Puritan introspection

As an heir of the Calvinist reformational tradition, some harder edges of Jonathan Edwards’ theology might appear to contradict certain evangelical beliefs. At the same time, the context in which Edwards worked, and his own contributions to the theology of conversion and religious affection, reveal some remarkable points of intersection with contemporary evangelicalism.

George Marsden positions Edwards’ New England Puritanism within the context of Christendom at large. Rather than standing outside the established ecclesial tradition, Puritanism sought to reform what were already nominally Christian institutions. This appears to be a crucial point. For since Edwards and other later-generation Puritans were working in a context in which the objective, external reality of Christianity was acknowledged, the perceived lack of piety appeared to indicate some inner religious void. Marsden gives a rather shocking portrait of 18th century New England life – one which contradicts the prim and conservative picture many moderns had in mind. Edwards’ family, for instance, was plagued by examples of contentious marriages, infidelity, and even cases of gruesome murder. Even the most respectable were in need of purification.

The reform impulse, then, was one that started inside the church and inside the individual Christian. As the external profession of faith was so ubiquitous, there must be some deeper, inward indication of true religion. Regarding regeneration, Edwards writes that while the process of awakening might be gradual on occasion, there still must be “a certain moment” at which the inward soul is enlightened. Further, any goodness or “doctrine of natural religion” is completely dependent on divine revelation.

This stress on the absolute necessity for a moment of conversion, with the stark contrast between darkness and light, becomes complicated in terms of actual religious expression. As Marsden relates, for Jonathan’s father “conversion was not just a euphoria of enthusiasm.” Certain affections may be mere self-deception. The twin emphases on the necessity of conversion and the difficulty in discerning true conversion often led to a rather doubt-ridden Christian introspection. For Jonathan, at least, childhood was marked by pendulum swings between spiritual devotion and worldly concerns. At the age of nine, Marsden writes, Edwards was so consumed by religious devotion that “he prayed secretly five times a day, spoke much of religion to other boys, and organized prayer meetings with them.” But after a time, he lost those affections and, in his own words, “returned like a dog to his vomit, and went on in ways of sin.” Concern over whether the conversion was a true one would plague Puritan society in general, as a symptom of the underlying tension between inner and outer spirituality.

There seems to an intriguing paradox in the late Puritan focus on the marks of true conversion. The original stress on the inner awakening appears to run directly counter to any perceived Catholic or Arminian doctrine of works and prevenient grace. However, as Marsden notes, there is a certain irony in the late Puritan emphasis on law and discerning the marks of true conversion. As conversion is made so absolute and central to the progression of the Christian life, material evidence that runs contrary to that conversion (namely, sin) seems to bring the Puritan back to a preoccupation with good works. The symptom is still there, apparently, even after the theological disease had been surgically removed.