Latest / Reformed Thinking / Jonathan Edwards: Revival, Joy, and the Glory of Christ | John Piper

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Jonathan Edwards: Revival, Joy, and the Glory of Christ | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to the deep dive from reformed thinking.
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Today we're diving into a pile of sources we've collected on a
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figure who, well, still sparks a lot of discussion centuries
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later. Jonathan Edwards.
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Definitely a significant figure. We've been looking through
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various notes, excerpts mostly focusing on how John Piper views
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Edwards life and his thinking. Right, Piper's lens gives a
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specific angle. Our goal here really is to
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unpack this material together. We want to pull out the main
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moments, the key ideas, maybe some things you wouldn't expect
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about Edward's life. Yeah, to give you a clear
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picture without you having to sift through everything
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yourself. Exactly.
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We'll look at his intellect, which was obviously sharp, his
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spiritual life, his time as a pastor.
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His influence which was huge. And yeah, we also need to touch
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on some of the, let's say, difficult parts of his time and
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how he fits into that. It's definitely a lot to cover,
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but these sources, especially with the Piper focus, really
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zero in on Edwards core motivation.
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And what stands out right away from that perspective?
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Well, the thing that just jumps off the page in these sources is
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how incredibly focused he was on God.
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I mean, completely OK. The sources really set him apart
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from later thinkers because for him, the reality and supremacy
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of a personal supernatural God wasn't just an ID.
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Yeah, it was like the absolute center of everything he thought
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and did. That focus sounds like the main
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thread then, running through his whole life, starting from the
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very beginning. Seems like it.
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So let's start there. His beginnings.
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What did the sources tell us about his birth?
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His family situation. OK, so Jonathan Edwards, born
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October 5, 1703, that was in Windsor, CT.
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Windsor, OK. And he came from a big family.
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He was actually the only son with 10 sisters.
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Wow, one boy and 10 girls. That's quite the dynamic.
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Yeah, and his father, Timothy Edwards, was the local
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congregational pastor, so that sets the scene pretty clearly.
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Definitely a religious upbringing, and the sources
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mentioned his father's influence on his education specifically,
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don't they? They do.
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It wasn't just, you know, general religious instruction.
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Timothy Edwards was apparently quite learned himself and really
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took charge of Jonathan's early schooling.
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How so? The sources make a point of
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saying Timothy taught Jonathan Latin when he was just six years
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old. 6 Latin. Yeah, which is, you know,
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remarkably early. It really shows the kind of
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intellectual environment he was in right from the start.
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Starting Latin at six definitely paints a picture, and this early
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academic push, it seems like it set him up well because the
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sources say he went off to Yale incredibly young.
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That's right, he was sent to Yale when he was 12. 12 years
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old? Yep.
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And he finished his undergraduate studies pretty
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fast, graduating in 1720. And didn't he give the
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graduation speech? He did?
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Yeah. He delivered the valedictory
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address. Adding to that picture of, well,
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early brilliance. And it was in Latin, which was
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the custom back then. So he graduates Yale at 17.
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Teen gives the big speech in Latin.
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But he wasn't done with school yet, the sources show.
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He stayed on at Yale after getting his degree to.
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Prepare for ministry, yeah. Exactly that.
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He kept studying for another two years, specifically focused on
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getting ready for ministry work right then.
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He actually came back again in September 1723, did some more
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study, got his Master of Arts degree, and also started
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tutoring at Yale. So Yale was really foundational
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for him intellectually in those early years.
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Before he came back for the MA in the tutoring though, wasn't
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there a short stint somewhere else?
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The sources mentioned him preaching early on.
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Right. Yes, he got license to preach
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when he was 1919, and his very first actual pastor job was at
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the Scotch Presbyterian Church in New York City.
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He was only there for about 8 months though, August 1722 to
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April 1723. Just a short time, but that's
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the start of his active ministry outside of just studying for.
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It pretty much, yeah. His first real taste of pastoral
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work. OK, so after that brief New York
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stint, he's back at Yale studying, tutoring, building
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that intellectual base. Now you mentioned earlier the
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Bible being the core influence. Let's dig into that and the
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other influences on his thinking, because the sources
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have some really important points here.
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Yeah, the sources couldn't be clearer on this.
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For Edwards, the Bible, the Holy Scriptures were absolutely the
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number one foundational influence, period.
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Everything else flowed from that.
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He was totally convinced of it. The sources quote him saying
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something like all knowledge and divinity must be derived from
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scripture. All knowledge.
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That's a strong statement. How did that play out for him
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practically? Well, it wasn't just something
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he said. Sources talk about his assiduous
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meaning. Like super diligent and constant
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and very direct grappling with the biblical text itself.
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He wasn't just reading it passively.
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He really dug in, and there's that famous thing about his
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Bible, right? The interleaved 1.
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Yes, the sources make a big deal of this.
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He literally took blank pages and had them bound into his
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Bible between the printed pages. So he could write right
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alongside the text. Exactly, and he filled those
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pages with tons of notes, reflections, cross references,
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all in this tiny tiny handwriting.
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Covered pretty much the whole Bible, even the parts people
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might skip over. It just shows how deeply
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immersed he was, the sources say.
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He put faithfulness to the Word of God before every other
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consideration. That kind of direct, intense
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personal work with a text is really something.
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The sources call it the wellspring of his profoundly
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biblical rethinking. OK, but then you see names like
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John Locke pop up. How does someone like Locke fit
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in if the Bible is so primary? Right.
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And this is where the sources provide a really important
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clarification, kind of pushing back against a common idea about
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Edwards. He read Locke's essay concerning
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Human Understanding when he was about 15. 15 Wow.
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Yeah, and the sources say he got immense pleasure from it, like
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they compare his excitement to a miser finding a treasure chest.
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OK, well that sounds like Locke must have been a huge influence.
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Maybe push him towards empiricism or something.
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It sounds like it could, yeah, but the sources are really
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careful here. They say while he found Locke
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stimulating, valuable, even that enjoyment did not mean he agreed
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with everything Locke was saying.
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Specifically, the sources emphasize it did not mean he
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adopted Locke's empiricism or his skepticism about certain
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types of knowledge or any, you know, potential materialist
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leanings in Locke's philosophy. So maybe he appreciated Locke's
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way of analyzing the mind, the method, but not the
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philosophical conclusions Locke reached.
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That seems to be the interpretation the sources
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offer. They argue really strongly
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against the idea that Edwards started out as some kind of lock
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in. They call that a myth that needs
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to be put to rest. So what was Edwards,
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philosophically speaking, according to these sources?
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They insist he remained A philosophical rationalist, a
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supernaturalist and a metaphysician his whole life.
