Douglas A. Sweeney
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195154283
- eISBN:
- 9780199834709
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195154282.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Sweeney reconstructs the New England religious culture that shaped the life of Taylor, and that derived much of its theological substance from the two distinctive foci of Edwardsian New Divinity: its ...
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Sweeney reconstructs the New England religious culture that shaped the life of Taylor, and that derived much of its theological substance from the two distinctive foci of Edwardsian New Divinity: its distinction between natural and moral ability, and its insistence on immediate repentance. With the establishment of the New Divinity “schools of the prophets,” men such as Joseph Bellamy, Charles Backus, and Nathanael Emmons influenced the next generation of Edwardsian preachers and leaders. The direct result of widespread Edwardsian preaching in New England was what could only be called an Edwardsian enculturation of Calvinist New England by the first third of the nineteenth century.Less
Sweeney reconstructs the New England religious culture that shaped the life of Taylor, and that derived much of its theological substance from the two distinctive foci of Edwardsian New Divinity: its distinction between natural and moral ability, and its insistence on immediate repentance. With the establishment of the New Divinity “schools of the prophets,” men such as Joseph Bellamy, Charles Backus, and Nathanael Emmons influenced the next generation of Edwardsian preachers and leaders. The direct result of widespread Edwardsian preaching in New England was what could only be called an Edwardsian enculturation of Calvinist New England by the first third of the nineteenth century.
John Saillant
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195157178
- eISBN:
- 9780199834617
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195157176.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Lemuel Haynes was schooled in the New Divinity, the Calvinist theology of the students of Jonathan Edwards. Haynes declared himself a follower of Samuel Hopkins, the leading interpreter of Edwardsean ...
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Lemuel Haynes was schooled in the New Divinity, the Calvinist theology of the students of Jonathan Edwards. Haynes declared himself a follower of Samuel Hopkins, the leading interpreter of Edwardsean theology in the last third of the eighteenth century. Hopkins favored colonization, the expatriation of African Americans, but he also developed at length a claim that whites should exhibit disinterested benevolence in their relations with blacks. Edwardsean ethics cast disinterested benevolence as the highest moral state. Haynes argued that disinterested benevolence could unite black and white and, in fact, according to the scriptural covenant between God and Abraham, mandated the manumission of slaves and their acceptance into free society.Less
Lemuel Haynes was schooled in the New Divinity, the Calvinist theology of the students of Jonathan Edwards. Haynes declared himself a follower of Samuel Hopkins, the leading interpreter of Edwardsean theology in the last third of the eighteenth century. Hopkins favored colonization, the expatriation of African Americans, but he also developed at length a claim that whites should exhibit disinterested benevolence in their relations with blacks. Edwardsean ethics cast disinterested benevolence as the highest moral state. Haynes argued that disinterested benevolence could unite black and white and, in fact, according to the scriptural covenant between God and Abraham, mandated the manumission of slaves and their acceptance into free society.
Mark A. Noll
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195151114
- eISBN:
- 9780199834532
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195151119.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Before 1790, and despite the massive ideological changes sparked by the American Revolution, theology in America remained mostly in continuity with traditions from the Old World. The innovations ...
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Before 1790, and despite the massive ideological changes sparked by the American Revolution, theology in America remained mostly in continuity with traditions from the Old World. The innovations present in American theology up to 1790 resulted more from importing British and continental advances rather than from indigenous development in the American context.Less
Before 1790, and despite the massive ideological changes sparked by the American Revolution, theology in America remained mostly in continuity with traditions from the Old World. The innovations present in American theology up to 1790 resulted more from importing British and continental advances rather than from indigenous development in the American context.
Bruce Kuklick
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199260164
- eISBN:
- 9780191597893
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199260168.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
From 1750–1850, a philosophical theology rooted in the work of Jonathan Edwards dominated speculative thought in America. A group of Edwards's students, followers of ‘New Divinity,’ were led by ...
