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During these years, Edwards intensely considered his spiritual state and devised ways he could improve himself as a Christian. The resulting list of resolutions reminded him to dwell each day on his own death and eternal destiny and to bring his every emotion, thought, and action in line with the Word of God:

"48. Resolved, constantly, with the utmost niceness and diligence, and the strictest scrutiny, to be looking into the state of my soul, that I may know whether I have truly an interest in Christ or no; that when I come to die, I may not have any negligence respecting this to repent of."

Though I sometimes find the Puritans scary in their spiritual intensity and wonder if their strict practices sometimes erred on the side of works-righteousness, I always find this list of Edwards's not only challenging but inspiring. I am sure that, like New Years resolution-makers throughout history, he often failed to come up to the grand aspirations enshrined in these resolutions. But I also suspect he benefited greatly from the exercise of writing them and trying to live by them.

To read Edwards's full list of resolutions, click here.

A footnote: three "fresh starts"

January 1 has always been a day for "new things." Here are three in the annals of Christian History:

On this day in 1855, a fresh-faced group of ministerial hopefuls entered their first class at Garrett Theological Seminary (in Evanston, Illinois, not far from our offices here at Christian History). The seminary was endowed by Eliza Garrett, widow of a mayor of Chicago.

111 years later, in 1966, Pope Paul VI issued a ringing call to the U.S., Soviet Russia, Communist China, and North and South Vietnam to work towards a peaceful resolution in Vietnam.

11 years later, on Jan. 1, 1977, the first woman Episcopal priest, Jacqueline Means, was ordained at All Saints Church, Indianapolis.

The historical information in this article has been adapted from Sue Ellen Thompson's Holiday Symbols (Omnigraphics, 2000) and the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd edition). Chris Armstrong is managing editor of Christian History magazine. More Christian History, including a list of events that occurred this week in the church's past, is available at ChristianHistory.net. Subscriptions to the quarterly print magazine are also available.

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Last year, Christianity Todayasked several Christian leaders about their new year's resolutions.

More articles for the new year from Christianity Today and its sister publications is available in ChristianityToday.com's holiday area.

Christian History Corner appears every Friday on Christianity Today's website. Previous editions include:

The Habits of Highly Effective Bible Readers | What we can learn from the church fathers that will enrich our own Bible study (Dec. 26, 2003)

Can Anything Good Come Out of New England? | Evangelical revival in the land of the liberal Brahmins may not be as historically odd as we suppose. (Dec. 12, 2003)

300-Year-Old Man Returns to Lead His Church | Evangelicals need this grandfather figure more than ever. (Dec. 05, 2003)

Thanksgiving in the Midst of Fear | Seriously ill in the days of the Black Plague, poet John Donne still celebrated God's goodness. (Nov. 26, 2003)

Good News to the Jew First | Critics of The Passion of Christ assume the story embodies an anti-Semitic message. But does it? (Nov. 21, 2003)

Thanks, Da Vinci Code | Tbe book sends us back to Christianity's "founding fathers"—and the Bible we share with them. (Nov. 14, 2003)

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December (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47