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OK, let's unpack those terms a bit.
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What does that mean in this context?
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Philosophical. Rationalist.
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Good question. So a philosophical rationalist
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here would suggest Edwards believed certain core truths,
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especially about God and reality, could be known through
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reason or were just inherently part of how reality is
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structured, not solely based on sense experience like Locke
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might argue. OK, so reason plays a big role,
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not just experience. Right.
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And a supernaturalist obviously believes in the supernatural
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realm, God acting, intervening, being the ultimate reality
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behind what we see, opposed to views that limit reality just to
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the material or observable. Makes sense and metaphysician.
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That just means he wrestled with the big questions about the
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fundamental nature of reality, existence, time, 'cause mind,
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matter, stuff like that, which he clearly did in his writings.
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Gotcha. So he could find Locke's
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analysis interesting, maybe even helpful in how he thought about
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the mind. But his basic framework for
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understanding God, the soul, the world that stayed rooted
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elsewhere, rooted in his theology, ultimately.
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That's the picture the sources paint.
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He appreciated Locke's tools perhaps, but didn't adopt the
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whole locking system. OK, now closer to home, his
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grandfather, Solomon Stoddard. He was a big figure in Edward's
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life and ministry. Context.
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Huge. Solomon Stoddard wasn't just his
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grandfather, he was also the pastor in Northampton for a very
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long time right before Edwards took over.
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So Stoddard's influence really shaped the church and the
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community that Edward stepped into and.
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Where was that influence felt most strongly?
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The sources really zero in on Stoddard's views about church
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membership and who should be allowed to take the Lord's
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Supper. Stoddard had brought in this
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practice of admitting people to communion even if they hadn't
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made a credible profession of, you know, saving faith.
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He saw Communion itself as a way to get converted.
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Yeah, he called it a converting ordinance.
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He hoped that by taking part in the supper, people might
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actually come to faith through that act.
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That's definitely different from the more traditional Puritan
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view, where the supper was more for those who already believed.
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Very different. And this is where Stoddard's
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influence becomes really crucial, even though Edwards
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eventually went the other way. Because Edwards later rejected
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Stoddard's practice. His view that only people who
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showed credible signs of being godly or gracious persons should
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come to the table, well, that became a massive point of
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conflict later on. The conflict that got him fired,
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essentially, which just shows how Central Stoddard's legacy,
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even in disagreement, was to the situation Edwards faced.
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Absolutely. It shows the deep impact
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Stoddard had, even leading to that later break.
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Now. The sources also mentioned
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Edwards engaging with other philosophical ideas floating
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around at the time. What sort of ideas?
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Well, particularly in his later philosophical writings like The
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Nature of True Virtue, the sources show him interacting
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with something called sentimental ethics, which was
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gaining ground in the 18th century.
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Sentimental ethics? Can you remind us what that's
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about? Sure.
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Basically it was a shift some thinkers were making.
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Instead of grounding morality strictly in God's commands or
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pure reason, they started locating it in human feelings,
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sentiments, or natural affections.
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The idea was like we know something is right or wrong
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because it triggers a certain feeling or moral sense inside
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us. OK, like Shaftsbury or
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Hutchinson, those guys. Exactly.
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The sources mention the Earl of Shaftsbury, Francis Hutchison,
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Samuel Clark as examples of people exploring these kinds of
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ideas. And how did Edwards engage with
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that? Did he adopt it?
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No, not according to these sources.
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They frame it more as him responding to these ideas from
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his own theological base. His goal, they suggest, was to
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give that earlier 17th century Puritan pietism a respectable
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philosophical structure. So using his theology to build a
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philosophical case. Yeah, he believed his biblical
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viewer offered the true rendering of reality and could
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stand up to these other philosophical systems.
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He wanted to show that a strong biblical worldview could answer
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those deep questions about virtue and reality better than
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these newer sentimentalist approaches.
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So he's engaging philosophy, but on his own terms, grounded in
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theology. That's the idea he's trying to
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show. His framework is more coherent,
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more true. The sources also group him with
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some big European philosophers of that era, Leibniz,
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Melabranche, Pascal. What's the significance of
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putting him in that company? It suggests that Edwards was
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seen, and probably saw himself as working in a similar
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intellectual league. These guys are described as
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philosophers who thought freely but did so within a dogmatic
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tradition, meaning they engaged in serious philosophical
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thinking, but their fundamental beliefs, their theological or
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metaphysical dogma, still guided and shaped their conclusions.
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Which fits Edwards perfectly given his reliance on Scripture.
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Right now, this deep philosophical engagement
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sometimes LED people to think he was getting sidetracked, going
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beyond the immediate concerns of the ministry.
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But the sources always circle back.
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Despite wrestling with all these philosophical ideas, his
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defining trait remain his utter supernaturalism and godwardness.
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There's that core focus again. Yeah, and the sources suggested
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this is what made him seem gloriously unmodern, especially
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in an age that was starting to push God to the margins of
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public life and thought. His final authority, they stress
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again and again, was moral theology, which for Edwards
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basically meant relying on the Bible as the ultimate source of
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truth about everything that mattered.
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That really clarifies his intellectual world, rooted in
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the Bible, aware of and engaging with philosophy, but completely
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centered on God. OK, let's just focus inward now.
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The sources paint a picture of incredible personal intensity
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and discipline in his spiritual life.
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Oh, definitely. This inner drive really comes
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through in those famous resolutions he wrote.
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He wrote them when he was young, basically laying out rules for
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himself, how he intended to live, especially his spiritual
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life. I've heard about those, they
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sound incredibly strict. Can you give an example of two
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from the sources? Sure, resolution #44 is quoted
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that no other end but religion shall have any influence at all
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in any of my actions. Wow.
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No other end but religion. Yeah, and Resolution 61 was
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about avoiding listlessness in religion.
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You know, apathy, lack of energy or interest.
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That first one, no other end but religion.
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That sounds really radical. The sources call it a radical
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application of biblical ideas, like citing Second Timothy 2.4
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about a soldier being totally focused on pleasing his
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commanding officer. The argument is that this
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intense, single minded focus on religion is what allowed him to
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do the amazing things he accomplished.
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But how did he understand religion or divinity when he
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said that? What did it mean to him?
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Well, for Edwards, religion wasn't just like going to church
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or personal piety, the sources explain.
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It meant the whole package. Christian living and thinking
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comprehensive. And this living and thinking was
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grounded in what he called the science of divinity.
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You use science for theology again there.
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Yeah, and that older sense of a systematic body of knowledge,
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not like modern lab coats and experiments.
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And the main object of this science, the sources say, was
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God himself the eternal 3 and 1. But not only God the Father.
