1769 JOSEPH BELLAMY. Jonathan Edwards' Disciple on the Half-Way Covenant. Very Rare!
1769 JOSEPH BELLAMY. Jonathan Edwards' Disciple on the Half-Way Covenant. Very Rare!
A very important early colonial piece of revivalist theology by one of the primary disciples of Jonathan Edwards. The Great Awakening itself, especially as articulated by Jonathan Edwards, could be seen as a response against the half-way covenant, i.e. the idea that unconverted persons in the church may still be meaningful members of the church, have their children baptized, etc., Edwards saw this as a serious compromise; the Church was not composed of assenting people, but regenerate people. Edwards went a step further and called into question the very notion of any covenant aside from that which occurs mystically between the soul of a person and Christ, thus making them part of the Church universal.
As the Great Awakening wound down, the old tendencies flared up and Bellamy took up the mantle of Edwards, again arguing for the necessity of conversion to Christ to meaningfully participate in the Kingdom of God. The "parishioner" is Ebenezer Devotion.
The present is quite scarce, not having appeared on the market or at auction for many years.
Bellamy, Joseph. The Half-Way Covenant. A Dialogue between Joseph Bellamy, D.D. and a Parishioner, Continued, by the Parishioner. Correcting Some Errors Contained in the Former Dialogue. New London. Printed and Sold by Timothy Green. 1769. 17pp.
Good with some moderate toning and handling as expected.