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From 1750–1850, a philosophical theology rooted in the work of Jonathan Edwards dominated speculative thought in America. A group of Edwards's students, followers of ‘New Divinity,’ were led by Joseph Bellamy, Samuel Hopkins, and Nathaniel Emmons, who defended both God's sovereignty and human free will. They eventually professionalized in schools of theology led by Charles Hodge at Princeton, and, at Yale by Nathaniel William Taylor, a brilliant innovator and expositor of ideas that injected Scottish realism into theological debate.Less
From 1750–1850, a philosophical theology rooted in the work of Jonathan Edwards dominated speculative thought in America. A group of Edwards's students, followers of ‘New Divinity,’ were led by Joseph Bellamy, Samuel Hopkins, and Nathaniel Emmons, who defended both God's sovereignty and human free will. They eventually professionalized in schools of theology led by Charles Hodge at Princeton, and, at Yale by Nathaniel William Taylor, a brilliant innovator and expositor of ideas that injected Scottish realism into theological debate.
Michael J. McClymond and Gerald R. McDermott
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199791606
- eISBN:
- 9780199932290
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199791606.003.0037
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Although there are numerous difficulties in identifying Edwards's theological legacy, the first distinct group of followers to emerge was referred to as the New Divinity. From the outset, there was ...
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Although there are numerous difficulties in identifying Edwards's theological legacy, the first distinct group of followers to emerge was referred to as the New Divinity. From the outset, there was significant opposition to Edwardsean theology from Arminians and from liberalizing Congregationalists (or Old Lights). Appropriating and adapting Edwards's theology proved to be problematic not only because of the complexity of ideas, but also because of a lack of access to his materials. Ultimately the New Divinity authors moved beyond Edwards by heightening human responsibility, rejecting imputation, and removing the distinction between moral inability and natural ability. Despite these changes, these Edwardseans venerated Edwards and believed that his legacy should endure. Edwardsean teaching underlay much of nineteenth-century evangelical expansion in missions, antislavery (abolitionism), education, and social reform.Less
Although there are numerous difficulties in identifying Edwards's theological legacy, the first distinct group of followers to emerge was referred to as the New Divinity. From the outset, there was significant opposition to Edwardsean theology from Arminians and from liberalizing Congregationalists (or Old Lights). Appropriating and adapting Edwards's theology proved to be problematic not only because of the complexity of ideas, but also because of a lack of access to his materials. Ultimately the New Divinity authors moved beyond Edwards by heightening human responsibility, rejecting imputation, and removing the distinction between moral inability and natural ability. Despite these changes, these Edwardseans venerated Edwards and believed that his legacy should endure. Edwardsean teaching underlay much of nineteenth-century evangelical expansion in missions, antislavery (abolitionism), education, and social reform.
Mark A. Noll
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195151114
- eISBN:
- 9780199834532
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195151119.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Between 1790 and 1840, Reformed theology reached the summit of its broad influence in American culture. With New England's Congregationalists in the lead, and then joined by mid‐state and southern ...
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Between 1790 and 1840, Reformed theology reached the summit of its broad influence in American culture. With New England's Congregationalists in the lead, and then joined by mid‐state and southern Presbyterians, the Reformed theologians engaged in the most serious religious and public debates of the years. These debates led to the production of a great surge of theological literature, most of which was significantly influenced by the new conditions of American public life. The rise of Unitarianism during this period presented a special challenge to more traditional Calvinist theologians.Less
Between 1790 and 1840, Reformed theology reached the summit of its broad influence in American culture. With New England's Congregationalists in the lead, and then joined by mid‐state and southern Presbyterians, the Reformed theologians engaged in the most serious religious and public debates of the years. These debates led to the production of a great surge of theological literature, most of which was significantly influenced by the new conditions of American public life. The rise of Unitarianism during this period presented a special challenge to more traditional Calvinist theologians.
Molly Oshatz
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199751686
- eISBN:
- 9780199918799
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751686.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter explains why the slavery debates that occurred in America before the antebellum era did not alter American theology. Operating in a different historical and rhetorical context, earlier ...
