It is regrettable that Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) is mostly remembered for a sermon, “Sinners in the hands of an angry God.” As his biographer Perry Miller once remarked, that sermon “did more to damage his reputation than all of his critics combined.” However, a careful study of his writings, including his unpublished notebooks and journals, has caused a reassessment, and his reputation has grown, so much so that he is regarded as arguably the greatest American thinker of the colonial era. His writings re … (read more)