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No, it was broader. It included studying Jesus
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Christ, the God, man, the Mediator, the whole work of
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redemption, heavenly realities, the Holy Spirit's work, our duty
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towards God, and even the process of becoming like God
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Himself. So the single minded focus
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wasn't narrow at all. It was aimed at this incredibly
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vast, deep understanding of God and everything connected to Him.
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And like we said, pursuing the science was all about Scripture
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for Him. Absolutely.
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The sources really hammer this home.
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He was a dedicated student of the Bible, studied theology not
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chiefly in systems or commentaries, but in the Bible
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itself. He was always telling people be
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assiduous in reading the Holy Scriptures, calling it the
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fountain where all true knowledge of divinity comes
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from. And that interleaved Bible we
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talked about is the prime exhibit of that.
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Totally. You picture him with that Bible,
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crammed with tiny notes, wrestling with it, constantly
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finding stuff even in obscure corners of scripture.
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His 28th resolution connects right to this, to study the
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Scripture so steadily, constantly and frequently as
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that I may find and plainly perceive myself to grow in the
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knowledge of the same. He directly linked that to
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Second Peter 3.19 about growing in the knowledge of Christ.
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That level of study must have taken an insane amount of time.
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What do the sources say about his actual study habits?
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Get this? He commonly spent 13 or 14 hours
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a day in his study. 13 or 14 hours a day.
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Yeah, day after day. Just imagine dedicating that
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much focus time to reading, thinking, writing about theology
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in the Bible. To keep that up for years, yeah,
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he must have needed extraordinary physical
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discipline, too, especially since the sources mentioned his
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health wasn't perfect. Right, they noticed physique.
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He was tall, 6 foot one, but also mentioned his precarious
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health. Yet they say there's no hint of
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instability in his thinking or work.
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How did he manage it? Through really careful attention
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to his diet and exercise. He saw those as supporting his
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main work. Completely, the sources say he
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managed his physical habits specifically to optimize his
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efficiency and power and study. So even eating and exercising,
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we're strategic. That's exactly the picture.
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He paid close attention to how different foods affected him
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physically and mentally. He chose foods that he felt
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suited his constitution for intense mental labor, and he
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deliberately avoided stuff that made him feel sick or drowsy.
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His diary entry is from when he was young mentioned this.
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Right. Yeah, Yeah.
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When he was 21, he listed the benefits he saw and being
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careful with his diet. Sparingness, he called it.
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He thought it would help them live longer, spend less time
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digesting, study harder without I'll effects, need less sleep
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and have fewer headaches. His resolution on this was
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blunt. Maintain the strictest
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temperance in food and drink. And exercise was part of this
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structured plan too. Yep.
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In winter, the sources say, he'd chopped firewood for half an
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hour every day. Practical work, yeah.
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And in summer, he'd exercise by riding his horse or walking
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alone in the fields and woods. But those summer outings weren't
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just about fitness. The sources connect them
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directly to divine contemplation.
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So even his exercise was tied into his spiritual focus.
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That's interesting. The sources do mention you had a
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real appreciation for nature. They do.
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They say He had qualities you might call romantic and Mystic,
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going beyond just cold logic. He wrote about being sometimes
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disposed to regard the glories of the world.
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But he didn't stop there. He connected that natural beauty
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directly to seeing and feeling God's glory.
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Like Psalm 19, the heavens declare the glory of God.
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And there's that specific story, that powerful experience he had
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out in nature. Yeah, a really famous account.
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In 1737 he was out riding in the woods, partly for his health,
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and he describes having this extraordinary view like a direct
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sense of the glory of the Son of God.
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An intense spiritual experience. So intense, he said, that it
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just overwhelmed him. He ended up weeping for about an
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hour, completely overcome by the sense of Christ, glory and
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grace. It's a powerful example of how
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his physical routines, his love for nature, and his deep
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spiritual life all flowed together.
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He was clearly so careful about structuring his life for, well,
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maximum spiritual and intellectual output, including
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how he used his time. His resolutions hit that hard
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too. One was to live with all my
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might while I do live another #5 never to lose 1 moment of time,
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but to improve it in the most profitable way I can.
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Just constantly aware of every minute.
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Seems like it. The sources describe how he made
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it a habit to write down his thoughts immediately, even
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getting up in the middle of the night if an idea struck him.
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And when he travelled on horseback, he'd use that time
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for thinking. To keep track of his train of
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thought, he'd pin little notes to his coat in sequence.
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Pinning notes to his code. Yeah, it paints this picture of
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a mind that was just always working, always trying to
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capture insights, always focused on redeeming the time for God
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centered work. OK, so we have his background,
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his intellectual world, his intense inner life.
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Let's turn now to his public ministry, especially his time in
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Northampton. That period saw both incredible
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revival and eventually major conflict.
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Right. Edwards went back to Northampton
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in September 1726. At first he was assisting his
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grandfather, Solomon Stoddard. Then, after Stoddard died,
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Edwards took over as the main pastor and.
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What was the situation like in Northampton when he got there?
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Was it a spiritually vibrant place?
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Not according to the sources. They describe the town and
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church as pretty LAX and degenerate.
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Specific problems. Yeah, quite a few things like
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general dissipation, licentiousness especially among
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the young people, Sabbath not being respected, people causing
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disturbances during worship services, and even serious
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contention between different factions in the town.
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That sounds like a pretty challenging environment to step
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into. Definitely not easy.
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So given his intense focus on study and writing that we just
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talked about, how did he approach his pastoral duties in
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that kind of messy situation? Well, the sources note his sense
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of priorities. Edwards apparently believed he
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could do the greatest good and best promote the cause of Christ
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by concentrating his efforts on preaching and writing and
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conversing with persons under religious impressions in his
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study. Rather than, say, lots of
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routine home visits. Right.
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He seems to have focused his time where he felt he could have
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the biggest spiritual impact, which for him was more in the
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pulpit, the study, and dealing with people wrestling with
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spiritual questions, less on the kind of broad house to house
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visiting that might have been more typical then.
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He was strategic with his time and this period in Northampton,
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it famously coincided with the peak of the Great Awakening.
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It did. Things started stirring about
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five years after he arrived in the early 1730s, but the real
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peak of revival activity in his church was during the mid 1730s
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and into the early 1740s. And Edwards was central to all
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that. Oh yeah, The sources put him at
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the heart of this awakening. He wasn't just watching it
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happen. He was actively involved in
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sparking it, defending it, analyzing it, and recounting it
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through his preaching, his writing, everything.
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His preaching was obviously a key part of it.
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And his most famous sermon, the one everyone knows, came from
21:10
this time, right? That's the one sinners in the
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hands of an angry God. He actually preached it not in
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Northampton, but in Enfield, CT on July 8th, 1741.
