Jonathan Edwards: The Great Awakener (Book)
Those who remember Jonathan Edwards (1703--1758) only for his sermon
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" overlook his many and varied
contributions to American church history. A man of powerful intellect,
Edwards is credited with instigating America's first Great Awakening.
Beginning in 1734, six sudden conversions in his parish turned into a
flood of thirty per week, ultimately drawing people from up to a hundred
miles away. In addition to preaching, Edwards also wrote several books,
including Treatise on Religious Affections, served as a missionary to
Native American tribes, and was briefly president of the College of New
Jersey (later Princeton). He died at age fifty-four after receiving a
smallpox inoculation.
