2008 Stone Lectures - Lecture II: Edwards and Franklin

The summary of the second lecture by George Marsden as part of the 2008 Stone Lectures is now available from Darren over at Via Crucis. The title of the lecture is “Edwards’s Vision
in the Land that Franklin Built.” Here’s a sample of the summary:

Marsden believes that Edwards is an invaluable conversation partner to pull into the twenty-first century world because he stood at the crossroads of two cultures: New England Puritanism and the Enlightenment. Modernism tends to view the former as characterized by the uncritical religion-izing of the social world (the economy, politics, social relationships morality, and all points in between), and the latter as a swift intellectual sunrise. Edwards was an observer of the modern world as it was emerging. While we tend to regard such social issues and trends through the lens of Enlightenment thinking, Edwards stood at the brief moment in history when he could view the "modern" world through the unclouded lens of his Reformed and Puritan heritage.

Read more here. Stay tuned for the summary of the third lecture: “Edwards’ Vision and the Religion that Whitefield and Franklin Shaped,” delivered tonight at 7 pm.