The Question of Development: Did Edwards Change?
The Question of Development: Did Edwards Change?
Contrary to Perry Miller's claim that Edwards's thinking did not change over the course of his life, this chapter identifies five “turns” in his thought that were prompted by his social milieu: an Experiential-Empirical Turn, an ethical-rigorist turn, an ecclesial-sacramental turn, a Calvinistic-controversial turn, and a cultural-historical turn. Although foundational concepts such as beauty, being, consent, and holiness are consistently emphasized from his adolescence to his death, each turn reflects a particular concern for a changing context. As such, Edwards is best characterized as an “open thinker,” never seeking to create a system of timeless truths.
Keywords: Perry Miller, culture, history, Calvinism, ethics, experience, sacraments, ecclesiology
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
