Beyond the Half-Way Covenant: Solomon Stoddard's Understanding of the Lord's Supper as a Converting Ordinance

Almost everyone has heard of Jonathan Edwards, but very few are familiar with Solomon Stoddard, Edwards's grandfather. Stoddard was an influential force in New England Puritanism, often referred to as the "Pope" of the Connecticut Valley of western Massachusetts. He was a powerful preacher who saw five (possibly six) revivals during his fifty-eight-year pastorate in Northampton. Yet, he has often been marginalized because of his very unique view of the Lord's Supper as a "converting ordinan...