The Essential Jonathan Edwards
Overview
250 years later, Jonathan Edwards, America's consummate pastor-theologian, continues to capture the attention of Christians around the world. Yet Edwards left us over 1,200 sermons and thousands of pages of other publications, not to mention the literal thousands of books that have been written about Edwards since he died. Where does one even begin? That's why we created The Essential Jonathan Edwards. It serves as a perfect introduction to Edwards' life and thought. It explores Edwards day-to-day life, and his views on beauty, true Christianity, heaven and hell, and the good life. Strachan and Sweeney strike the perfect balance between necessary background information and giving Edwards' own works room to speak.
Whether you're an Edwards fan already or only know Edwards because of “that Angry God sermon,” this book will lead you to drink deeply of Scripture and gaze longingly at God.
Key Features
- Presents an effective balance of explanatory discussion and Jonathan Edward's own words and insights
- Collects together some of Edwards' most important and thoughtful writings into a convenient volume
- Provides a guided tour of Edwards' thought, life, insights into the Christian faith
Contents
- Part 1: Lover of God
- A Happy Beginning
- The Joys of New Birth
- The Trials of a Young Man
- Beholding the God of Grace
- The Extraordinary Work
- The Unseen Underworld
- A Wilderness Errand
- The Passing of a Great Man
- Party 2: Beauty
- The Beauty of God
- The Beauty of Creation
- The Beauty of Christ
- The Beauty of the Church
- The Beauty of the Trinitarian Afterlife
- Part 3: The Good Life
- The Nearness of the Good Life
- The Distance of the Good Life
- The Taste for the Good Life
- The Pleasures of the Good Life
- The Shape of the Good Life
- Part 4: True Christianity
- The Problem of Nominal Christianity in Edwards's Day
- Edwards's Answer to Nominal Christianity
- Powerful Examples of True Christianity
- Edwards's Dismissal and the Contemporary Call to True Christianity
- Part 5: Heaven and Hell
- The Disappearance of the Afterlife
- The Frightening Prospect of Hell
- The Glorious Prospect of Heaven
- The Transforming Power of an Eternity-Focused Mindset
Praise for the Print Edition
Everyone says Jonathan Edwards is important. Quite frankly, however, his writing style is pretty dense by contemporary standards, so few pastors and other Christian leaders have invested much time reading him. This new series tackles the problem. Here is the kernel of much of Edwards’ thought in eminently accessible form.
—D. A. Carson, research professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
These primers on Jonathan Edwards’ life and thought—his passion for God—provide an excellent glimpse into a life lived unto God. And they help the rest of us slake our thirst for the majesty of our Savior. We owe a great debt to Owen Strachan and Douglas Sweeney for making Edwards and his vision of God so accessible to the rest of us thirsty pilgrims.
—Thabiti Anyabwile, Pastor of Anacostia River Church in southeast Washington, D.C.
Jonathan Edwards was a preacher of the Word, a pastor of souls, a philosopher of first rank, and the greatest theologian America has ever produced. In this wonderful new anthology of Edwards’ writings, the great Puritan saint lives again. I can think of no better tonic for our transcendence-starved age than the writings of Edwards. But beware: reading this stuff can change your life forever!
—Timothy George, Founding Dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University
Product Details
- Title: The Essential Jonathan Edwards: An Introduction to the Life and Teaching of America's Greatest Theologian
- Authors: Owen Strachan and Douglas Allen Sweeney
- Publisher: Moody
- Publication Date: 2018
- Pages: 448
- Christian Group: Reformed
- Resource Type: Anthology
- Topic: Post-Reformation
About the Authors
Owen Strachan is Associate Professor of Christian Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also the Director for the Center on Public Theology at MBTS. He holds a PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, an MDiv from Southern Seminary, and an AB from Bowdoin College. Strachan has published fourteen books and writes regularly for The Gospel Coalition, the Christian Post, and Thoughtlife, his Patheos blog. He is married and is the father of three children. Strachan hosts the City of God podcast
Douglas A. Sweeney is Professor of Church History and the History of Christian Thought and Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He formerly served at Yale University, where he edited The Works of Jonathan Edwards and served as a lecturer in church history and historical theology. Sweeney has also served as an adjunct professor at Aquinas College in Nashville, Tennessee, and a visiting professor for both Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina.