Jonathan Edwards's Philosophy of History: The Reenchantment of the World in the Age of Enlightenment

369 Pages·2003·1.207 MB·English

by  Avihu Zakai

J E P H
onathan dwards’s hilosophy of istory
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J E P H
onathan dwards’s hilosophy of istory
THE REENCHANTMENT OF THE WORLD
IN THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
A Z
vihu akai
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON AND OXFORD
Copyright©2003byPrincetonUniversityPress
PublishedbyPrincetonUniversityPress,41WilliamStreet,
Princeton,NewJersey08540
IntheUnitedKingdom:PrincetonUniversityPress,
3MarketPlace,Woodstock,OxfordshireOX201SY
AllRightsReserved
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Zakai,Avihu.
JonathanEdwards’sphilosophyofhistory:thereenchantmentoftheworldintheAgeof
Enlightenment/AvihuZakai.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-691-09654-6(alk.paper)
1.Edwards,Jonathan,1703–1758—Contributionsinhistoryofphilosophy.2.History—
Philosophy.3.Enlightenment.I.Title.
B873.Z352003
231.7'6'092—dc21 2002031742
BritishLibraryCataloging-in-PublicationDataisavailable
ThisbookhasbeencomposedinSabonandCentaur
Printedonacid-freepaper.∞
www.pupress.princeton.edu
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Yehoshua Arieli
ANDTOTHECENTEROFTHEOLOGICALINQUIRYINPRINCETON
WHEREMOSTOFTHEBOOKWASWRITTEN
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C
ontents
Abbreviations xi
Preface xiii
Introduction
TheAmericanAugustine 1
EDWARDS’SLIFEOFTHEMIND
One
AShortIntellectualBiography 29
EarlyLife,Education,andWorks 30
EarlyCareerandStudies 35
NorthamptonPastorate 37
TheGreatAwakening 41
LifeandWorksatStockbridge 45
THESOUL
Two
YoungManEdwards:ReligiousConversionandTheologiaGloriae 51
ConstructingtheSelf:Edwards’sConversionMoment 53
ConversionasanExistentialReligiousExperience 58
Edwards’sExperienceofConversion 60
TheMorphologyofEdwards’sConversion 66
ConversionandtheDevelopmentofEdwards’sTheological
andPhilosophicalThought 74
SPACE
Three
TheologyintheAgeofScientificReasoning:Edwardsandthe
ReenchantmentoftheWorld 85
TheScientificRevolution’sDisenchantmentoftheWorld 92
AtomicDoctrine 96
TheMechanizationofNatureandtheWorld 101
TheLawsofNature 103
GodandtheWorld 108
TheNatureoftheCreatedOrder 113
viii CONTENTS
ThePovertyoftheMechanisticInterpretation 116
EdwardsandtheReenchantmentoftheWorld 118
DisenchantmentoftheWorld,Eighteenth-Century
Imagination,andtheProtestantEvangelicalAwakening 120
TIME
Four
TheIdeologicalOriginsofEdwards’sPhilosophyofHistory 131
TheDisenchantmentoftheWorldandtheReenchantment
oftheSoul 133
ConstructingtheOrderofTime 138
HomogeneousTime,EmptyTime,and“RedeemingtheTime” 143
History,Ideology,andRedemption 150
Edwards’sPoeticsofHistory 155
EcclesiasticalHistoryasaModeofChristianHistoricalThought 163
TheProtestantandPuritanIdeologyofHistory 168
EdwardsasanEcclesiasticalHistorian 174
Five
God’sGreatDesigninHistory:TheFormationofEdwards’s
RedemptiveModeofHistoricalThought 182
TheQuestforGod’sAbsoluteSovereigntyintheOrderofTime 187
TheFormationoftheRedemptiveModeofHistorical
Thought:TheEarlyMiscellanies 191
TheWorkofRedemptionandtheWorkofConversion 197
God’sGreatDesigninHistory 200
Conversion,Revival,andRedemption—The“LittleRevival,”
1734–1735 205
TheWorkofRedemptionandGod’sSelf-Glorification 210
TheWorkofRedemptionasthe“GreatEndandDriftof
allGodsWorks” 213
Six
Edwards’sPhilosophyofHistory:TheHistoryoftheWorkof
Redemption 221
SacredHistoryandHistoriaHumana 226
TheHistoryoftheWorkofRedemption 234
TheRedemptiveModeofHistoricalThought 239
RevivalastheManifestationofDivineAgencyintheOrder
ofHistory 247
TheTheologicalandTeleologicalStructureInherentinthe
RedemptiveProcess 255
CONTENTS ix
Seven
“ChariotsofSalvation”:TheApocalypseandEschatologyofthe
GreatAwakening 272
RhetoricandHistoryintheGreatAwakening 276
TheEschatologyofSinnersintheHandsofanAngryGod 280
“TheGloryoftheApproachingHappyStateoftheChurch”:
TheDistinguishingMarks 289
The“GloriousWorkofGod”which“ShallRenewtheWorld
ofMankind”:SomeThoughtsConcerningtheRevival 294
ETHICS
Eight
EdwardsandtheEnlightenmentDebateonMoralPhilosophy 307
TheEnlightenmentDisenchantmentoftheWorldofEthics
andMorals 312
EdwardsandtheBritishSchoolofMoralSense 319
Epilogue
EdwardsandAmericanProtestantTradition 325
Index 337