Jonathan Edwards was one of the leading religious leaders of his time. The senior pastor of the most influential church in New England at the age of twenty-six and a powerful preacher in his own right, he helped launch the revival of 1734–25 and spearheaded the more extensive Great Awakening of 1740–41. Known for his powerful writings on theology, metaphysics, ethics, and psychology, his works in defense of Calvinism and his Puritan heritage are still studied today by students of theology and philosophy.