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This chapter explains why the slavery debates that occurred in America before the antebellum era did not alter American theology. Operating in a different historical and rhetorical context, earlier antislavery figures, including Quakers and American Revolutionary-era New Divinity theologians, were able to focus their attention on the particular evils of Southern slavery and thereby to avoid conflicts between their antislavery and biblical commitments.Less
This chapter explains why the slavery debates that occurred in America before the antebellum era did not alter American theology. Operating in a different historical and rhetorical context, earlier antislavery figures, including Quakers and American Revolutionary-era New Divinity theologians, were able to focus their attention on the particular evils of Southern slavery and thereby to avoid conflicts between their antislavery and biblical commitments.
John Saillant
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195157178
- eISBN:
- 9780199834617
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195157176.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
Lemuel Haynes was separated at birth from his parents, described in his lifetime as an African man and a white New England woman. Haynes matured as an indentured servant in Granville, Massachusetts, ...
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Lemuel Haynes was separated at birth from his parents, described in his lifetime as an African man and a white New England woman. Haynes matured as an indentured servant in Granville, Massachusetts, and served as a militiaman, a minuteman, and a soldier in the War of Independence. His essay, ”Liberty Further Extended” (1770s), attacked the slave trade and slavery. Like his contemporary Olaudah Equiano, Haynes was loyal to Calvinism. He studied with ministers of the New Divinity persuasion as he prepared for his ordination, which occurred in 1785.Less
Lemuel Haynes was separated at birth from his parents, described in his lifetime as an African man and a white New England woman. Haynes matured as an indentured servant in Granville, Massachusetts, and served as a militiaman, a minuteman, and a soldier in the War of Independence. His essay, ”Liberty Further Extended” (1770s), attacked the slave trade and slavery. Like his contemporary Olaudah Equiano, Haynes was loyal to Calvinism. He studied with ministers of the New Divinity persuasion as he prepared for his ordination, which occurred in 1785.
Oliver D. Crisp and Douglas A. Sweeney
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199756292
- eISBN:
- 9780199950379
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199756292.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
The Introduction to the volume sets out the background to the New England Theology, its development, and its importance. It also includes an outline of each chapter of the book.
The Introduction to the volume sets out the background to the New England Theology, its development, and its importance. It also includes an outline of each chapter of the book.
Mark A. Noll
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195151114
- eISBN:
- 9780199834532
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195151119.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
The historic Calvinist churches that still enjoyed significant leadership in American public life thoroughly incorporated common sense and republican emphases into their theology. In general, these ...
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The historic Calvinist churches that still enjoyed significant leadership in American public life thoroughly incorporated common sense and republican emphases into their theology. In general, these theologians condemned the revolutions in France and were suspicious of the “infidel” Thomas Jefferson and his friend James Madison. American Calvinists were, however, not unified; their disputes grew from the different approaches they took to the problems of religious organization and national civilization posed by the new American nation.Less
The historic Calvinist churches that still enjoyed significant leadership in American public life thoroughly incorporated common sense and republican emphases into their theology. In general, these theologians condemned the revolutions in France and were suspicious of the “infidel” Thomas Jefferson and his friend James Madison. American Calvinists were, however, not unified; their disputes grew from the different approaches they took to the problems of religious organization and national civilization posed by the new American nation.
Mark Valeri
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199756292
- eISBN:
- 9780199950379
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199756292.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter describes the relationship between Jonathan Edwards and his earliest followers, New Divinity men such as Joseph Bellamy and Samuel Hopkins. Surveying recent studies of Edwards, it ...
