Jonathan Edwards was a critical thinker in shaping the First Great Awakening and did this through his congregation in Northampton in New England.
Edwards was born on October 5, 1703 in East Windsor, Connecticut to a minister and a daughter of Reverend Solomon Stoddard. Edwards prepared for his schooling by his father and elder siblings to later attend Yale College where two years after graduation he studied theology. While in college, Edwards took a liking to science, but unlike other students that went toward deism, he “saw the natural world as evidence of God’s masterful design,”(Marsden) Jonathan Edwards used his interest of science and the natural world in his sermons as evidence to God’s greatness on Earth.
As he grew up and became a fill in pastor for different churches throughout the Northeast, he realized that he was not satisfied with his conversion. This was a major reason for Edwards view on religion and shaping his thoughts on the future great awakenings that will happen with his congregation and later the colonies. Within the same time, marries his wife Sarah Pierpont. Jonathan and Sarah would later have eleven children. Edwards’s fondness of Sarah’s relationship with God is what brought them together and would also later give him inspiration.
In February in 1727, Edwards was ordained as
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When Edwards wanted to change the terms of church membership by forbidding the baptism of the children of halfway members, many were furious. This went against the norm of baptism as a birthright that was apart of the New England culture. Another point that the townspeople did not agree with Edwards was how he resolved the “bad book” incident. During this time, Edwards called out everyone that was apart of the scandal to public without telling who was to blame and who was just a