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Asa Burton (August 25, 1752May 1, 1836) was an American minister and theologian.
Asa Burton was born on August 25, 1752, in
Asa Burton (August 25, 1752May 1, 1836) was an American minister and theologian.
Asa Burton was born on August 25, 1752, in Stonington, Connecticut
Stonington is a town located on Long Island Sound in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The municipal limits of the town include the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pa ...
, to Rachel and Jacob Burton, the sixth child in a family of thirteen. His family moved to Preston when he was very young. When he was about fourteen, his father moved again to Norwich, Vermont
Norwich is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. Home to some of the state of Vermont's wealthiest residents, the municipality is a commuter town for nearby Hanover, New Hampshire acros ...
.
Burton began studying at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
around age 21. Shortly after he entered Dartmouth, many of his family members died. He graduated in 1777. He was licensed to preach in August or September of that year and was ordained as a minister on January 19, 1779. For most of his career, Burton's ministry was in Thetford, Vermont.
Burton taught theology from 1786 to 1816. He received a doctorate of divinity from Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...
in 1804. From 1809, he edited ''Advisor; Or, Vermont Evangelical Magazine''. In 1824 he published a book called ''Essays on Some of the First Principles of Metaphysics, Ethics, and Theology''.
In his ''Essays'', Burton adopted a "taste" theology, which held that humans had an original inclination toward, or taste for, sin. Burton, as a "taster", opposed the "exercisers" including Nathanael Emmons
Nathanael Emmons, sometimes spelled Nathaniel Emmons, (April 20, 1745 – September 23, 1840) was an American Congregational minister and influential theologian of the New Divinity school. He was born at East Haddam, Connecticut.
Emmons graduat ...
, who distinguished between inclinations toward sin (tastes) and sinful acts (exercises). Burton's taste view developed Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to:
Musicians
*Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford
*Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician
**Jonathan Edwards (album), ''Jonathan Edward ...
's theory that the will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
is not a distinct faculty; rather, according to Burton, the will is a manifestation of the human heart. Burton's emphasis on taste gave him and other tasters a way to deny that sinful behavior was caused by God. Rather, sin was caused by human inclination towards sin. This offered an alternative to the determinism
Determinism is the Metaphysics, metaphysical view that all events within the universe (or multiverse) can occur only in one possible way. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes ov ...
of exercisers such as Emmons, who held that each of the soul's acts was caused by divine agency.
Burton died on May 1, 1836, in Thetford.
Citations
Works cited
* *Further reading
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Asa 1752 births 1836 deaths 18th-century American male writers 18th-century American philosophers 18th-century American theologians 18th-century evangelicals 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century American philosophers 19th-century American theologians 19th-century evangelicals American Evangelical writers American male non-fiction writers American religious writers Dartmouth College alumni Evangelical theologians Middlebury College alumni People from Stonington, Connecticut People from Thetford, Vermont