Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758) American philosopher and theologian who
studied at Yale and received his bachelor's degree before his 17th birthday.
Edwards' preaching provoked the explosive beginnings of the "Great
Awakening," a religious revivalist movement in the American Colonies of the
1740s. One of the most innovative of colonial philosophers, he was also most
conscientiously tied to the past; he is often referred to as the last Puritan.
A Child of the Covenant (1736) An excerpt from the "Narrative of
Surprising Conversions." Edwards tells the story of four year old Phebe
Bartlet who was greatly affected by the religious talk of her eleven-year-
old brother. The young girl began to retire to her closet to pray as often
as four or five times a day. At first she was unable to "find God" and was
afraid of going to hell; she soon found salvation. A remarkable conversion.
