Halfway covenant

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a practice among the Congregational churches of New England, between 1657 and 1662, of permitting baptized persons of moral life and orthodox faith to enjoy all the privileges of church membership, save the partaking of the Lord's Supper. They were also allowed to present their children for baptism.

See also: Halfway

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, published 1913 by G. & C. Merriam Co.

References in periodicals archive

As such, Marsden explains Edwards's eventual rejection of the Half-Way Covenant, that historical move that led to his dismissal from the Northampton congregation, in terms of competing family and theological loyalties: Edwards's grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, was the architect of the Half-Way Covenant, while Edwards's father, Timothy, had soundly rejected the doctrine as heretical.

Edwards's rejection of the Half-Way Covenant constitutes a move away from democracy and toward authoritarianism.

Jonathan Edwards: A Life

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