Jonathan Edwards was center stage in the Great Awakenings and his book The Religious Affections defined the nature of genuine religion while protecting the church against the dangers of counterfeit Christianity.
But why should we listen to Edwards? What qualifies him? And what, if anything, can we learn about him and from his example that might help us today?
Jonathan Edwards
Most people either love or hate JE. He doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room. Some consider him to be one of the most important Christians in church history and probably the most distinguished theologian and thinker ever in America.
But this is definitely not everyone’s perspective. Most history books refer only to Edwards as the preacher of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” and he is caricatured as a fire-and-brimstone preacher; as a melancholy, if not downright mean, man. One quote I came across said,
It is not surprising that Edwards’ main business in the world was to scare silly women and little children, blaspheming the God he professed to adore….Nothing but a disturbed or diseased mind could have produced ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. (Clarence Darrow, quoted in “Jonathan Edwards and the Crucial Importance of Revival” by Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Could that be accurate? Is it worthless for us to be studying this man? And really, can a man wearing a powdered wig like that really have anything for us to learn? I think so, wig and all. So over the next few posts I hope to provide a brief biography of his life and give some reasons why I believe we must hear him on these issues for the love of God
As always, we never want to study a man for his own sake. It is of no value simply to acquire historical or biographical facts for our heads, however interesting they might be. But we are commanded to learn from our teachers and even to imitate their manner of life as they follow Christ (cf. Hebrews 13:7. As Edwards himself said:
Useful men are some of the greatest blessings of a people. To have many such is more for a people’s happiness than almost anything, unless it be God’s own gracious, spiritual presence amongst them; they are precious gifts of heaven… .
So while we don’t want to study men instead of studying God and His Word, some men help us to understand Scripture better and love God more. They feed us through great instruction but they furnish an example for us to imitate. And both the life and teaching of JE are valuable for us today. None of us will ever be just like Edwards, but we can learn from him.
I suppose, then, Dante had a disturbed and diseased mind, as well…and it’s always comforting to know that God uses even silly women and children to cement a deep and passionate theologian into the culture of America. Sheesh.
This is going to awsome! I mean learning more about Edwards. He rock’ith.
This is a great post! I love the title.
To the unbelieving, Christ is not a nice guy (except when He saves them) - he’s a just guy. We seem to be so happy with “lamb”, but apparently anyone who thinks a “lion” is anything but a big kitty is disturbed and diseased.
And by the way, it doesn’t just work with silly women and little children. Full-grown intelligent men can also be terrified by the weight of their own sin and the necessary, just punishment for it. Praise God that He has chosen to have mercy on some. And praise God that He doesn’t change His mind.
Yeah, I’m not a silly woman… But he scares me.