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The sources specifically mentioned it causing an
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immediate revival right there in that congregation.
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It's become almost the symbol of the Great Awakening for many
21:28
people. But beyond just that one sermon,
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his writing also seriously engaged with what was happening
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during the Awakening. Absolutely.
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His book treatise concerning the religious affections is a major
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example. It's seen as his sort of mature
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analysis of the revival experiences.
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He was trying to help people figure out the difference
21:47
between genuine spiritual transformation and, you know,
21:51
just temporary emotional excitement, looking at the
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nature and the results of people's religious feelings.
21:57
So a time of amazing spiritual energy.
21:59
But as we hinted at, it didn't end well for him in Northampton.
22:03
The sources call the road to his dismissal convoluted and
22:06
painful. What were the main things that
22:08
led to it? The sources seem to point to two
22:11
key flare ups. The first was around 1744.
22:15
OK, what happened then? It started because some
22:17
licentious books were apparently circulating among the young
22:20
people, along with some crude language being used.
22:23
Edwards, supported by the church leadership, initially wanted to
22:26
investigate this and deal with the individuals involved through
22:29
church discipline. Sounds reasonable.
22:31
Where did it go wrong? Well, according to the sources,
22:33
Edwards made a move that they describe as unwise.
22:37
When calling young people to come to his house about the
22:40
matter, he publicly read out a list of names.
22:43
The big problem was he didn't make it clear who was being
22:47
accused of wrongdoing versus who was just being called as a
22:50
witness. Oh so he basically lumped
22:52
witnesses and accused together in public.
22:55
Could see how that would cause trouble.
22:56
Big trouble. The sources say it led to
22:58
significant resistance from families and the community.
23:02
They even suggest this incident doubtless laid the foundation
23:05
for his removal because it really damaged his relationship
23:08
with the town and his effectiveness there.
23:10
Wow, so that's 1744, but the actual dismissal was later 1750.
23:15
What was the final conflict about in 1749?
23:18
That came back to the issue we discussed earlier, his
23:21
disagreement with his grandfather Stoddard's practice
23:23
regarding the Lord's Supper. The converting ordinance idea
23:26
that fully blew up. It did.
23:28
Edwards had become fully convinced that Stoddard's
23:30
approach was wrong. He believed firmly that only
23:33
people who gave a credible testimony of saving faith, those
23:36
godly or gracious persons, should be admitted to communion.
23:40
He laid out his case publicly in a book called A Humble Inquiry,
23:43
published in August 1749. He put his arguments out there
23:47
for everyone to read. How did the congregation react
23:50
to his book? According to the sources, his
23:52
book was scarcely read by most of them.
23:55
It seems instead of engaging with his reasoning, there is
23:57
just this general outcry to get rid of him once his position
24:00
became clear. The attachment to Stoddard's
24:03
more open communion practice was just too strong.
24:05
Sounds like a head on collision between Edwards's theological
24:08
conviction and the congregation's established
24:11
tradition and preference. Pretty much sums it up.
24:13
The whole dispute dragged on for almost a year and finally they
24:17
held a vote. The decision to dismiss him was
24:19
officially announced on June 20 tenth, 1750.
24:22
After he'd been their pastor for over 23 years, that's brutal.
24:26
How did he handle the dismissal itself?
24:28
He preached A farewell sermon a week or so later, July 1st.
24:32
The sources describe it as being utterly serious and without
24:36
personal rancor, which is pretty remarkable given the
24:38
circumstances. Apparently not.
24:41
In the sermon he expressed a kind of gracious yearning for
24:44
their future spiritual well-being.
24:47
He wished them well, hoped they'd find a faithful pastor,
24:50
and basically looked ahead to the day they'd all stand before
24:52
God. That shows incredible character
24:54
really. But what was his practical
24:56
situation right after they kicked him out?
24:58
Yeah, practically it was dire. He was 46, still had nine
25:02
children at home depending on him, and as he wrote himself, he
25:05
had nothing visible to depend upon for future work or even for
25:09
his family's basic needs. He called it an awful situation,
25:13
using awful in that older sense of awe, inspiringly terrible,
25:17
something that demanded serious thought and humility.
25:20
But, he added, his trust was in an all sufficient faithful
25:24
covenant God. He had to lean hard on that
25:26
faith in that moment. But as the sources point out,
25:30
this devastating blow wasn't the end of his story, or even his
25:33
productivity. It actually led to his time in
25:35
Stockbridge and some of his most important writing.
25:37
It did. The sources frame the dismissal
25:40
as this strange and painful Providence, but one that Gus
25:44
used for greater purposes. Just a few months later, early
25:48
December 1750, he got a call to go to Stockbridge, MA.
25:52
Stockbridge. What was that?
25:54
What was the job? Stockbridge was a frontier
25:56
village then, pretty remote, and the call was twofold to be the
26:00
pastor for the English settlers there and also to be a
26:03
missionary to the Hasternak River Indians living in the
26:06
area. Wow, so from a prominent
26:08
established church, I'll be a difficult one to the edge of the
26:11
wilderness doing mission work. Quite a change.
26:13
A massive change. He accepted move there himself
26:16
in June 1751 and the family came later that summer.
26:20
And life in Stockbridge was definitely tough.
26:22
What kind of challenges did he run into there?
26:24
Oh, the sources list quite a few.
26:25
Money was tight, especially at first before he sold his house
26:29
back in Northampton. He apparently didn't even have
26:31
enough money to buy paper for his writing.
26:33
No paper for Jonathan Edwards. Right.
26:36
Plus, he had to build a new house for his large family.
26:40
His preaching often required using an interpreter to reach
26:42
the Native Americans. He had to deal with the
26:44
practical needs of the Indian converts, language issues,
26:48
schools. And on top of all that, he got
26:50
tangled up in local squabbles trying to mediate between
26:53
factions and even had to confront people who are misusing
26:56
funds meant for the mission. Sounds exhausting.
26:58
Constant practical problems and conflicts.
27:01
It really does demanding on many levels, but the sources say he
27:05
dedicated himself to all these tasks with faithfulness, despite
27:08
how hard it was. And here's the the amazing part
27:11
It was during these seven difficult years in Stockbridge
27:14
between 1752 and 1757 that he wrote four of his absolute most
27:18
significant, most influential books.
27:20
So this time of hardship turned into an incredibly fruitful
27:24
period for his writing. Exactly.
27:26
The sources quote some pretty high praise for these works,
27:29
calling them four of the ablest and most valuable works which
27:32
the Church of Christ has in its possession.
27:35
Which four major books came out of the Stockbridge years?
