Jonathan Edwards - Butler County Schools

Jonathan Edwards

1703-1758

Beginnings…  Born in East Windsor, Connecticut to a

devoutly Puritan family.  As a boy, he preached sermons to his friends from a makeshift pulpit he built behind his home.  Learned to speak Latin, Greek, and Hebrew by his 12th birthday.  Wrote many philosophical and scientific essays as a young boy.

Education  Entered Yale at 13 and graduated 4 years

later as the valedictorian.  Went on to earn a Master’s degree in theology.

The Rise…  Edwards became pastor of the

Congregational Church in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1729, after his grandfather, Soloman Stoddard, died. Edwards had been assisting his grandfather for two years.  Became one of the leaders of the Great Awakening, a religious revival that swept the colonies in the 1730’s and 1740’s.

…And Fall  Edwards was dismissed from his position as

Pastor in Northampton in 1750 after members of his church grew displeased with his extreme conservative beliefs and calling out of church members.  Moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts and preached to the Native Americans.

New beginning and the end  Became president of the college of New

Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1757, but died shortly after taking office of a small pox innoculation.

Works…  Edwards was known for his powerful

sermons. Most of his works appealed to reason and logic, except “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” which is highly emotional.  “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was delivered in 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut.  The sermon was said to have caused listeners to rise up in fits of hysteria.