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This chapter describes the relationship between Jonathan Edwards and his earliest followers, New Divinity men such as Joseph Bellamy and Samuel Hopkins. Surveying recent studies of Edwards, it contends that he forged what can be called the evangelical Calvinist tradition by shaping Calvinist doctrine to Enlightenment moral discourses fixed on reason, right sentiment, and the social conventions of politeness. New Divinity preachers developed Edwards’s thought in a contest with rational critics of Calvinism on one hand and radical evangelical groups on the other. The result was a distinction between a type of evangelicalism that maintained cosmopolitan standards of social propriety and moral benevolence over and against a separatist and enthusiastic strain in the evangelical movement. The New Divinity accordingly allied itself with established religious conventions, albeit with an evangelical agenda, while other evangelicals developed a theological mind-set that challenged widespread notions of reason, responsibility, and politeness.Less
This chapter describes the relationship between Jonathan Edwards and his earliest followers, New Divinity men such as Joseph Bellamy and Samuel Hopkins. Surveying recent studies of Edwards, it contends that he forged what can be called the evangelical Calvinist tradition by shaping Calvinist doctrine to Enlightenment moral discourses fixed on reason, right sentiment, and the social conventions of politeness. New Divinity preachers developed Edwards’s thought in a contest with rational critics of Calvinism on one hand and radical evangelical groups on the other. The result was a distinction between a type of evangelicalism that maintained cosmopolitan standards of social propriety and moral benevolence over and against a separatist and enthusiastic strain in the evangelical movement. The New Divinity accordingly allied itself with established religious conventions, albeit with an evangelical agenda, while other evangelicals developed a theological mind-set that challenged widespread notions of reason, responsibility, and politeness.
Kenneth P. Minkema
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199756292
- eISBN:
- 9780199950379
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199756292.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Jonathan Edwards was deeply involved in education, as a tutor at Yale College, with catechists in his congregation at Northampton, with Indian children at Stockbridge, and as president of the College ...
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Jonathan Edwards was deeply involved in education, as a tutor at Yale College, with catechists in his congregation at Northampton, with Indian children at Stockbridge, and as president of the College of New Jersey. He also took aspiring ministerial candidates into his home, teaching them theology. From this central pedagogical impulse, Edwards’s own students, most famously Samuel Hopkins and Joseph Bellamy, used a “mentor’s” model for rusticating ministerial students and building “schools of the prophets” of a home-grown variety. New Divinity men and women became teachers, professors, and presidents of educational institutions, training new missionaries in particular. With the mainstreaming of the New England Theology, however, divisions arose within the movement over the true meaning and inheritors of Edwards’s legacy; feuds broke out among institutions, including breakaway schools such as the East Windsor Seminary. After the movement dissolved, some educators carried the torch of Edwardsianism into the twentieth century.Less
Jonathan Edwards was deeply involved in education, as a tutor at Yale College, with catechists in his congregation at Northampton, with Indian children at Stockbridge, and as president of the College of New Jersey. He also took aspiring ministerial candidates into his home, teaching them theology. From this central pedagogical impulse, Edwards’s own students, most famously Samuel Hopkins and Joseph Bellamy, used a “mentor’s” model for rusticating ministerial students and building “schools of the prophets” of a home-grown variety. New Divinity men and women became teachers, professors, and presidents of educational institutions, training new missionaries in particular. With the mainstreaming of the New England Theology, however, divisions arose within the movement over the true meaning and inheritors of Edwards’s legacy; feuds broke out among institutions, including breakaway schools such as the East Windsor Seminary. After the movement dissolved, some educators carried the torch of Edwardsianism into the twentieth century.
Douglas A. Sweeney
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195154283
- eISBN:
- 9780199834709
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195154282.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter briefly outlines the Taylor family history, including Nathaniel William Taylor's puritan roots in New England. Although Nathaniel William Taylor's grandfather and family patriarch, ...
