Jonathan Edwards

In 1735 Edwards preached repentance to his Congregational church at Northampton, Massachusetts. There were many conversions, and religious fervor spread to neighboring towns. This early phase of the Great Awakening was extended by George Whitefield. Edwards wrote to defend the Awakening against hostile critics, but he also subjected religious experience to careful scrutiny and evaluation. These writings influenced John Wesley and many others. Edwards held to the theological tradition of Calvin, including original sin and divine election. True to his heritage of Puritanism, Edwards saw conversion as the entry point into the Christian life and the visible mark of sainthood. Meanwhile Edwards agreed with John Locke that all knowledge is based on experience. For Edwards "experimental religion" meant that religion must be known firsthand, just as one must taste honey before one can "know" what honey is. Edwards resigned from his congregation in 1750, in a dispute over whether or not a person must be converted before receiving Holy Communion. Edwards continued writing theological treatises on sin and free will, virtue, and God's purpose in creating the world. In 1757 he became president of the College of New Jersey, later named Princeton, but he died shortly thereafter.