Heaven (6): a World of Love: Insight from Jonathan Edwards on the History of Redemption

Heaven (6)--a World of Love: Insight from Jonathan Edwards on the History of Redemption

Few figures in history have been as abused by American mythology as Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). His legendary sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” has earned him that enduring place. Yet Edwards reputation as a hell-fire and brimstone pulpitier is considerably overrated according to Sydney Ahlstrom. Out of a thousand or so extant sermons less than a dozen could be classified as imprecatory. (BTW if you have never actually read this famous sermon then you owe it to yourself to do so. I have read it several times and it is a convicting sermon).

What has long been known to historians and theologians and even becoming more known among American Christians is that Edwards is America’s greatest theologian. Edwards is justly remembered for his important role in the Great Awakening that swept through England and the American Colonies. Not quite the typical picture of a revivalist Edwards became a brilliant defender these outpourings of the Spirit as well as a cautious critic of the Awakenings. The magnitude of Jonathan Edwards standing in the history of ideas is all the more remarkable when it is realized he was basically a backwoods preacher.

However, from his early youth Edwards had the disposition to be scholar. He was born on October 5, 1703 in Windsor, Connecticut. The son of a pastor, Timothy Edwards, he was surrounded by ten sisters. When he was a mere thirteen years old he enrolled in Yale College and graduated four year later at the head of his class. One of the readings he had at the age of fourteen was John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding. This book would make a lasting impression upon the young Edwards. (For Restorationists it is worth noting that this book also had a huge impact on Alexander Campbell … and it continues to flow in our spiritual DNA).

After a brief ministry with a Presbyterian congregation in New York, Edwards returned to Yale as a tutor and took his Master’s degree. In 1727, Jonathan moved his newly acquired wife, Sarah Pierrepont, to Northampton to work with the legendary Solomon Stoddard. By 1729 Stoddard passed away leaving a young Edwards as sole minister to a famous congregation. Young Edwards had become concerned with the spiritual apathy that reigned among the young people. He says they frequented the tavern, exhibited immoral behavior, a disregard for the Sabbath and a general disrespect prevailed among that class of citizens. Yet these very young people became the catalyst for a remarkable revival in Northampton that lead eventually to the conversion of around 300 people to Christ.

The publication of A Faithful Narrative of a Surprising Work of God by Edwards in 1737 garnered attention around the English speaking world for the budding theologian. Inspiring such men as George Whitefield, Isaac Watts and John Wesley, Edwards became an intellectual leader for the Great Awakening. (He published The Religious Affections as an examination of the Awakening).

But by 1750 Edwards reached the end of his strained relationship with Northampton. Controversies over the Lord’s Supper lead to his departure for a small Indian mission church in Stockbridge, MA where he remained until 1757. His ministry at Stockbridge is often seen as his greatest period of reflection as he produced such works as Freedom of the Will and Original Sin during this period. What is often overlooked in Edwards legacy is his respect for Native Americans. He became an able advocate for Indian rights and dignity. He learned Mohican language, conversed and preached in it. He made his home among the natives unlike previous missionaries.

Jonathan Edwards accepted the call to the Presidency of Princeton in 1757 on the condition that he could pursue his dream of a comprehensive theological work on the Christian faith to be called “The History of Redemption.” Unfortunately for Christians Edwards died from a tainted small pox inoculation before he could assume his role. Edwards last words to his family as he slipped into eternity were “Trust in God, and you need not fear.”

In our next installment we will look at what Edwards has to say regarding the History of Redemption …

Shalom,

Bobby Valentine