“Of the making of books, there is no end”: Reading Jonathan Edwards (1703–58)

Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) is widely considered to be one of America’s most important Christian thinkers – a theologian of comparable significance to Saint Augustine, John Calvin, or Karl Barth. His published writings, made available online by Yale University, extend to some 73 volumes on subjects as various as aesthetics, metaphysics, typology, redemptive history, ethics, and revival. His complex ideas have won the attention of historians, theologians, literary critics, psychologists, and philosophers working across universities all over the world. It is a remarkable legacy for a humble pastor and a Gospel preacher who sought to guide lost sinners to Christ and to help Christians to make sense of the work of the Spirit of God.

Reading his published writings may appear daunting to the uninitiated. With 73 volumes, where should the reader even begin? And that’s not to mention the vast corpus of secondary literature relating to Edwards and early evangelicalism. In terms of biography, George Marsden’s Jonathan Edwards: A Life (2003) is second to none – an outstanding scholarly biography setting Edwards within the cultural and religious context of the eighteenth century. When it comes to reading Edwards himself, knowing where to begin is a little more difficult. John Smith, Harry S. Stout, and Kenneth P. Minkema (eds) have put together a fine selection of readings from Edwards’ writings in A Jonathan Edwards Reader (1995), with a critical scholarly introduction. The various selections should give the reader a taste for Edwards’ writings and a sense of where to progress in terms of reading. A similar collection, The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader (1999) edited by Wilson H. Kimnach, Kenneth P. Minkema, and Douglas A. Sweeney, contains a selection of his finest sermons with a scholarly introduction by the editors. Those new to Edwards should certainly consider reading ‘A Divine and Supernatural Light’ (1734), ‘Heaven is a World of Love’ (1738), and ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’ (1741) first of all for a sense Edwards’ style and a feel for his theological substance as a preacher.

Once you’ve gained some light from reading these selections, you may want to delve a little deeper into some of Edwards’ major works. The Distinguishing Marks (1741) is arguably the best place to begin for a sense of Edwards’ theology of revival and religious experience – offering the reader insight into Edwards’ method for distinguishing an authentic work of Holy Spirit in religious awakening. The End for which God Created the World (1765) is perhaps the next port of call. Here Edwards considers the glory of God as the ultimate end creation, and subsidiary to this end is human happiness which Edwards believes is intimately tied up with the glory of God. For Edwards, true happiness is found in God himself – a sense of His beauty and glory. Those interested in Edwards’ view of revival should consider reading A Faithful Narrative (1737), a work describing and almost clinically analysing the religious awakenings during his ministry in Northampton, Massachusetts. And if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you may want to dive into The Religious Affections (1746) and get to grips with Edwards’ psychology of religion. With some 73 volumes made freely available to read online by the Jonathan Edwards centre at Yale University, there really is no shortage of choice.

However, if reading online is not your cup of tea, you might consider investing in some of the published volumes by Yale University Press. The first few volumes are available at a reasonable price in paperback, but some volumes are eye wateringly expensive – you’ll almost need a mortgage to buy the set. Each volume is prefaced with a critical scholarly introduction of outstanding quality by leading experts in the field of early evangelicalism, specifically in the scholarly literature relating to Edwards. However, if you are looking to keep costs low, the two hardback volumes published by the Banner of Truth contain most of Edwards’ major works and sermons, and are worth every penny (see The Works of Jonathan Edwards – an affordable set for preachers and pastors). Those reading for scholarly purposes should consult the Yale editions of Edwards works and make use of the fully searchable corpus online at http://edwards.yale.edu.

Secondary literature on Edwards has become something of a cottage industry among scholars with new books coming out every year – even as the writer of Ecclesiastes once said, ‘Of the making of books, there is no end’ (Ecclesiastes 12:12). The Cambridge Companion to Edwards (2007) edited by Stephen J. Stein is a useful place to begin and contains valuable suggestions for further reading on specific subjects. There are myriads of books on Edwards’ theology and knowing where to begin can be something of a headache. The most comprehensive single volume introduction I have read is The Theology of Jonathan Edwards (2012) by Michael J. McClymond and Gerald R. McDermott. This volume contains chapters on subjects as various as beauty and aesthetics, metaphysics, typology, apologetics, exegesis, the doctrine of the Trinity, theological anthropology, soteriology, the Church, ethics, eschatology, and society, as well as useful chapters on historiography and the various scholarly and theological interpretations of Edwards. The footnotes throughout offer useful suggestions for further reading on specific subjects. In terms of Edwards’ influence and legacy, Jonathan Edwards at Home and Abroad: Historical Memories, Cultural Movements, Global Horizons (2003) edited David W. Kling and Douglas A. Sweeney contains some outstanding essays relating to Edwards’ ministry, his relevance to American culture, and the international scope of his legacy.

