Isaac Watts: Reason, Passion, and the Revival of Religion
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Isaac Watts was an important but relatively unexamined figure and this volume offers a description of his theology, specifically identifying his position on reason and passion as foundational. The book shows how Watts modified a Puritan inherence on both topics in the light of the thought of his day. In particular there is an examination of how he both took on board and reacted against aspects of Enlightenment and sentimentalist thought. Watts’ position on these foundational issued of reason and passion are then shown to lie behind his more practical works to revive the church.
Graham Beynon examines the motivation for Watts’ work in writing hymns, and the way in which he wrote them; and discusses his preaching and prayer. In each of these practical topics Watts’s position is compared to earlier Puritans to show the difference his thinking on reason and passion makes in practice. Isaac Watts is shown to have a coherent position on the foundational issues of reason and passion which drove his view of revival of religion.
- Discusses the influence and significance of Isaac Watts
- Examines his impact on the reform of hymnody
- Explores his role as a leading figure of dissent in London
Introduction
Part 1: Reason and Passion
- The Role of Reason
- The Place of Passion
Part 2: The Revival of Religion
- The Art of Preaching
- The Need for Praise
- The Method of Prayer
- Conclusion
Isaac Watts the Dissenting hymnwriter was also an eighteenth-century intellectual who exerted a powerful influence over several generations through his extensive writings. His achievement, as Graham Beynon shows, was to build on his Puritan inheritance by engaging with contemporary thought so as to lay the foundations for the reformation of religion. In many ways he anticipated the concerns of the Evangelical Revival that took off in his later years.
—David Bebbington, University of Stirling, UK
Reason and passion and the relationship between them are key themes in the early eighteenth century. Graham Beynon has made a significant contribution in this area with this volume on reason and passion in the works of Isaac Watts. Beynon examines Watts's approach to reason and passion and the interconnections between those subjects and preaching, worship and prayer. His study makes a significant contribution to the understanding of English Dissent in the first part of the 18th century.
—Robert Strivens, Principal, London Theological Seminary, UK
The strength of this book is that it takes Isaac Watts seriously as a thinker. As such, it will be particularly useful for scholars who wish to better understand Watts' views of reason and passion, and to see how these positions informed his approach to preaching, praise and prayer.
—The Expository Times
- Title: Isaac Watts: Reason, Passion and the Revival of Religion
- Author: Graham Beynon
- Series: T&T Clark Studies in English Theology
- Publisher: T&T Clark
- Publication Date: 2016
- Pages: 224
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Topic: Isaac Watts
Graham Beynon is Head of Local Ministries, FIEC, UK. He is a visiting lecturer at Oak Hill College, London, a popular conference speaker, and author of several books including Mirror, Mirror and Emotions. Graham was previously an audiological scientist working with hearing and balance disorders. He then moved to pastor churches in Cambridge and Leicester, particularly being involved in leading church plants.
He is married to Charis and they have three grown up children. In his spare time, he enjoys watching TV with his wife, walking with their dog, trying his hand at DIY, watching sport, and playing 5-a-side football.