The Theological Origins of Jonathan Edwards's Philosophy of Nature

An analysis of the works of Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) on natural philosophy, this article aims to show the affinities between the content and form of his philosophy of nature and some main, features of medieval, scholastic and Renaissance thought: theology as the, 'queen of sciences' ('regina scientiarum'), science as 'handmaiden to theology' ('philosophia ancilla theologiae'), the emblematic or typological understanding of world phenomena, and belief in the 'great chain of being' ('scale naturae'). It argues that Edwards's works are inseparable from the school of 'physico-theology', the English, followers of which set out to prone the being and attributes of God by the order and harmony of nature, and through their worship if the God of nature to show 'the wisdonn of God in creation' in face of the threats which new modes of scientific thought raid reasoning were posing to traditional Christian thought and belief in the early modern period.