27:38
OK, the sources list them. 1st published 1754, was a careful
27:43
and strict inquiry into the modern prevailing notions of
27:46
that freedom of the will, often just called freedom of the will
27:49
that one's frequently seen as his single greatest written
27:52
work. His magnum opus, maybe?
27:54
Arguably, yeah. Then he also wrote The End for
27:57
Which God Created the World and The Nature of True Virtue.
28:00
Those two were actually meant to be published as a single volume.
28:03
And as we touched on, True Virtue was his deep dive into
28:06
responding to those sentimental ethics ideas.
28:09
OK, that's three. What was the 4th?
28:11
His last major writing project, finished in May 1757, was The
28:15
Great Christian Doctrine of Original Sin that was written
28:18
specifically to counter the arguments of a contemporary
28:21
theologian named Doctor John Taylor.
28:23
It's pretty stunning that he could produce works of that
28:25
depth and lasting impact while dealing with all the pressures
28:29
of a frontier ministry and mission work.
28:31
It shows he never stopped wrestling with those big
28:35
theological and philosophical questions.
28:37
Not at all. His drive to vindicate
28:39
Christianity philosophically was still strong.
28:42
Like the sources say, his goal remained giving that Puritan
28:45
piety a respectable philosophical structure, showing
28:48
it was rationally credible in the face of other intellectual
28:51
trends. He really believed his biblical
28:54
view was the true rendering of reality and could hold its own
28:57
against any other system. But always, as the sources keep
29:01
stressing, with philosophy serving theology.
29:03
Always it was subordinated to divine revelation.
29:07
He used the tools of philosophy, He engaged the questions, but
29:11
his conclusions were ultimately drawn from and tested against
29:14
moral theology, which again for him and the Bible he thought
29:17
freely, but within that biblical framework.
29:20
Now, besides his own major writings from this period,
29:23
another huge impact came through someone who actually lived with
29:25
his family for a time in Northampton, David Brainard.
29:28
Yeah, the sources really emphasize how significant this
29:31
connection was. Edwards first met David Brainard
29:34
back in 1743 in New Haven. Brainard was this young,
29:38
incredibly dedicated missionary working among the Native
29:40
Americans. And the sources make a pretty
29:42
bold claim about Edward's role in Brainerd's legacy.
29:45
They really do. They say Brainerd's life and
29:48
work would have passed into the annals of heaven but not earth
29:51
if it weren't for Edwards. Meaning God would have known,
29:54
but the world wouldn't have without Edwards involvement.
29:56
That's saying a lot. Brainerd ended up staying with
29:59
the Edwards family, didn't he towards the end of his life.
30:01
Yes. In March 1747, Brainerd came to
30:04
the Edwards home. He was very sick with
30:06
tuberculosis by then. Edwards's daughter Jerusha, who
30:09
was 17 at the time, took on a special role in caring for him,
30:13
the sources mentioned. She had much the same spirit as
30:16
Brainerd, and looked after him with great delight.
30:18
That's a touching detail, but Brainerd died young.
30:22
Very young, he passed away on October 9th, 1747.
30:25
He was only 20. Nadine and sadly Jerusha, who
30:28
had cared for him. She died not long after, in
30:30
February 1740. 8 So Edwards then took Brainerd's journals and
30:34
Diaries and published them. He did.
30:37
Edwards deeply admired Brainerd, saw him as an eminent servant of
30:40
Jesus Christ. He took on the huge task of
30:44
editing Brainerd's extensive writings.
30:46
The sources describe it as an act of devotion both to Brainerd
30:50
personally and to the cause of missions.
30:53
Edwards himself said it was something divine Providence
30:55
unexpectedly laid in my way. The book came out in 1749.
30:59
The Life of David Brainerd. Why did Edwards think it was so
31:02
crucial to get Brainerd's story out there?
31:04
He spelled it out in the preface.
31:06
He argued that God shows people what true religion and virtue
31:09
look like in 2 main ways. One way is through doctrine and
31:13
precept the teachings and commands in the Bible.
31:15
OK. And the other way.
31:16
The other way is by instance, an example by showing a real human
31:20
life lived out in faith and devotion.
31:23
Brainerd's life was that example.
31:24
Exactly. Edward saw Brainerd's life
31:27
captured in his raw, honest journals as a powerful
31:30
demonstration of genuine piety and sacrificial service.
31:34
He believed a life like that served as a strong defense and
31:37
confirmation of true Christianity.
31:39
The sources mentioned Edwards pointing to Hebrews 13.7.
31:43
Remember your leaders. Consider the outcome.
31:46
Imitate their faith as biblical justification for publishing it.
31:49
So it wasn't just a biography, it was meant as a model and
31:52
inspiration for others. And the sources say this book
31:55
had an incalculable impact, especially on missions.
31:58
Incalculable is the word they use, they state.
31:59
The book has basically never been out of print, and its
32:01
influence on world missions over the last 2 1/2 centuries has
32:04
been immense. It's spurred on generations of
32:07
missionaries and leaders. Can you give some examples of
32:09
who was influenced? Sure, the sources list quite a
32:12
few. Gideon Holly, who is mentored by
32:14
Edward and also became a missionary to Native Americans,
32:17
supposedly carried Brainerd's life right alongside his Bible.
32:21
John Wesley, even though he disagreed strongly with Edwards
32:24
Calvinism, published his own shorter version because he saw
32:27
Brainerd's spirit as so vital. Wesley said preachers with
32:31
Brainerd spirit would be invincible.
32:33
Even across theological divides. Yeah, William Carey, the pioneer
32:37
of the modern mission movement, urged his team too often.
32:40
Look at Brainerd. Andrew Fuller, another key
32:43
Baptist missions leader, defended Edwards's positive
32:45
influence on the whole missions enterprise.
32:48
And the influence kept going into later times too.
32:50
It did. The list includes names like
32:52
Francis Asbury, Thomas Koch, Henry Martin, Robert Morrison,
32:56
Samuel Mills, Frederick Schwartz, Robert McShane, David
32:59
Livingstone, Andrew Murray. Even into the 20th century, Jim
33:03
Elliott, the missionary martyred in 1956, wrote in his own
33:07
journal about being convicted by Brainerd's diary regarding his
33:09
own pride. The sources basically say the
33:12
book fueled the missionary movement for 250 years.
33:15
That's an incredible ripple effect from one young man's
33:18
life, amplified by Edwards work during his own time of, well,
33:21
relative obscurity in Stockbridge.
33:24
And it's worth remembering, as the sources note, Edwards
33:27
himself was serving as a missionary during those seven
33:30
years. That's a great point.
33:31
That Stockbridge time, however unexpected, was his own direct
33:35
contribution to mission work before his very final role.
