Jonathan Edwards and the American Experience

New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. E3 - A first edition (complete numberline) hardcover book in very good condition in very good dust jacket that is mylar protected. Dust jacket has some wrinkling and chipping on the edges and corners, some scattered scratches, rubbing and scuffing, light tanning and shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, some scattered light stains on the page edges, light discoloration and shelf wear. 8.5"x5.75", 298 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Long recognized as a seminal figure in American intellectual history, particularly in the wake of the pioneering work of Perry Miller, Jonathan Edwards has for 250 years been the focus of scholarly attention - "a great man, whether we admire him most as artist, psychologist, preacher, theologian, or philosopher." But because his compelling attraction has extended to scholars of religion, history, literature, and philosophy, with each discipline pursuing its own critical agenda, Edwards scholarship has until now remained elusive and fragmented. This volume is the first to provide an integrated and synthetic vision of Edwards and his immense contributions to American culture, offering the fullest account to date of his role in the development of the American consciousness. Fifteen previously unpublished essays present the foremost contemporary literary, historical, theological, and philosophical thinking on this "perpetually misunderstood stranger" in his historical context, as well as reflections on Edward's continuing influence. The opening essays by Henry F. May, David Levin, and Donald Weber consider Edwards's lasting hold on the American imagination, measuring how firmly the "iron of Calvinism" has gripped America's soul, and discussing historical perceptions of Edwards. The essays of the middle section place Edwards firmly in the culture of which he was a part, confirming the limits of his modernity. Norman Fiering argues for Edwards's importance as intellectual synthesizer; John Wilson examines his eschatology. Studying Edwards's sermons, Walter Kimnach finds orthodoxy where others have found theological novelty. Stephen Stein explores Edwards's interest in biblical typology. Surveying his occasional or weekday sermons, Harry Stout reveals Edwards as theologically traditional and Puritan. Amy S. Lang examines Charles Chauncy's famous critique of Edwards in terms of Old Light theories of language and authority. Finally, the concluding five essays, by James Hoopes, William Breitenbach, David Laurence, Bruce Kulick, and Mark Noll, ponder the 19th-century Protestant heirs to Edwards - literary, philosophical, theological, and psychological. By presenting Edwards in a larger American context comprising both a formative Puritan past and a group of legitimate heirs, it is now possible to consider Edwards and the American experience in terms which recognize his greatness and locate that greatness in history.. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.