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The chief theological concern in Taylor's doctrine of original sin lay in avoiding the notion that sin resided as a property or component of humanity's natural constitution. While many Old Calvinists held to the belief that depravity passed to humans through natural procreation, Taylor argued that this made God the author of sin, an unacceptable conclusion. In opposition to the Exercisers, Tasters, and Tylerites, who put the majority of their emphasis on human inability, the Taylorites worked hard to maintain what they believed to be continuity with the Edwardsian tradition as it related to the doctrine of original sin. Taylor recognized that there was a delicate balance between the doctrines of natural ability and divine dependence that required constant redress. In the end, the difference between Taylor's emphasis on the human ability to obey God in spite of the fact that sin was certain to prevail prior to regeneration proved largely semantic; but even this semantic difference was significant for his relationships with fellow Edwardsians and his identity as a theologian.

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.

This chapter pursues two main goals: (a) demonstrate that natural abilities—and their outstanding expression as gifts—really exist (the mainstream Pronat position), and that recent attacks by a few researchers who deny their existence (the Antinat position) can be easily parried empirically; (b) expose questionable scholarly behavior by some Antinat researchers. Part I surveys the author’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (DMGT), then examines the concept of natural ability, pointing out its six defining characteristics; it finally demonstrates with extensive empirical evidence that both general intelligence and physical natural abilities meet all six defining criteria of a natural ability. Part II illustrates how some influent Antinat researchers deliberately exclude relevant evidence, accumulate irrelevant information, ignore crucial objections, and select from published studies only the results that support their position. These cases of deliberate (mal)practice show their lack of desire to examine objectively all the available evidence and reassess their entrenched beliefs.

The two books by Edwards that received the most attention from both proponents and opponents of the New England Theology were his Freedom of the Will (1754) and Original Sin (1758). This chapter offers a summary of their contents and significance in the development of Edwards’s legacies. In Freedom of the Will, Edwards developed his well-known distinction between the unregenerate sinner’s “natural ability” to repent and live a life that pleases God and her “moral inability” to do the same. In Original Sin, Edwards showed the massive extent of human depravity in an attempt to combat the optimistic anthropologies of more liberal British moralists. Along the way, Edwards emphasized the affectional dynamics of both depravity and regenerate moral living. He also argued for the radical dependence of the universe and humanity on God, from moment to moment, for their existence.

Chapter 3 considers how Edwards's doctrine of God as a simple pure act can make sense of divine freedom. In dialogue with several recent treatments of these matters, the chapter argues that Edwards's position is coherent. God is free, according to Edwards. But he is also determined to act as he does by his own nature. In this way, and unlike many of the Reformed before him, Edwards embraces what we might think of as a consistent theological compatibilism. Not only are creatures determined to act as they do, yet free. God also is determined to act as he does (by his nature), and yet free in those actions.

Music is intimately connected with the experience of rhythmic movement. This unique relation between music and movement depends on a complex set of timing skills that are developed throughout childhood. However, extraordinary cases of rhythmic prodigies seem to challenge our understanding of the normal course of motor development. This chapter examines the existing literature on timing skills in order to identify some milestones in the development of timing skills that are essential for the production of accurate rhythmic movements. We consider the importance of formal music training and weekly practice for the development of timing skills involved in discrete and continuous rhythmic movements, and we describe a preliminary study in which we compare the timing skills of a prodigy musician with those of age-matched musicians and nonmusicians.