The quality of scholarship on Edwards is truly remarkable – something all historians of early evangelicalism should aim to emulate. On a personal note, reading Edwards and the scholarly literature has done my soul and mind a world of good. Edwards expands the heart and the head at once – something of a rarity in modern scholarship. ‘Men [may] have a great deal of pleasure in human knowledge, in studies of natural things; but this is nothing to that joy which arises from … divine light shining in the soul … this spiritual light is the dawning of the light of glory in the heart. There is nothing so powerful as this to support persons in affliction, and to give the mind peace and brightness, in this stormy and dark world’ (Edwards, 1734).

What is an Evangelical?

What exactly is an evangelical? Judging by the media coverage, one might be tempted to think of evangelicals as republicans who watch Fox News and relish in the not-so-politically-correct Donald Trump. True of some who claim to be evangelical, no doubt. But representative of evangelicalism everywhere? By no means!

Modern evangelicalism as an international movement is made up of people across political and ecclesiastical spectrums, people from every language, culture, and nation. It is an international movement far more concerned with spirituality and praxis than with State and Church. In fact, most evangelicals would express their identity in terms of a personal love relationship with Christ.

The Problem of Definition

The word Gospel which means ‘Good News’ is an English translation of the Greek term εὐαγγέλιον or euangélion, from which we derive the word ‘evangelical’. In a word, evangelicals are Gospel people. Their identity is found in the person and work of Christ – the evangel. Growing up in an evangelical Church, I occasionally remember the Gospel or Good News being summarised by 3Rs: ruin, redemption, and regeneration. A classic three-point sermon: lost mankind was ruined by the fall, is redeemed by Christ, and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. And this is basically what evangelicalism has always meant to me.

Be that as it may, historians of evangelicalism have often noted the difficulty of pinning down a precise meaning for the term – similar to the challenges faced by early modern historians in defining ‘Puritanism’. Given the considerable variety today within evangelical circles (in theology, worship, and practice), one wonders if it is even possible to define ‘evangelicalism’ at all. It may be more appropriate to speak of ‘evangelicalisms’ in the lower-case plural rather than of a monolithic Evangelical entity in the upper-case singular.

Some evangelicals are charismatic, some cessationists. Some are Calvinists, others Wesleyan. Some premillennial, some post-millennial, still others non-millennial. Some are politically conservative, some liberal and centrist, while others are democrats and socialists. Some love worship bands and choruses, others pipe organs and pianos, and some are psalms only, a cappella. And this only begins to touch the surface of variety within evangelicalism.

Historical & Theological Definitions

In spite of the considerable diversity, there may also be a centre of gravity – something which brings variegated evangelical groups into Gospel coalition. While historians have wrestled with the problem of definition for years, there are nonetheless certain distinguishing marks which have enabled scholars to explore the emergence, development, and diffusion of evangelicalism over the centuries.

David Bebbington

Integral to this field of study is the Bebbington quadrilateral. Published in 1989, David Bebbington’s scholarly monograph on Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s opens with a seminal chapter describing the distinguishing marks of evangelical religion: conversionism, the need for a change of life by the new birth; activism, the propagation of the Gospel in evangelistic and social effort; Biblicism, the centrality of the Bible in private devotion and public worship; and crucicentrism, a distinctive emphasis upon the atoning sacrifice of Christ upon the cross (see pp. 1–17).

His definition should not be taken as constitutive of evangelicalism in all its multifaceted forms, much less as an evangelical credo, but simply as denoting some key marks of evangelical religion for the purpose of historical identification. In other words, evangelicals will be recognisable throughout history by their distinctive concern for the conversion of sinners, the importance Gospel and social mission, the centrality of the Bible in worship and devotion, and the preaching of Christ crucified.

Other scholars have weighed in with possible definitions of evangelicalism – though none have been as influential or as convenient as Bebbington’s quadrilateral. Two in particular come to mind: Timothy Larsen and W. R. Ward.