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This chapter briefly outlines the Taylor family history, including Nathaniel William Taylor's puritan roots in New England. Although Nathaniel William Taylor's grandfather and family patriarch, Nathanael Taylor, was a prominent Old Calvinist, Nathaniel William Taylor's religious horizons were expanded under the tutelage of Azel Backus, the prominent New Divinity preacher and successor to Joseph Bellamy's pulpit in Bethlehem, Connecticut. Backus molded the young Taylor's mind – as well as his piety and his preaching style – after the Edwardsians.Less
This chapter briefly outlines the Taylor family history, including Nathaniel William Taylor's puritan roots in New England. Although Nathaniel William Taylor's grandfather and family patriarch, Nathanael Taylor, was a prominent Old Calvinist, Nathaniel William Taylor's religious horizons were expanded under the tutelage of Azel Backus, the prominent New Divinity preacher and successor to Joseph Bellamy's pulpit in Bethlehem, Connecticut. Backus molded the young Taylor's mind – as well as his piety and his preaching style – after the Edwardsians.
Rhys S. Bezzant
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- July 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190221201
- eISBN:
- 9780190221225
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190221201.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Part of the intriguing power of Edwards’s mentoring is the legacy he creates during and after the American Revolution. He trains his mentees to be not mere mimics but rather leaders who can reason ...
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Part of the intriguing power of Edwards’s mentoring is the legacy he creates during and after the American Revolution. He trains his mentees to be not mere mimics but rather leaders who can reason from first principles and adapt their proclamation to the particular social context of their ministry. Edwards spawns a school of ministry known subsequently as the New Divinity, which institutionalizes Edwards’s revivalist impulses in founding Andover Seminary in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1808. Their successes in New England in local church settings and their influence on debates of the early republic are dramatic, evidenced in federalist political philosophy as well as the cause of abolition. Edwards takes traditional mentoring practices and retools them to operate in a modern and democratic world.Less
Part of the intriguing power of Edwards’s mentoring is the legacy he creates during and after the American Revolution. He trains his mentees to be not mere mimics but rather leaders who can reason from first principles and adapt their proclamation to the particular social context of their ministry. Edwards spawns a school of ministry known subsequently as the New Divinity, which institutionalizes Edwards’s revivalist impulses in founding Andover Seminary in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1808. Their successes in New England in local church settings and their influence on debates of the early republic are dramatic, evidenced in federalist political philosophy as well as the cause of abolition. Edwards takes traditional mentoring practices and retools them to operate in a modern and democratic world.
Peter Jauhiainen
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199756292
- eISBN:
- 9780199950379
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199756292.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Samuel Hopkins was a chief expositor of Edwardsian theology, an innovative reformulation of Reformed doctrine that responded to the challenges of the Enlightenment. His appropriation of key ...
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Samuel Hopkins was a chief expositor of Edwardsian theology, an innovative reformulation of Reformed doctrine that responded to the challenges of the Enlightenment. His appropriation of key Enlightenment concepts and his penchant for logical disputation gave his theology distinctive features that opponents derisively called “New Divinity” or “Hopkinsianism.” Arguing that divine activity is constrained by benevolence, he concluded that sin must be an “advantage” to the universe since God acts always to promote the highest good. Hopkins defined human holiness as “disinterested benevolence,” which entailed surrendering self-interest for the sake of the whole, including willingness to be damned for God’s glory. And countering charges that Reformed doctrines of election and grace were morally irresponsible, he asserted that sinners were blameworthy for their moral inability to repent—indeed the unrepentant, “awakened” sinners were guiltier than those who were ignorant because of their rejection of the gospel.Less
Samuel Hopkins was a chief expositor of Edwardsian theology, an innovative reformulation of Reformed doctrine that responded to the challenges of the Enlightenment. His appropriation of key Enlightenment concepts and his penchant for logical disputation gave his theology distinctive features that opponents derisively called “New Divinity” or “Hopkinsianism.” Arguing that divine activity is constrained by benevolence, he concluded that sin must be an “advantage” to the universe since God acts always to promote the highest good. Hopkins defined human holiness as “disinterested benevolence,” which entailed surrendering self-interest for the sake of the whole, including willingness to be damned for God’s glory. And countering charges that Reformed doctrines of election and grace were morally irresponsible, he asserted that sinners were blameworthy for their moral inability to repent—indeed the unrepentant, “awakened” sinners were guiltier than those who were ignorant because of their rejection of the gospel.
