Jonathan Edwards: America's Evangelical
By Philip F. Gura
Hill and Wang
PB, 304 pgs. US$15.00
ISBN: 0-8090-6196-1
Soldier for God
By Steven Martinovich
web posted September 18, 2006
It is commonly accepted that America is a religious nation though few outside observers, however, stop to consider the varied historical sources for that faith. During periods of trial and tribulation for believers, evangelists have stepped forward to buttress the nation's faith and urge it back on the path of righteousness. Perhaps most famous was Jonathan Edwards, architect of the nation's first wave of intense religious belief.
Philip Gura, professor of American Literature and Culture at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, explores the life of Edwards and his legacy in Jonathan Edwards: America's Evangelical. This latest effort comes on the heels of the highly regarded James Marsden-penned biography Jonathan Edwards: A Life, a scholarly examination of the scholar and preacher. Gura states that his shorter but comprehensive book is a "consideration" of Edwards and not a full-scale biography. Regardless, his is a valuable addition into the slowly growing canon of modern Edwards scholarship.
Though he served as Yale's third president, Edwards was most famous for his role as a revivalist during the 18th century. An incredibly talented scholar able to examine the most nuanced facet of Christianity, Edwards' learned sermons lit a figurative religious fire in both the United States and across the ocean in England and Scotland during the 1730s and 40s. Though dense with religious meaning, his sermons were often poetic and accessible to the average listener of the day.
While the awakening that he was personally credited for failed in its ultimate mission to permanently bring the lax back to church, it set the pattern for all future awakenings, complete with physical and verbal manifestations. That fact often led Edwards to be attacked by his peers, forcing him to issue pamphlets and books at a steady stream in response. The body of work he left behind, such as Religious Affections, which examined how we experience religion, created the language of revival. It also gave Americans the intellectual tools to examine religious experience itself.
And yet, as Gura relates, most considered Edwards' life a failure at the time of his death. His work was largely ignored and the revivals themselves sputtered out. It wasn't until the 19th century when his reputation was resuscitated by Americans eager to explore the role of emotion in religion, one of Edwards' dominant themes.
Along with his religious writings, Edwards' greatest gift to America may also have been his extensive use of the early colonial print industry to spread his work. The minister's home was in Northampton, but thanks to print his work quickly spread across New England, sparking religious revivals along the eastern United States.
Among the many strengths of Jonathan Edwards: America's Evangelical is that Gura manages to place the reader as a close observer of his subject. Although he did not take advantage of unpublished research to explore new facets of Edwards, the source material he did rely on allows one to imagine Edwards at his oratory finest, his struggles against his ideological foes and the times in which it all took place.
While Jonathan Edwards: America's Evangelical is not a groundbreaking work, particularly when compared to Marsden's effort, it nonetheless is worthwhile for being an accessible introduction to Edwards and his work. To comprehend America, at least as completely as one can, one must understand its religious character. It continues to bear the mark of Jonathan Edwards and knowing him better is to know America better, an effort Jonathan Edwards: America's Evangelical ably assists. 
Steven Martinovich is a freelance writer in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
Buy Jonathan Edwards: America's Evangelical at Amazon.com for only $10.20 (32% off)