33:39
Speaking of which, that brings us to the last chapter, the
33:42
unexpected call to Princeton. Right in the fall of 1757,
33:45
completely out of the blue, he gets offered the presidency of
33:48
the College of New Jersey, what we now call Princeton
33:51
University, The sources say he was not a little surprised.
33:55
Understatement. Probably, And he wasn't eager to
33:58
jump at it, was he? The sources mentioned he had
34:00
serious doubts. Oh, big time.
34:01
He wrote a detailed letter outlining all his reasons for
34:04
hesitating. He worried about his own
34:06
personality and constitution. He used phrases like unhappy
34:10
constitution, childish weakness, disagreeable dullness to
34:14
describe himself, feeling he just wasn't cut out for managing
34:17
a college. Wow, that's incredibly self
34:19
deprecating. It really is.
34:21
He also felt he had gaps in his own learning, mentioned things
34:24
like algebra, higher math, not knowing the Greek classics well
34:27
beyond the New Testament. But maybe his biggest hesitation
34:30
was just really wanting to keep writing.
34:33
His heart, he said, was so much in these studies, his big
34:36
theological projects, that he hated the thought of taking a
34:39
job that would pull him away from them.
34:41
He saw his main calling as that deep theological work, but he
34:45
did end up taking the Princeton job.
34:47
He did. He put the question to an
34:49
Advisory Council of ministers and they decided it was his duty
34:53
to accept. That was January 4th, 1758.
34:56
The sources say when he finally agreed to their decision, he
34:58
actually broke down in tears, which just shows how torn he
35:01
was. Accepting out of duty a role he
35:04
felt unsuited for and that took him from the work he loved most.
35:07
Seems that way. He headed off to Princeton soon
35:10
after, planning for the family to join him in the spring.
35:13
And even in that short window, he was still working hard,
35:15
finishing up that last big book, Original Sin.
35:18
But his time at Princeton turned out to be tragically short.
35:21
Incredibly short, he got there in February 1758.
35:25
There was a smallpox outbreak and he decided to get
35:28
inoculated, which was a common preventative measure then,
35:31
though it carried risks. And it went wrong for him.
35:33
Sadly, yes, the inoculation seems to have triggered a severe
35:37
reaction. He developed complications,
35:39
including pustules in his throat that made it hard for him to
35:41
even drink. He died just over a month after
35:44
arriving on March 27, 1758. What a sudden end after such a
35:49
productive, though often difficult life.
35:52
The sources share his last words and also his wife.
35:55
Sarah's reaction would give us a real glimpse into their
35:58
relationship and their faith. Yeah, it's quite moving.
36:01
Knowing he was dying, he called for his daughter, Lucy.
36:03
She was the only family member there with him, yet he gave her
36:06
messages for Sarah. He spoke about their uncommon
36:09
union, the deep bond they'd shared for so long, and said he
36:12
trusted it was spiritual and would continue forever.
36:14
He expressed his hope that God would support Sarah and that she
36:17
would submit cheerfully to God's will.
36:20
And a message for his children, too.
36:21
Yes, knowing they'd be left fatherless, he said he hoped his
36:25
death would push them to seek a father who will never fail you.
36:30
And Sarah's response when she got the news?
36:33
The sources quote her letter to their daughter, Esther.
36:37
It's remarkable. It really shows your own deep
36:39
faith. She was sick herself at the
36:40
time, but she wrote things like a holy and good God has covered
36:44
us with a dark cloud. Oh, that we may kiss the rod and
36:48
lay our hands on our mouths. Total submission, even in grief.
36:51
Is the raw. Yeah, and then she writes, The
36:54
Lord has done it. He has made me adore his
36:56
goodness that we had him so long.
36:58
But my God lives and He has my heart.
37:01
My God lives and He has my heart in the face of that loss.
37:05
That's powerful, incredibly powerful.
37:07
Shows the depth of her trust. She also wrote about the
37:09
spiritual legacy. He left them saying we are all
37:12
given to God and there I am and love to be.
37:15
The sources add a little note about Sarah's own piety too,
37:18
described by others. Yeah, they describe her as
37:20
having this wonderful sweetness, calmness, universal benevolence,
37:24
someone said. She was often full of joy, loved
37:27
time alone, and seemed almost like she was talking with
37:29
someone unseen. Importantly, her religion was
37:33
described as having nothing gloomy about it.
37:35
It was eminently the religion of joy.
37:38
Which connects back to what Edward said about their uncommon
37:41
union being spiritual. The sources suggest it was
37:44
rooted in this shared great theology of joy.
37:47
A beautiful picture of their shared faith.
37:50
The sources also briefly mention the Edwards family legacy in
37:53
broader terms, contrasting it statistically with another
37:56
family line known for negative outcomes, just to highlight the
37:59
positive long term influence stemming from their family.
38:02
Right. OK, so we followed the whole arc
38:04
of his life. Let's loop back to a theme.
38:06
The sources keep highlighting this idea of pursuing spiritual
38:09
sight and what Edwards saw as the real point of it all.
38:12
Yeah, the sources constantly bring us Vivek here.
38:15
For Edwards, all that intense intellectual work, the deep
38:18
theology, it wasn't separate from his spiritual life.
38:20
It was all integrated, all aimed at knowing God, experiencing
38:24
God, glorifying God. He believed real knowledge of
38:27
God had to lead to spiritual delight and a holy life.
38:30
It wasn't just about knowing about God or winning arguments.
38:33
Not at all. His passion for God's supremacy
38:36
wasn't just intellectual agreement.
38:38
It was meant to result in what the sources call a spiritual
38:41
sight and enjoyment of God's glory.
38:43
And they make a really key distinction here between just
38:46
speculative knowledge and this spiritual sight.
38:50
How do they explain that difference?
38:51
Speculative knowledge versus spiritual sight.
38:54
Speculative knowledge as they describe it, is basically
38:57
rational. It's convincing yourself that
38:59
certain theological truths are correct, maybe through logic or
39:02
argument that God has certain attributes.
39:05
The sources use a pretty stark comparison.
39:07
They say even the devil's have that kind of knowledge.
39:09
They know God is holy, powerful, etcetera.
39:11
But doesn't change them, doesn't lead to delight.
39:13
It's just mental ascent. Knowing about God, but not
39:17
really knowing God in a relational transformative way.
39:20
Exactly. Spiritual sight, though, is
39:23
described as something more direct, more immediate,
39:26
sensible. It's not just agreeing God is
39:29
glorious, it's having a real sense of the Excellency and
39:33
beauty of God. The sources use the language of
39:36
spiritual taste, a genuine delight in God himself.