Paul C. Gutjahr
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199740420
- eISBN:
- 9780199894703
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199740420.003.0014
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Chapter Fourteen surveys the diverse theological landscape of the New England in the period after the American Revolution. Special attention is paid to the developing theologies of Harvard, Yale and ...
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Chapter Fourteen surveys the diverse theological landscape of the New England in the period after the American Revolution. Special attention is paid to the developing theologies of Harvard, Yale and Andover. Calvinism was fracturing during this time, and Hodge while traveling to Boston with his friend Benjamin Wisner met many of the important theologians involved in debates surrounding these breaks. He was particularly impressed by Moses Stuart of Andover.Less
Chapter Fourteen surveys the diverse theological landscape of the New England in the period after the American Revolution. Special attention is paid to the developing theologies of Harvard, Yale and Andover. Calvinism was fracturing during this time, and Hodge while traveling to Boston with his friend Benjamin Wisner met many of the important theologians involved in debates surrounding these breaks. He was particularly impressed by Moses Stuart of Andover.
Kathryn Gin Lum
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199843114
- eISBN:
- 9780199375196
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199843114.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter asks why hell survived the controversy over universal salvation in the early republic. It begins with the awakenings of the mid-eighteenth century and the theological innovations of ...
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This chapter asks why hell survived the controversy over universal salvation in the early republic. It begins with the awakenings of the mid-eighteenth century and the theological innovations of Jonathan Edwards and Samuel Hopkins. The chapter then focuses on three Murrays—John (“Salvation”), John (“Damnation”), and Judith—who found themselves on opposite sides of the Revolutionary-era debate over the justness of eternal hell. Despite the optimism of early republican political leaders, hell survived the challenges of Universalism because its defenders, including the New Divinity heirs of Edwards, argued that it was necessary to ensure virtue in the new republic.Less
This chapter asks why hell survived the controversy over universal salvation in the early republic. It begins with the awakenings of the mid-eighteenth century and the theological innovations of Jonathan Edwards and Samuel Hopkins. The chapter then focuses on three Murrays—John (“Salvation”), John (“Damnation”), and Judith—who found themselves on opposite sides of the Revolutionary-era debate over the justness of eternal hell. Despite the optimism of early republican political leaders, hell survived the challenges of Universalism because its defenders, including the New Divinity heirs of Edwards, argued that it was necessary to ensure virtue in the new republic.
Samuel Hopkins
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199916955
- eISBN:
- 9780190258368
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199916955.003.0057
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter presents excerpts from Samuel Hopkins's The System of Doctrines, Contained in Divine Revelation, Explained and Defended (1793). Hopkins is arguably the most creative thinker among ...
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This chapter presents excerpts from Samuel Hopkins's The System of Doctrines, Contained in Divine Revelation, Explained and Defended (1793). Hopkins is arguably the most creative thinker among Jonathan Edwards's followers. His innovative modifications to Edwards's thought became known as “Hopkinsianism,” in which he posited true virtue in ethical terms as opposed to Edwards's definition of virtue aesthetically as benevolence to “Being in general.” Hopkins insists that true self-love meant being willing to sacrifice personal interests for the greater good of the whole. He promoted the notion of disinterested benevolence whereby a person completely and willingly submitted to the divine will no matter what the cost. His two-volume System of Doctrines produced a systematic theology of the New Divinity movement that identified God as a moral legislator who would not tolerate selfishness. While advocating the complete sovereignty of God, Hopkins tried to justify the existence of evil in the System of Doctrines.Less
This chapter presents excerpts from Samuel Hopkins's The System of Doctrines, Contained in Divine Revelation, Explained and Defended (1793). Hopkins is arguably the most creative thinker among Jonathan Edwards's followers. His innovative modifications to Edwards's thought became known as “Hopkinsianism,” in which he posited true virtue in ethical terms as opposed to Edwards's definition of virtue aesthetically as benevolence to “Being in general.” Hopkins insists that true self-love meant being willing to sacrifice personal interests for the greater good of the whole. He promoted the notion of disinterested benevolence whereby a person completely and willingly submitted to the divine will no matter what the cost. His two-volume System of Doctrines produced a systematic theology of the New Divinity movement that identified God as a moral legislator who would not tolerate selfishness. While advocating the complete sovereignty of God, Hopkins tried to justify the existence of evil in the System of Doctrines.
