Jonathan Edwards

Was Jonathan Edwards Cross-Centered?

Tony Reinke Cross of Christ, Jonathan Edwards

Yesterday morning I received the latest addition to the growing stack of books written (at least in part) to defend centrality of the cross in the theology of Jonathan Edwards. These books could not come soon enough.

The latest is Craig Biehl’s The Infinite Merit of Christ: The Glory of Christ’s Obedience in the Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Reformed Academic Press, 2009). Biehl argues that Edwards’ focus on the work of Christ has been overlooked and neglected by modern academic revisionists, scholars more interested in Edwards’ philosophy than his exclusivist biblical theology. Decades of revisionist interpretations of Edwards’ Christology have left us with a “lopsided and inaccurate” interpretation of his works (pp. 5-6). Biehl sets out to refute this revisionist interpretation, and restore an accurate awareness of the centrality of the Christ’s work in Edwards’ thought.

Biehl writes in the intro:

“…from the time of his earliest sermons until the end of his life, the person and redemptive work of Christ were the foundation of Edwards’ Trinitarian theology. In this modest and narrow exposition of Edwards’ understanding of the merits of Christ’s obedience, I intend to show that this Christological and redemptive aspect of Edwards’ theology is central to his overall God-centered and Trinitarian thought and the key to understanding his view of the nature, purpose and acts of the Triune God. For the ultimate purpose of God to display and communicate His glory is accomplished through the person and redemptive work of Christ.” (p. 20)

Biehl  writes in the conclusion:

“The center of Jonathan Edwards’ theology is the person and meritorious work of Christ in redeeming sinners, in perfect and free obedience to God’s unalterable rule of righteousness, in the accomplishment of the ultimate Trinitarian purpose of the display and communication of God’s glory. Such is both the foundation and unifying thread throughout his writings. Indeed, it is difficult to conceive of any aspect of Edwards’ thought that is not directly or indirectly dependent upon or related to the person and work of Christ in His accomplishment of God’s ultimate purpose.” (p. 249)

Further evidence that Jonathan Edwards’ worldview was thoroughly Christ-centered and cross-centered.

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Related post: The Cross in the Preaching of Jonathan Edwards

Understanding affections

Tony Reinke Affections, Jonathan Edwards

Ran across this helpful little paragraph by Jonathan Edwards illustrating what he means by “affections.” Edwards writes:

We see the world of mankind to be exceedingly busy and active; and the affections of men are the springs of the motion: take away all love and hatred, all hope and fear, all anger, zeal and affectionate desire, and the world would be, in a great measure, motionless and dead; there would be no such thing as activity amongst mankind, or any earnest pursuit whatsoever. ‘Tis affection that engages the covetous man, and him that is greedy of worldly profits, in his pursuits; and it is by the affections, that the [sinfully] ambitious man is put forward in his pursuit of worldly glory; and ’tis the affections also that actuate the voluptuous man, in his pursuit of pleasure and sensual delights: the world continues, from age to age, in a continual commotion and agitation, in a pursuit of these things; but take away all affection, and the spring of all this motion would be gone, and the motion itself would cease. And as in worldly things, worldly affections are very much the spring of men’s motion and action; so in religious matters, the spring of their actions are very much religious affections: he that has doctrinal knowledge and speculation only, without affection, never is engaged in the business of religion.

-Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections (Yale) 2:110.

A Conversation with Jonathan Edwards

Tony Reinke BR > Reformation Heritage Books, Jonathan Edwards

I’m not alone in saying that Jonathan Edwards was likely the greatest theological mind in American history. Yet for a man who carefully dissected his terms, and frequently lamented the limitations of the English language in allowing him to express his thoughts (!), Edwards can be frustratingly complex and often too deep for many readers. So what is the best entry point into Edwards’s theology?

One book I return to frequently is A Conversation with Jonathan Edwards by Gary Crampton (Reformation Heritage Books). Crampton assembled the book in a Q&A format, posing theological questions and then writing answers, which are citations of direct quotes from the works of Edwards. Crampton book, which is just over 200 pages, provides a comprehensive overview of Edwards’s theology in way that I find very engaging. Chapters include Edwards thoughts on man, knowledge, Scripture, God, angels, man, soteriology, the Church, the family, eschatology, and heaven and hell.

I use A Conversation with Jonathan Edwards as an index and field guide to the  complete works of Edwards now available online from Yale University. Using Crampton as my map, I can more easily and efficiently find my way around Edwards’s works and locate specific writings in a snap.

Partly because it was produced by a small publisher (RHB), I don’t think this book has received the publicity it deserves. But if you are looking for a jumpstart into the theology of Edwards, or if you would like a map to help you sift through the online works of Edwards, this may be the best single volume overview available. I highly recommend it.

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Title: A Conversation with Jonathan Edwards
Author: Gary Crampton
Boards: paper
Pages: 202
Topical index: no (it’s arranged topically)
Scriptural index: no
Text: perfect type
Publisher: Reformation Heritage Books
Year: 2006
Price USD: $16.00 / $12.00 from publisher
ISBNs: 1892777762

Van Mastricht by 2014?

Tony Reinke Jonathan Edwards

“This early 17th century work is as massive as Bavinck’s dogmatics and had a major influence on such important Puritan divines as Jonathan Edwards. If the society can complete this project in five years, I will be very happy.”

James DeJong, President of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society, announcing that last month they began translating into English Peter Van Mastricht’s Theoretico-Practica Theologia, or “Theoretical and Practical Theology.” This work has been made famous, at least in part, by the glowing recommendation of Jonathan Edwards who ranked PVM’s work second only to the Bible in importance. Harry Stout writes that PVM was “one of the major influences on Jonathan Edwards’s theology from his graduate days onward.”

Collect your pennies, the entire project is expected to be completed by 2014.

Source: Reformation Heritage Books, Tolle Lege, Feb. 2009, p. 20.

Gospel Awareness and Self-Analysis

Tony Reinke Biblical counseling, David Powlison, Gospel, Jonathan Edwards

“The Puritans and [Jonathan] Edwards had the highest view of the mercy of God. In a sense their high view of the mercy of God is what gave them the courage to be self-analytical. But I think people reading them who are not grounded in a high view of the gospel can become depressed and introspective.”

David Powlison, CCEL podcast: “Biblical Counseling and the Puritans.”