Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758). American Puritan theologian and pastor, leader of the First Great Awakening, author of The Religious Affections.
Readings draw from Calvin's Institutes on the commandments and the Christian life, Jonathan Edwards' Charity and Its Fruits, Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics II/2 and III/4, Emil Brunner's The Divine Imperative, and works by both H. Richard and Reinhold Niebuhr. The bibliography surveys the field of Christian ethics within the Reformed tradition, from Calvin's treatment of the law through modern debates about the relationship between gospel, law, and moral life.
A focused introduction to Jonathan Edwards built around his Religious Affections, edited by John E. Smith for the Yale edition, as the primary text. The biography by George Marsden, Jonathan Edwards: A Life, is the definitive secondary work, supplemented by Perry Miller's classic intellectual biography and John Smith's Jonathan Edwards: Puritan, Preacher, Philosopher.
Seminar readings open with Augustine's Confessions, then move to Calvin on the knowledge of God and human nature (Institutes I.1-5, 15) and Edwards' Religious Affections as a study of what it means to be genuinely human before God. Barth's massive treatment of the creature in CD III/2 provides the major systematic counterpart, with Calvin's Sermons on Job as an alternate.
Seminar readings center on Augustine's City of God (Books 20-22), Jonathan Edwards' sermon "Heaven Is a World of Love," William Temple on the conditions of eternal life, and Karl Barth's sections on the Holy Spirit and Christian hope from the Church Dogmatics. Supplementary readings include works by Jüngel, Rahner, Baillie, and Leith's chapter in Basic Christian Doctrine.
Better Preaching, Better Teaching, Better Pastoral Care.
