Jonathan Edwards is known as one of the most respected thinkers in American history and presided over the Great Awakening, one of the formative colonial events. What many don't realize is Edwards lived during a time of widespread conflict, which eventually touched the people of Northampton personally. Through these collected sermons, many of which are unpublished, Edwards sought to instruct, train, and comfort his congregation during a precarious season in provincial life. These sermons demonstrate the scope of Edwards's greatness: a global thinker intimately connected to the British Empire as well as shepherd of the Northampton flock.
The first part of this collection presents the sermons Edwards preached while the theater of war centered on the continent and the Caribbean. During this phase, Edwards's sermons leveraged martial language to promote the burgeoning revivals. In 1744, war was transplanted to the colonies in which the Northampton congregation personally participated. After a short hiatus of international conflict, warfare spread throughout the colonies. While he served a frontier mission, Edwards prepared his Indian congregation for yet another season of war. These sermons present Edwards as theologian, historian, philosopher, but most importantly, as pastor.
Industry Reviews
“For much of Jonathan Edwards’s life, . . . he and the New England society he lived in were at war. This underappreciated aspect of colonial life reflects the ongoing violence of settler colonialists . . . . In these martial sermons, Edwards could saber-rattle in support of a campaign as well as reflect on divine providence following unexpected victories and disastrous defeats. This volume serves as a timely and sobering reminder of the role of warfare in American life.”
—Kenneth P. Minkema, Yale University
“Jonathan Edwards’s life and ministry were shaped by warfare to a much greater extent than most appreciate. . . . Edwards thought, wrote, and preached about war quite a lot. Many thanks to Christian Cuthbert for driving this point home. More than any scholar before, he has worked us through the context and explored the larger significance of Edwards’s martial ministry.”
—Douglas A. Sweeney, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
“This sparkling edition of Jonathan Edwards’s sermons on politics, war, and imperial-colonial relationships will reorient our understanding of New England’s great evangelical divine. Cuthbert has offered us a remarkable selection of well-edited sermons and provided a lucid introduction and helpful notes. We have rarely seen Edwards from this perspective. This is a compelling edition that will serve as a rich resource.”
—Mark Valeri, Washington University in St. Louis
“In this volume, a window is thrown open to provide light on a trail of Edwards’s thought so easily missed. His musings on the nature of war, refracted through the pastoral concerns of a variety of sermons, illuminate the development of Edwards’s mind as well as the vicissitudes of imperial conflict. A fresh way to engage with Edwards is combined here with fresh insights into his social ethics. A great contribution to color in Edwards’s complex world.”
—Rhys Bezzant, Ridley College