39:40
For Edwards, saving faith wasn't just believing God is holy
39:43
because the Bible says so. It was actually sensing His
39:46
Holiness, tasting His mercy, and loving those qualities for their
39:50
own sake. That seems like a really crucial
39:53
distinction for understanding his view of conversion and
39:56
Christian experience. But if that spiritual site is
39:59
the key thing, what's the purpose of all the hardcore
40:01
rational study he did? Does it make study pointless?
40:04
No, the sources say Edwards argued strongly against that.
40:08
He believed rational knowledge plays a vital role.
40:11
He's quoted saying something like the more you have of a
40:13
rational knowledge of divine things, the more opportunity
40:16
will there be when the Spirit shall be breathed into your
40:18
heart to see the Excellency of these things and to taste the
40:21
sweetness of them. OK, so the study prepares the
40:24
mind, clears the ground, so to speak.
40:26
Exactly. It lays out the truths, the
40:28
structure of reality as revealed by God.
40:31
Then when the Holy Spirit gives that illumination, that
40:34
spiritual sight, there's more content there to be seen,
40:38
understood, savored and delighted in.
40:40
The rational knowledge provides the framework for the spiritual
40:43
experience. They work together.
40:45
And it wasn't just about receiving knowledge passively,
40:48
it was about actively cultivating the hearts response
40:50
too. The sources mentioned his
40:52
resolutions aimed at stirring up passion for God.
40:55
Yeah, his resolutions show he was just as intentional about
40:58
cultivating passion as he was about gaining knowledge.
41:00
Resolution 64 talks about not getting tired of earnestly
41:04
endeavoring to vent my desires toward God, even if it meant
41:07
repeating himself. It points to actively pursuing
41:10
and expressing that spiritual longing using biblical words
41:13
like groanings or breathings of soul.
41:15
And Resolution 30 to strive every week to be brought higher
41:19
in religion and to a higher exercise of grace.
41:22
Right. Not just waiting for feelings to
41:24
happen, but actively striving for growth, for intensity, for
41:28
exercising grace. And the ultimate point of all
41:31
this knowledge, all this passion, wasn't to win debates
41:34
or get applause. It was for practice, for living
41:37
it out. Yes, Edwards's goal for himself
41:40
and others was always the benefit of your souls and in
41:43
order to practice, he even argue that practice helps you know
41:46
more, pointing to Psalm 119.110 where the psalmist understands
41:51
more than the elders because he keeps God's precepts.
41:54
For Edwards, the real payoff of all theology, all study, all
41:58
spiritual effort was a heart for God and a life of holiness
42:02
which. Brings us right back to what the
42:03
sources present as the ultimate goal driving everything for
42:06
Edwards, God's glory. That's the summit.
42:09
The sources pull out this core insight from Edwards.
42:12
God is glorified most not merely by being known, nor by merely
42:15
being dutifully obeyed, but by being enjoyed in the knowing and
42:19
the obeying. So God's glory shines brightest
42:21
when we find our deepest happiness and satisfaction in
42:23
Him. That's the heart of it.
42:25
Edwards believed God made the world an axe in history to
42:28
display His own glory. And we're made to receive that
42:31
glory not just by agreeing with it in our minds approbation, but
42:34
by delighting in it with our hearts.
42:37
The sources say His ultimate challenge to people was to seek
42:40
to glorify God by being satisfied in Him above all
42:43
things. Like that line from Psalm 63,
42:46
your steadfast love is better than.
42:48
Life exactly, and the sources use some really vivid images
42:51
from Edwards to capture this. Finding our satisfaction in God,
42:55
this God exalting joy, is what frees us for real sacrificial
42:59
service. Enjoying God forever in heaven,
43:01
Edwards argued, is infinitely better than the most pleasant
43:04
accommodations here. All the good things on earth,
43:06
family, friends, pleasures. They're like shadows, but God is
43:09
the substance. They're like scattered beams,
43:11
but God is the sun. They're like streams, but God is
43:13
the ocean. That imagery really drives it
43:16
home. Shadows and substance, beams and
43:19
Suns, streams and ocean. A totally God centered view of
43:23
reality and happiness. OK, now as we talk about
43:27
Edwards, the sources make it clear we also have to confront a
43:30
difficult historical reality, his connection to slavery.
43:35
Yes, the sources address this directly.
43:37
They state plainly that Jonathan Edwards owned slaves.
43:40
They even cite specific records. A receipt for purchasing a young
43:44
woman named Venus in 1731, when she was just 14, and the
43:49
inventory of his possessions after he died, lists a Negro boy
43:52
named Titus. And the author of the sources
43:55
mentions their own reaction to learning this, being quite
43:57
surprised, especially because Edwards writings had seemed so
44:00
counter to things like class snobbery.
44:01
Right, that personal note kind of highlights the difficulty
44:04
many people feel. The sources try to place this in
44:07
its historical context, 18th century colonial America, where
44:10
slavery was legal and widespread.
44:12
They bring in George Marsden's idea about the hierarchical
44:15
assumptions common back then, which made their world very
44:17
different from ours in the 21st century.
44:19
And clergy, you weren't necessarily exempt from these
44:21
assumptions or practices. No.
44:24
The sources point out that ministers were often part of the
44:26
upper social strata and might have just accepted the
44:29
prevailing norms of a well to do lifestyle, which at that time
44:33
and place could include owning slaves, perhaps without thinking
44:37
too critically about it. The sources also spend some time
44:39
looking at how the New Testament itself talks about master slave
44:43
relationships in its own context.
44:45
They do. They know that the New
44:47
Testament, especially Paul's letters, doesn't issue a direct
44:50
command like abolish slavery. Now, in those specific words,
44:54
however, the argument they present is that when Christian
44:56
masters and Christian slaves actually follow the teachings of
44:59
the New Testament, it was supposed to radically transform
45:03
the internal dynamics of that relationship for believers.
45:06
How so? How would it transform it
45:08
according to the? They suggest that living out New
45:11
Testament principles change the relationship from just owner and
45:14
property into something fundamentally different,
45:17
something they argue may be no longer recognizable as slavery
45:21
in the traditional sense. The Christian master wasn't just
45:24
an owner anymore. He was owned by Christ right
45:26
alongside the slave, and the Christian slave wasn't just
45:30
property. She or he was a fellow heir of
45:33
God's promises together with the Master.
45:36
So the outward social form might have looked the same, but the
45:39
inner reality, the spiritual status and the ethical demands
45:42
were meant to be completely different within the Christian
45:44
community. That's the argument presented,
45:46
the sources say. The social shell seems to remain
45:49
because Paul still addresses people as masters or slaves, but
45:52
they list a whole bunch of New Testament principles that were
45:55
meant to undermine the essence of slavery.