Lemuel Haynes
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199916955
- eISBN:
- 9780190258368
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199916955.003.0062
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter presents excerpts from Lemuel Haynes's The Influence of Civil Government on Religion, a sermon delivered at Rutland, West Parish, in Vermont on September 4, 1798. Haynes was an American ...
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This chapter presents excerpts from Lemuel Haynes's The Influence of Civil Government on Religion, a sermon delivered at Rutland, West Parish, in Vermont on September 4, 1798. Haynes was an American abolitionist, revivalist, and theologian who grew up an indentured servant on the Massachusetts frontier. He joined the minutemen in 1774 and served as a soldier in the War of Independence. After the War, Haynes was tutored by the New Divinity minister Daniel Farrand of Canaan, Connecticut, becoming a stalwart of evangelical Calvinism. In 1788 he took a post at a Congregational church in Rutland, Vermont. Like other New Divinity men, Haynes interpreted the slave trade and slavery as part of God's providential design. He was an orthodox preacher, a revivalist, and an adherent of Revolutionary-era republicanism. In The Influence of Civil Government on Religion, Haynes contrasted a godly American government guided by George Washington and John Adams to the chaotic and sinful French Reign of Terror.Less
This chapter presents excerpts from Lemuel Haynes's The Influence of Civil Government on Religion, a sermon delivered at Rutland, West Parish, in Vermont on September 4, 1798. Haynes was an American abolitionist, revivalist, and theologian who grew up an indentured servant on the Massachusetts frontier. He joined the minutemen in 1774 and served as a soldier in the War of Independence. After the War, Haynes was tutored by the New Divinity minister Daniel Farrand of Canaan, Connecticut, becoming a stalwart of evangelical Calvinism. In 1788 he took a post at a Congregational church in Rutland, Vermont. Like other New Divinity men, Haynes interpreted the slave trade and slavery as part of God's providential design. He was an orthodox preacher, a revivalist, and an adherent of Revolutionary-era republicanism. In The Influence of Civil Government on Religion, Haynes contrasted a godly American government guided by George Washington and John Adams to the chaotic and sinful French Reign of Terror.
Joseph Bellamy
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- March 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199916955
- eISBN:
- 9780190258368
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199916955.003.0023
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter presents excerpts from Joseph Bellamy's 1750 book True Religion Delineated; or, Experimental Religion, As Distinguished from Formality on the One Hand, and Enthusiasm on the Other, Set ...
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This chapter presents excerpts from Joseph Bellamy's 1750 book True Religion Delineated; or, Experimental Religion, As Distinguished from Formality on the One Hand, and Enthusiasm on the Other, Set in a Scriptural and Rational Light. Bellamy is considered one of the most important evangelical theologians of the eighteenth century. Along with Samuel Hopkins, he became a disciple of Jonathan Edwards and progenitor of the “New Divinity” movement. In True Religion Delineated, Bellamy outlined the intricacies of obedience to the law, which he believed true Christianity depended on. He wanted to convince his readers that God's moral law, established before creation, remained alive, even after the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.Less
This chapter presents excerpts from Joseph Bellamy's 1750 book True Religion Delineated; or, Experimental Religion, As Distinguished from Formality on the One Hand, and Enthusiasm on the Other, Set in a Scriptural and Rational Light. Bellamy is considered one of the most important evangelical theologians of the eighteenth century. Along with Samuel Hopkins, he became a disciple of Jonathan Edwards and progenitor of the “New Divinity” movement. In True Religion Delineated, Bellamy outlined the intricacies of obedience to the law, which he believed true Christianity depended on. He wanted to convince his readers that God's moral law, established before creation, remained alive, even after the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.