Timothy Larsen

In his introductory chapter to The Cambridge Companion to Evangelical Theology (2007), Timothy Larsen defines an evangelical as: (1) an orthodox Protestant, (2) in the tradition emerging from 18th century international revival networks associated with John Wesley (1703–91) and George Whitefield (1714–70), (3) who has a particular regard for the Bible as the divinely inspired word of God; (4) who emphasises the atoning work of Christ upon the Cross as the way of reconciliation with God; (5) and who believes the work of the Holy Spirit is essential to bring about conversion, new birth, fellowship with God, and a changed life of service to God and others, especially in the task of propagating to Gospel to the world (see pp. 1–14).

Clearly Larsen’s definition lacks the brevity and memorability of Bebbington’s quadrilateral, but it does offer a definition of evangelicalism rooted in traditions emerging from the transatlantic revivals of the 18th century, as well as providing deeper insight into key aspects of evangelical theology such as the work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. All the same, the special marks already highlighted by Bebbington – the Bible, the Cross, Conversion, and Evangelism – are clearly evident in ‘the Larsen pentagon’.

W. R. Ward

In Early Evangelicalism: A Global Intellectual History, 1670–1789 (2006), W. R. Ward offers a unique and deeply scholarly perspective on the intellectual history of early evangelicalism, exploring some of the more esoteric and mystical dimensions of evangelical spirituality. Ward suggests six themes or characteristics in the formative and early development of evangelicalism from 1670 to 1789: a close association with mysticism, small-group religion, deferred eschatology, experimental conversionism, anti-Aristotelianism and opposition to system building, and a belief in the religious vitality of nature (p. 4). While this hexagon of themes may sound unusual to modern evangelicals at first, they nonetheless become apparent in the careful study of early evangelical intellectual history.

Tendencies toward mysticism, for example, may be found in Moravian hymnody or in the poetry of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Ann Griffiths (1776–1805). Small groups – Bible studies, society meetings, and the Welsh seiadau – clearly represent important aspects of intense group devotion common to evangelicals, not only in formative periods but through to modern day cell-groups, prayer meetings, and courses exploring the basics of Christianity. By deferred eschatology, Ward is referring to various signs needing to be fulfilled before the return of Christ, providing breathing space for mission and fulfilment of divine promises, especially (but not exclusively) taking the form of post-millennialism in which religious revivals inaugurating worldwide renewal or a millennium will precede the return of Christ.

Experimental conversionism ties in with Bebbington’s quadrilateral – not only did evangelicals stress the importance of conversion, but tested for signs of authenticity, piety, and devotion, and explored the nature and meaning of conversion experimentally in small groups through sharing, catechism, and testimony. Anti-Aristotelianism and opposition to system-building is arguably the most difficult to grasp. It is significant that evangelicalism’s greatest theologian – Jonathan Edwards (1703–58) – never wrote a systematic body of divinity, despite writing extensive treatises on theological topics. Perhaps the idea of anti-Aristotelianism also ties in with evangelical mysticism, suggesting neo-platonic influences on early evangelical spirituality. While vitalism may not immediately appear as an evangelical distinctive, the re-enchantment of nature is clearly an important theme in the typology of Jonathan Edwards – a cosmology emphasising the continual creative presence of God in the natural world, rather than deistic notions of a clockwork Newtonian universe. 

Ultimate Identity in Christ

The definitions offered by Bebbington, Larsen, and Ward should perhaps correct hasty generalisations in the political commentariat concerning evangelicals. Clearly the Bible, conversion, mission, and the cross are far more central to evangelical identity, along with the various other marks mentioned above, than any political considerations. In the final analysis, most evangelicals will define themselves in relation to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is the evangel incarnate. Indeed, the words of the Apostle Paul may rightly be considered as the motto of authentic evangelical religion: ‘For I have determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified’ (1 Corinthians 2:2).

References

David Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730s to the 1980s (London, 1989).

Timothy Larsen, ‘Defining and locating evangelicalism’, in Timothy Larsen & Daniel J. Treier (eds), The Cambridge Companion to Evangelical Theology (Cambridge, 2007), pp. 1–14. 

W. R. Ward, Early Evangelicalism: A Global Intellectual History, 1670–1789 (Cambridge, 2006).