored by Edwards' own experience. Religion was a vital element in Edwards' life perhaps from the beginning, and the decisive period seems to have been during his last years of study at Yale, and his religious thought seems to have arrived fully developed:

So far as the available evidence tells us, there never was a religiously aware Jonathan Edwards whose piety was of a different sort than that which carried his life's work. Edwards' religion was from its root--with or without what he would have called conversion and with

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and lamenting in my heart that I had not turned to God sooner, that I might have had more time to grow in grace (Edwards 292). Edwards is explicit about how he views his union with God and how he views the matter of holiness, the holiness sought through communion with God: Holiness. . . appeared to me to be of a sweet, pleasant, charming, serene, calm nature. It seemed to be it brought an inexpressible purity, brightness, peacefulness and ravishment to the soul, and that it made the soul like a field or garden of God, with all manner of pleasant flowers; that is, all pleasant, delightful and undisturbed, enjoying a sweet calm, and the gently vivifying beams of the sun (Edwards 294). The sensory nature of much of this imagery should be clear--the flowers, the warmth of the sun, and even the various emotional responses to the concept of holiness (which to Edwards is a palpable reality and not merely a concept). Edwards also repeats again and again his own inner feeling of longing, longing to know God, longing to understand, and "great longing for the advancement of Christ's kingdom in the world" (Edwards 294). Here as well Edwards uses the language of sensory experience to describe the process experienced or desired. If he h
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1796
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)