Jonathan Edwards A Life
“Jonathan Edwards A Life” by George M. Marsden, published by Yale University Press in July 2004, is a comprehensive biography that delves into the life of Jonathan Edwards, a significant figure in American history. Spanning 615 pages, this edition presents an in-depth exploration of Edwards’s role as a controversial theologian and his influence during the Great Awakening of the eighteenth century. Marsden draws on newly available sources to illustrate the cultural and religious conflicts of colonial New England that shaped Edwards’s life and thought.
Readers will find a detailed examination of Edwards as both a prominent American and a complex thinker, navigating the tensions between his Puritan roots and the emerging modern world influenced by the Enlightenment. The biography offers insights into the historical context of Edwards’s life, highlighting the interplay of various religious and cultural forces. This meticulously researched work provides a nuanced portrait of Edwards, making it a valuable resource for those interested in biography, religious history, and the evolution of American thought.
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2003 Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography
“The finest biography of this towering figure. . . . Marsden guides readers through Edwards’s profoundly alien world with authority and fluidity.”–Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic Monthly
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is a towering figure in American history. A controversial theologian and the author of the famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, he ignited the momentous Great Awakening of the eighteenth century.
In this definitive and long-awaited biography, Jonathan Edwards emerges as both a great American and a brilliant Christian. George Marsden evokes the world of colonial New England in which Edwards was reared–a frontier civilization at the center of a conflict between Native Americans, French Catholics, and English Protestants. Drawing on newly available sources, Marsden demonstrates how these cultural and religious battles shaped Edwards’s life and thought. Marsden reveals Edwards as a complex thinker and human being who struggled to reconcile his Puritan heritage with the secular, modern world emerging out of the Enlightenment. In this, Edwards’s life anticipated the deep contradictions of our American culture.
Meticulously researched and beautifully composed, this biography offers a compelling portrait of an eminent American.
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