Jonathan Edwards compromised with Enlightenment philosophy
The rapid rise to fame of the two leading Whig figures, Isaac Newton and John Locke, was a key factor in the warm reception of the Enlightenment in the American colonies. American colonists read Locke’s and Newton’s popular works with great interest. However, it is unclear just how profoundly English Enlightenment philosophy influenced America’s leading intellectuals. Whether justifiably or not, historian Joseph Blau contends that Locke’s psychology should be accorded greater significance than his political philosophy in shaping a worldview that resonated with Americans. Jonathan Edwards, the evangelist of the First Great Awakening, read Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding at Yale College in 1716, when he was 13 years old. Newton’s physics had been taught there since 1714. Alongside Edwards, Samuel Johnson and other Yale students also became acquainted with these new ideas in science and philosophy. They would later distinguish themselves as leading figures in the intellectual and political life of the colonies.
Jonathan Edwards is sometimes regarded as the last great Puritan, but this view is based on a misinterpretation of his theology. The pastor from Stockbridge, Massachusetts, presented a theological framework with an underlying theme of ethical dualism. His earnest effort to reconcile mutually exclusive theological and philosophical positions hindered his ability to develop a coherent theology. Of great significance was Edwards’s willingness to draw on John Locke in defending the Christian faith. In attempting to reconcile Locke’s empiricism with Christian theology, Edwards compromised with Enlightenment philosophy, which had far-reaching consequences. These consequences led to lasting changes in the entire structure of Puritanism, ultimately resulting in a bloody civil war.
Furthermore, Edwards embraced metaphysical idealism and introduced it as a foreign element into Calvinist Puritanism. He insisted that objects had no existence of their own and that all existence was a mental construct. Consequently, he subjected the essential teachings of Calvinism to a radical reinterpretation that quickly proved to be a destructive force within American Christianity. The biblical foundation of Puritanism ultimately collapsed, not only because of Jonathan Edwards’s theology, which had been distorted by compromises—he continued to hold fast to certain tenets of traditional Calvinism—but also because of the misinterpretation or distortion of his theology by proponents of “New England Theology.” Therefore, Puritanism did not die a sudden death in America as it had in England in 1660 when English mobs, filled with hatred over the collapse of the Commonwealth, dug up Cromwell’s corpse and hanged it. In America, Puritanism was left to its own devices until it came to an end in the course of the 18th century due to its own contradictions. This is why the Enlightenment was able to prevail unhindered in America.
Edwards sowed the seeds that would later bear fruit and play a significant role in the rejection of Calvinism in New England. The crack in the dogmatic dam created by Edwards and others grew so large over time that the torrents of Arminianism and Arianism could no longer be held back, sweeping over the entire church of the American colonies. Historian Richard Mosier correctly wrote that Edwards took the first steps toward emphasizing the sovereignty of man in all earthly matters. By giving Neoplatonic rationalism, metaphysical idealism, and Lockean empiricism a prominent place in religion, he provided the decisive impetus for spreading a democratic mindset within Christian congregations. He did this despite these philosophical positions being mutually exclusive and contradicting Calvinist theology. The momentous consequence was that, from then on, the majority decisions of the citizenry held supreme authority in the church and society rather than God’s will. This ultimately contributed to Americans turning entirely toward Deism and Unitarianism.
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