Posts tagged with Theology of Jonathan Edwards

Books released in conjunction with the 300th Anniversary of the birth of Jonathan Edwards ... Keep Reading

Open Theism in the Hands of an Angry Puritan: Edwards on Divine Foreknowledge Part One... Keep Reading

Open Theism in the Hands of an Angry Puritan: Edwards on Divine Foreknowledge Part Two ... Keep Reading

Insights from Jonathan Edwards on the Foreknowledge of God Part 3 ... Keep Reading

Jonathan Edwards on Original Sin: Mediate or Immediate Imputation? ... Keep Reading

Is Imputation Unjust? Jonathan Edwards on the Problem of Original Sin... Keep Reading

Edwards on Revival - Part I - Jonathan Edwards and the Theology of Revival: A Narrative of Surprising Conversions and The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God Summary and Analysis ... Keep Reading

Edwards on Revival - Part II - Jonathan Edwards and the Theology of Revival: A Narrative of Surprising Conversions and The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God ... Keep Reading

Edwards on Revival - Part III - Jonathan Edwards and the Theology of Revival: Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion in New England ... Keep Reading

Edwards on Revival - Part IV - Jonathan Edwards and the Theology of Revival: Some Thoughts Concerning the Present Revival of Religion in New England... Keep Reading

“It is a proper and excellent thing for infinite glory to shine forth; and for the same reason, it is proper that the shining forth of God’s glory should be complete; that is, that all parts of his glory should shine forth, that every beauty should be prop... Keep Reading

Fettered yet Free             Jonathan Edwards was right. If the concept of libertarian freedom can be established, Calvinist theologians (he called them “reformed divines”) will have lost all hope of... Keep Reading

There are approximately 1,200 extant sermons, probably four-fifths of the original number. His favorite sermon texts, in order of preference: Matthew, Luke, Isaiah, Psalms, John, 1 Corinthians, Proverbs, and Romans. “Edwards considered every sermon t... Keep Reading

At no time did Edwards believe or preach that America would be either the focus or the locus of the coming millennium. Rather, he suggested that, at best, America may be where those intermittent revivals would occur that eventually would bring on the millennium, the l... Keep Reading

[1701 / Yale College established] 1703 / Born October 5, East Windsor, Connecticut He had 10 sisters (no brothers), all of whom were at least 6 ft. tall! Jonathan’s paternal grandmother was a chronic adulteress who bore another man’s child. She was psych... Keep Reading

[The reader is encouraged to read Edwards’ sermon before working through these short observations.] What the “divine and supernatural light” is not: 1)         It is not to be identified with the conviction o... Keep Reading

What are the differences, if any, between the Diary and Resolutions, on the one hand, and the Personal Narrative on the other (stylistic? emphasis? theology? spiritual formation?). Edwards’ spirituality is essentially contemplative rather than active. He rarely... Keep Reading

The experience of Sarah Edwards (d. 1758), wife of Puritan pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards, is not normative for every believer.  But it is one instance of one soul “being filled to all the fullness of God.”  As her husband was to describe... Keep Reading

The beauty of the world consists wholly of sweet mutual consents, either within itself, or with the Supreme Being. As to the corporeal world, though there are many other sorts of consents, yet the sweetest and most charming beauty of it is its resemblance of spiritual... Keep Reading

Observations by Edwards on Two Wills in God ... Keep Reading

Of all that Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) wrote, nothing provides the penetrating gaze into his own soul, together with his spiritual struggles and triumphs, as does his Personal Narrative. This is the closest thing in the vast corpus of Edwardsean writings to what we to... Keep Reading

Edwards was born and reared in a Puritan society and family where the Reformed faith was defended with vigor. But one should not assume from this that Edwards himself always embraced this perspective on Christianity. Although Edwards is known to history, and rightly s... Keep Reading

Most people who know me are aware that I’m not the “outdoors” type! My idea of “roughing” it is a weekend at a rundown Holiday Inn. But my appreciation for nature, indeed my delight in it, was initially awakened by the following comments ... Keep Reading

Carefully read Edwards’ entry and then I’ll make five brief comments below. “I felt then great satisfaction, as to my good state; but that did not content me. I had vehement longings of soul after God and Christ, and after more holiness, wherewith m... Keep Reading

Do you love holiness? Is the word sweet and precious to you? Or does it conjure up images of a stern and inflexible God and a strict and joyless life? During the 19th century the National Holiness Movement labored for a return to the vibrancy and passion of John Wesl... Keep Reading

“The heaven I desired,” wrote Edwards, “was a heaven of holiness; to be with God, and to spend my eternity in divine love, and holy communion with Christ. My mind was very much taken up with contemplations on heaven, and the enjoyments there; and liv... Keep Reading

