148 A Century of /Science 



by this giant personality. The Great Awakening, 

 in which he took part, and to which his preaching 

 powerfully contributed, revived the popular inter- 

 est in theological questions, disencumbered of the 

 ever present political implications of the previous 

 century. In many ways his theories acted as a 

 disintegrating solvent upon the beliefs of the time. 

 For example, the prominence which he gave to 

 spiritual conversion, or what was called " change 

 of heart," brought about the overthrow of the doc- 

 trine of the Half-way Covenant. It also weakened 

 the logical basis of infant baptism, and led to the 

 winning of hosts of converts by the Baptists. 

 Moreover, the uses to which Edwards put his doc- 

 trine of the will produced a reaction toward Ar- 

 minianism, which not only affected the teachings 

 of the Baptists, but predisposed many persons to 

 join in the wave of Methodism which was just 

 about to sweep over the country. A similar re- 

 action against Edwards's views of divine justice, 

 reinforced by some first faint inklings of Biblical 

 criticism, pointed the way toward Universalism. 

 Still more, the discussions aroused by Edwards's 

 speculations on original sin and the atonement be- 

 gan to undermine the doctrine of the Trinity and 

 prepare men's minds for the Unitarian movement. 

 No such results would have been possible save in 



