Zabdiel Adams

Zabdiel Adams (1739–1801) was a Massachusetts Congregational minister whose theological writings, particularly his Election Sermon, exemplified the moderate Calvinist thought that dominated New England pulpits during the Revolutionary and early Federal periods. His sermons engaged contemporary debates over divine sovereignty, human agency, and the moral foundations of republican governance, reflecting the intellectual currents that shaped American Protestant theology in the late eighteenth century. Adams's work represents the transitional theology of his era, bridging traditional Reformed doctrine with emerging concerns about individual liberty and civic virtue in the new American republic.