“On January 12, 1723. I made a solemn dedication of myself to God, and wrote it down; giving up myself, and all that I had to God; to be for the future, in no respect, my own; to act as one that had no right to himself, in any respect. And solemnly vowed, to tak... Keep Reading

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). In this way we are to pray, according to Jesus. Our hearts are to be riveted on the expansion of Christ’s lordship over all the earth, over every life, over every mol... Keep Reading

“In September, 1725, I was taken ill at New Haven, and while endeavoring to go home to Windsor, was so ill at the North Village, that I could go no farther, where I lay sick, for about a quarter of a year. In this sickness, God was pleased to visit me again, wit... Keep Reading

“Since I came to this town [i.e. Northampton],” wrote Edwards, “I have often had sweet complacency in God, in views of his glorious perfections and the excellency of Jesus Christ. God has appeared to me a glorious and lovely Being, chiefly on account... Keep Reading

John Piper once said, “Sometimes what we need from the Bible is not the fulfillment of our dream[s], but the swallowing up of our failed dream[s] in the all-satisfying glory of Christ.” I’m convinced that the reason this doesn’t resonate with m... Keep Reading

“Sometimes, only mentioning a single word caused my heart to burn within me; or only seeing the name of Christ, or the name of some attribute of God. And God has appeared glorious to me, on account of the Trinity. It has made me have exalting thoughts of God, th... Keep Reading

In an earlier installment in this series there appeared a statement by Edwards on the power of Scripture, about which I said nothing. I would like to return to it for a moment. Perhaps you remember these words: “I had then, and at other times, the greatest deli... Keep Reading

Jonathan Edwards was a cessationist. Largely because of excessive and fanatical behavior associated with the revival known as the First Great Awakening, he was concerned with the way in which certain people justified unwise, even unbiblical, decisions by appealing to ... Keep Reading

One section in Edwards’ Personal Narrative has proved troubling to some Christians. They find Edwards’ description of his own sinfulness to be excessively introspective, unduly pessimistic, and downright morbid. I’ve heard it said that we may justifi... Keep Reading

Before reading this short paragraph, it might be a good idea to go back to the previous installment and take a closer look at Edwards’ sense of his own depravity. As I said in that lesson, he wasn’t driven to despair by the reality of his own sin, but was ... Keep Reading

Believe it or not, we are at the end. Here are the final two paragraphs of Edwards’ Personal Narrative. “Though it seems to me, that, in some respects, I was a far better Christian, for two or three years after my first conversion, than I am now; and live... Keep Reading

Now that we have completed our devotional study of Edwards’ Personal Narrative, a few concluding observations are in order. First, Edwards’ spirituality is essentially contemplative rather than active. He rarely if ever speaks of concrete acts of compassi... Keep Reading

In my previous discussion of Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “Youth and the Pleasures of Piety”, I argued that the strategy for dissuading people from sinning that relies largely on religious intimidation, threats, fear, and shame-based appeals is seriousl... Keep Reading

Typical of Edwards’ preaching style was to follow the exposition of some doctrine with the application, or what he often called the “improvement”. This is especially needful when the doctrine is the excellencies of God, for such are the “founda... Keep Reading

I’m glad I’m old. Some of you may be offended that I regard a person of fifty-four as “old”, so let’s agree that I’m speaking only for myself. Perhaps a better way of putting it is that I’m glad I’m not young. What the y... Keep Reading

A few weeks ago (October, 2005) I attended the annual Philosophy Conference at Wheaton College. The topic this year was “Philosophers Think about Heaven and Hell.” I won’t go into detail other than to say that all viewpoints were represented: annihil... Keep Reading

In our first installment in this brief series I noted that Jonathan Edwards appeals to Revelation 18:20 as evidence that the saints in heaven not only will be aware of the judgment of the unrighteous in hell but will also be called on to “rejoice” that suc... Keep Reading

One of the interesting things about Jonathan Edwards is how he thinks. Biblical authority plays a much more definitive role in his thought processes than in many who claim to be Christian. Let me illustrate. I began this series of studies because of what many perceiv... Keep Reading

Jonathan Edwards was keenly aware of the objections to his perspective on this difficult topic. For example, he acknowledges that now, in this life, we are fearful and apprehensive concerning the eternal destiny of those in unbelief. We lament and weep for their spiri... Keep Reading

As many of you know, 2003 marked the 300th anniversary of the birth of Jonathan Edwards. During the course of that year, countless books and articles were published focusing on a variety of aspects of his life and writings and ministry (see The Theology of Jonathan Ed... Keep Reading