A God Entranced Vision of All Things

Everyone loves Jonathan Edwards! I realize that this says more about my context and what I read than about the general attitude towards Edwards among the average person in United States, for whom Edwards is only known by a single sermon of his which they read in high school, but it seems that Edwards continues to gain in popularity in theological and philosophical circles. The latest Edwards book I read is the result of a Jonathan Edwards conference hosted by Desiring God ministries in 2003. The book is a collection of articles edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor and is entitled A God Entranced Vision of All Things. It is a good look at a few aspects of his life and a detailed look at three parts of his theology. Here are a few of my favorite chapters.

Part One of the book is mostly biographical, focusing upon the life of Edwards (chapters 1 and 2) and Sarah Edwards (chapter 3). Part Two examines specific parts of Edwards life and I think are the best of the book. Chapter 4, by J. I. Packer, studies the view of Edwards on the glory of God and how it affected his view of revivals. Donald Whitney, following the book he has written on spiritual disciplines, traces the spiritual disciplines in the life of Edwards and how he followed them. Chapter six has the intriguing title of “How Jonathan Edwards Got Fired, and Why It’s Important for Us Today.” It is somewhat amazing that Edwards could get fired, but it is encouraging to know that people didn’t like being confronted about sin at most any time in history. The most interesting chapter to me was chapter seven, which examines how Jonathan could be a slave owner. I have not seen any discussion of this anywhere else, and it was a fascinating look from a member of the African American community who follows Edward’s theology but struggles with the fact that he held slaves. Very interesting.

Part three is a more detailed look at three parts of Edward’s theology: Original Sin, Freedom of the Will, and Revivals. I had not known Edward’s view of original sin, which seems to state that we are just as connected with Adam as we are with us in the earlier part of our lives. Or something like that. It didn’t make much sense to me, and the impression I got is that no one else has followed Edwards down that road. Anyway, this is a good book on Edwards and I recommend it to you!

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