45:57
Condemning man's stealing, which was often how people ended up
46:00
enslaved. Affirming everyone's maiden call
46:03
image, implying dignity, the golden rule, loving your
46:06
neighbor, The idea that love does no harm.
46:08
The radical unity in Christ where there's neither slave nor
46:11
free, all one body. Believers being Co heirs, sons
46:14
of God, slaves having an inheritance in Christ, the new
46:18
self transcending social lines, Christ being in all, the slave
46:21
being the Lord's Friedman and the free person being Christ's
46:24
slave being bought with a price by Christ.
46:26
Don't become slaves of men. Slaves told to obey masters as
46:30
if serving Christ, but masters told to stop threatening and
46:33
treat slaves justly and fairly because they have a master in
46:36
heaven who isn't partial. Plus that example of Paul
46:39
telling Philemon to take back his runaway slave and SMS no
46:42
longer as a slave but as a beloved brother.
46:44
Those principles definitely seem to lay a foundation for
46:47
challenging the whole system, even if outright abolition
46:50
wasn't the immediate command. OK, now back to Edward.
46:55
Specifically, what hard evidence to the sources offer about his
46:59
views or how he treated Venus or Titus.
47:02
This is where the sources say the evidence is really limited.
47:05
They state there's almost no direct evidence about his
47:08
personal attitude or daily treatment of the people he
47:10
enslaved. They mentioned he did prepare
47:13
some notes defending another minister who is criticized for
47:16
owning slaves, but they describe those notes as very difficult to
47:19
follow, making it hard to grasp his exact line of reasoning
47:23
there. So not much concrete detail on
47:25
his personal practice. Not directly, no.
47:28
However, the sources do pull out a few bits of evidence that
47:31
might suggest a potentially better practice or views that
47:34
were maybe less harsh than the worst aspects of slavery common
47:37
then. Like what?
47:38
What evidence do they point to? Well they note that he did admit
47:41
black individuals into full membership in his church.
47:44
They also highlight a comment he made in his notes on the book of
47:47
Job where he wrote about masters and servants saying both have
47:51
one maker and that their maker made them alike with the same
47:54
nature. Edwards argued this gave the
47:57
most forcible reasons against the masters abuse of his servant
48:01
and significantly, the sources state he did condemn the African
48:05
slave trade itself. Condemning the trade, arguing
48:08
against abuse based on share humanity under God.
48:11
Those are noteworthy points, and the sources also suggest his
48:14
thinking his theology had an influence on later
48:17
abolitionists. Yes they make that argument.
48:19
They say you can find seeds of anti slavery ideology within the
48:24
logic of Edwards ethics and epistemology basically and the
48:27
way he thought about morality and knowledge.
48:29
And these seeds, they argue, influenced his son Jonathan
48:32
Edwards junior and also Samuel Hopkins, both of whom became
48:35
important figures in the fight against slavery later on.
48:38
Interesting. So even if Edwards himself
48:40
didn't fully arrive at an abolitionist stance, his
48:43
theological framework contained elements that others later used
48:46
to build that case. That's how the sources frame it,
48:49
and the author is very upfront about the limits of what we
48:51
know, admitting there are significant gaps in
48:53
understanding Edwards motives. Like why did he buy Venus or
48:56
Titus? Could it have been in some sense
48:59
a rescue from a worse situation? We don't know.
49:02
Or how were they treated day-to-day?
49:04
And the author even admits to a bit of wishful thinking on this.
49:07
Yeah, the author expresses a hope that maybe Edwards's
49:10
actions were driven by some kind of benevolence, while
49:13
immediately acknowledging there's no proof for that and
49:16
admitting it might seem unlikely given the general attitudes back
49:19
then. So the overall take from the
49:21
sources is this is a really difficult aspect of Edward's
49:24
life. It creates A tension with his
49:26
deeply God centered theology. That's the conclusion.
49:30
The sources talk about this tension between the historical
49:33
fact of his slaveholding and his theology, which in so many other
49:36
ways pushed towards humility. The author wraps up the section
49:40
with a personal reflection, saying that despite this very
49:43
hard issue, their own 50 years of reading Edwards has been
49:46
incredibly beneficial spiritually.
49:48
More heart humbling, more Christ exalting, more God revering, and
49:52
so on than any other author outside the Bible.
49:56
That personal statement really captures the struggle, doesn't
49:58
it? How to deal with historical
50:00
figures who have both immense strengths and contributions, but
50:04
also significant flaws or blind spots, especially judged by
50:08
later standards, living in context so different from ours?
50:11
Yeah, it requires, well, trying to understand the context
50:14
without making excuses for things that clearly clash with
50:17
the biblical principles, and still trying to learn from the
50:20
good, the lasting insights, and their thought and faith.
50:22
We have definitely covered a huge amount of ground in this
50:25
deep dive on John Jonathan Edwards following the trail laid
50:28
out in these sources. We looked at his background,
50:31
that incredibly disciplined inner life, his intellectual
50:34
world from the Bible being absolutely central to his
50:37
engagement with philosophers like Locke.
50:40
We trace his ministry in Northampton, the revival highs
50:43
and the painful dismissal lows, then his surprisingly productive
50:46
time in Stockbridge writing those major books and launching
50:49
David Brainerd story into the world, his final brief called
50:53
Princeton, and the moving accounts of his death and
50:55
Sarah's response. And yes, we spent time grappling
50:59
with the difficult reality of of his involvement with slavery,
51:02
looking at the sources say, about the context, the biblical
51:05
principles, the limited evidence about Edwards himself and the
51:08
tension it creates. Hopefully this gives you a more
51:11
rounded picture of Edwards, a figure who managed to combine
51:14
really intense intellectual activity with a deeply felt
51:17
spiritual life. His legacy, you know, it still
51:19
matters in theology and missions today, but his life also
51:22
presents these tough questions for us looking back from where
51:25
we stand now. Edwards believed that really
51:28
knowing God had to spill over into delighting in God and
51:30
living a holy life. So maybe the final thought for
51:33
you to wrestle with is this. What does engaging with a figure
51:38
like Edwards, someone with undeniable gifts and lasting
51:41
impact, but also these historical contradictions,
51:45
especially on something as serious as slavery?
51:48
What does that teach us about how we connect our own beliefs
51:51
with how we actually live? How do we hold the good and the
51:54
bad together when we look at figures from the past?
51:57
And how does that challenge us to make sure our practice aligns
52:00
with the principles we claim to believe, especially when facing
52:03
the complex issues of our own time?
52:05
That's definitely a question that stays with you as you try
52:07
to live faithfully today. That's our Dee dive for this
52:10
session. We really hope it's been a
52:12
valuable exloration for you.