The Egoism of Jonathan Edwards

As a preacher, revivalist, philosopher and theologian, Jonathan Edwards echoes through the history of America as the foremost Christian thinker of the 18th century. Reported as "the only intellectual, modern revivalist of the Church" by the Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Geisler, 209), Edwards remains a pivotal piece of Christian America. Often connected with the strong Puritanical restraints that reflected the late colonial period of America, Edwards ethical philosophy is branded with this stereotype, not allowed to fully reveal the preacher's thoughts. This paper examines the eth…