Jonathan Edwards

Description

The vast corpus of Jonathan Edwards includes sermons, treatises, dissertations, "Miscellanies," "Diary" and "Resolves," and his "Personal Narrative." Underlying all his writing is his Calvinist God whose anger (justice) matched his love (glory).
Equally important is the human condition, its darkness and its "regenerative" light, sin and salvation. For these reasons Simonson aptly calls Edwards a "theologian of the heart," one not satisfied with only theological abstractions but also a necessary, heartfelt "sense" of them. Penetrating to these levels where literary artists do their work, he shares company with the likes of Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Emily Dickinson and William Faulkner. Since the resurgence of interest starting in the 1950s, Edwards is now recognized as America's foremost religious thinker.
Simonson emphasizes Edwards' language--its imagery, metaphors, grand sweeps of cadences, along with Edwards' intensity of both thought and feeling. Throughout, Simonson's book provides an incisive and carefully documented introduction to Edwards' magisterial range of mind and style.

Subjects

• Books
• Savoirs
• Religions

Informations

• Published by: Wipf and Stock Publishers
• Published: 20 May 2009
• Reads: 0
• EAN13: 9781725225633
• Language: English
• Document size: 14 MB

Exrait

Jonaan Edwards Classic Sudies Series

he Young Jonatan Edwards William Sparkes Morris Wi a new foreword by Kenne Minkema

Jonatan Edwards, Pastor Paricia Tracy

Jonatan Edwards’s Moral hougt and Its Britis Context Norman Fiering

Beauty and Sensibility in te hougt of Jonatan Edwards Roland A. Delare

Religion and te American Mind Alan Heimer

Samuel Hopkins and te New Divinity Movement Josep A. Confori

Edwards on te Will: A Century of Anglican heological Debate Allen C. Guelzo

Jonatan Edwards: he First Critical Biograpy, 1889 Alexander V. G. Allen

Jonatan Edwards and te Covenant of Grace Carl W. Bogue

he Pilosopy of Jonatan Edwards: From His Private Notebook Edied by Harvey G. Townsend

Jonatan Edwards: heologian of te Heart Harold P. Simonson

______________________ Fuure volumes are forcoming. For curren updaes see p://edwards.yale.edu.

Wipf and Stock Publishers 199 W 8th Ave, Suite 3 Eugene, OR 97401 Jonathan Edwards Theologian of the Heart By Simonson, Harold P. Copyright©1982 by Simonson, Harold P. ISBN 13: 978-1-60608-620-9 Publication date 5/18/2009 Previously published by Mercer University Press, 1982

The Jonathan Edwards Classic Studies Series

The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University is pleased to offer this volume, in grateful cooperation with Wipf & Stock Publishers, as part of its mission to encourage ongoing research into and readership of one of America’s most original thinkers and one of its most significant historical and cultural figures. As much as the Edwards Center is devoted to presenting Edwards’s own writings in a comprehensive and authoritative online format, we also see providing secondary resources as vital to supporting an ongoing understanding of Edwards’s extensive and varied corpus, which can be accessed at http://edwards.yale.edu. Writings about Edwards’s life, thought, and legacy continue to accumulate from authors representing a broad range of disciplines and agendas. Within the voluminous secondary literature, the Edwards Center recognizes the importance of insuring that certain key works—which sadly have gone out of print but yet remain in demand—are available for new generations coming to the study of Edwards and are recognized for their worth. These monographs represent some of the very best and most pioneering studies of Edwards, his times, and his influence, from scholars over the past half century and more. Indeed, these works not only greatly influenced the study of Edwards but American history in general. We hope these landmark studies, ranging from biography to intellectual and social history to philosophy and theology, continue to be sources of inquiry and inspiration for decades to come.

Harry S. Stout Director The Jonathan Edwards Center Yale University

Preface to the 2009 Edition

Had eologian Jonaan Edwards (1703–1758) lived a undred years earlier e would ave found a more companionae milieu: American Calviniss homas Hooker, homas Separd, Jon Coon—unrivaled in eir preacing and erudiion.Born only ree years before Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Edwards confroned ereical Arminianism and all manner of religious dissenion: a nascen poliical democracy, no a Holy Commonweal; Deism and Yankee ingenuiy raer an e visible sain esifying o a redempive experience. In 1750 e liberal laiy dismissed Edwards from is Norampon pulpi, is ater 23 years. Suspecing wa awaied im, e ad sared is foreboding in exensive correspondence wi cerain Scois minisers—Jon Erskine of Edinburg, William McCulloc of Cambuslang, Jon MacLaurin of Glasgow, James Robe of Kilsy, homas Gillespie of Carnoc, and Jon Willison of Dundee wo were ard pu o mainain eir own Calvinis foundaions. In deeply per- sonal words Edwards exposed is anguis o ese Scois divines. Unappily, e ook is family wes o Sockbridge and for seven years served as pasor o is small fronier congregaion and as missionary o Maican Indians. he nex year e College of New Jersey (now Princeon Universiy) insalled im as is ird presiden; ree weeks laer in e same year e died of a smallpox inoculaion. he so-called Norampon ragedy a sen im o e “wilder- ness” was commonly blamed on a spen eology a acknowledged e dark side of e uman condiion, e deep sain of sin and is eernal consequences excep for one’s rebir roug God’s loving grace. Early on, in isDiary andResolutions, bo wrien before

Preface to the 2009 Edition

e was weny, e already ad begun o plumb is own rue deps were life becomes complex and melancoly. He sruck even deeper ground in isPersonal Narrativewrien someime ater age 40. Like e poe Rober Fros wo wroe, “I ave been acquained wi e nig,” Edwards did no spare imself life’s underworld a included experiences of dread, even error, and a kind of Kierkegaardian “fear and rembling.”  However, e convicion of sin necessarily precedes e joy “un- speakable and full of glory,” words e quoed from 1 Peer 1:8 as pro- logue o is monumenalA Treatise Concerning Religious Affections (1746). he joy of salvaion was always is greaer subjec. He defined i as being God’s ulimae purpose in creaing e world—a is, in e emanaion and communicaion of His infinie fullness, and ereby in e believer’s ulimae end in reuniing wi is fullness. Edwards’ sermons, is majesic eological and pilosopical wri- ing, and is own self-scruiny and insigs ino oers place im in e iges paneon of American religious inkers. His prose reflecs a complex mind. Readers find is ideas profound, someimes difficul, bu is syle always lucid if followed carefully. Indeed, is prose oten soars o loty poery in e cadence, e image, and e meapor. I is wor noing a in presen-day college surveys of eigeen- cenury American literature, Franklin and Edwards ower in sark conras o eac oer. he former, in isAutobiograpy, defines is personal credo in palry absracion using as few words as could be wrien on a posage samp wereas Edwards’ corpus oals 25 saely volumes. Hisorian Perry Miller’s wo-volumehe New England Mind(1939, 1953) ignied a renascence of ineres in Purian oug and is af- erma in e nex cenury. Since en, impressive scolarsip and criical inerpreaion ave awakened and demanded aenion muc like e Herman Melville revival among Yale scolars in e lae 1940s. Paramoun for Edwards scolars is e recenly compleedWorkspub- lised by Yale Universiy Press. As one wose insigs ino e uman condiion penerae bo psycological and religious erriory were grea lierary ariss do eir work, only Melville, Naaniel Haworne,