In one of the unsurpassed religious masterpieces produced by an American writer, Jonathan Edwards distinguishes between true and false religion by defining a believer's correct affections and explaining their importance. He further identifies the distinction between genuine-seeming and legitimate affections. A Christian preacher and one of the greatest theologians of the English-speaking world, Jonathan Edwards played a critical role in the First Great Awakening and oversaw some of the first revivals in 1733 at his church in Northampton, Massachusetts. His famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, " remains a classic of early American literature, and The Religious Affections constitutes essential reading for divinity students and students of American religious history.