Jonathan Edwards

Edwards, Jonathan 

Born Oct. 5, 1703, in East Windsor, Conn.; died Mar. 22,1758, in Princeton, N.J. American religious philosopher and Calvinist theologian; an opponent of atheism and materialism.

Edwards combined the mysticism of the Cambridge Platonists with views close to those of G. Berkeley and N. de Malebranche. For Edwards, god was the only reality and the cause of all that occurs. At the same time, he differed on a number of points from orthodox Calvinism. Edwards’ ideas were sharply criticized by members of the American Enlightenment.

WORKS

Works, vols. 1–10. New York, 1829–30.
Selections From the Unpublished Writings of Jonathan Edwards. Edinburgh, 1865.

REFERENCES

Iverach, J. Jonathan Edwards. Edinburgh, 1884.
Allen, A. V. G. Jonathan Edwards. Boston-New York, 1889.
MacCracken, J. H. Edwards’ Idealismus. Halle, 1899.
Parkes, H. B. Jonathan Edwards: The Fiery Puritan. New York, 1930.
Cherry, C. The Theology of Jonathan Edwards. Garden City, N.Y., 1968.