Jonathan Edwards

1. Jonathan Edwards 1703-1758

2. 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.

3. Education • Entered Yale at 13 and graduated 4 years later as the valedictorian. • Went on to earn a Master’s degree in theology.

4. 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.

5. …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.

6. 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.

7. 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.