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Religious Affections
Jonathan Edwards is best known as the theologian of revival. In this, his major study on the theme, he analyses the nature of a genuine work of the Holy Spirit.
Paperback, 382 pages
Published
October 1st 1986
by Banner of Truth
(first published 1959)
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Jan 07, 2008
Stevie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
christian,
books-owned
As was about a 1/3 of the way through the book when it hit me that I was reading an abridged and modernized text. I was quite frustrated and felt like I was not even reading Edwards' actual words. Despite this I was thoroughly roughed up in my soul by his words. The whole book is about how we need to examine our own sense of salvation. He argues that the surest sign of inward salvation is outward Christian obedience and character.
Poignant Excerpts:
"So it is God's way of dealing with mankind to l...more
Poignant Excerpts:
"So it is God's way of dealing with mankind to l...more
For Edwards there is no way to reason your way into a faith. The "religious affections" he's talking about is a sincere love and devotion to God. And in the sense that most people think of Puritans as judgmental beings, Edwards takes half the book to discuss the twelve signs a person will have if he is faithful.
But the key here is that these signs can only be used for yourself. You can only judge you, and no one else. In fact, as the introducer to this edition points out, Edwards' subject has st...more
But the key here is that these signs can only be used for yourself. You can only judge you, and no one else. In fact, as the introducer to this edition points out, Edwards' subject has st...more
Ok, so this particular author is not one whose books you fly through in a week. The language is quite cumbersome and the content requires a slow pace to absorb and appreciate it all. Jonathan Edwards is my favorite reformed theologian/philosopher/writer. Here is a very convicting snippet from this treatise:
"A true saint, when in the enjoyment of true discoveries of the sweet glory of God and Christ, has his mind too much captivated and engaged by what he views without himself, to stand at that t...more
"A true saint, when in the enjoyment of true discoveries of the sweet glory of God and Christ, has his mind too much captivated and engaged by what he views without himself, to stand at that t...more
Jonathan Edwards is brillant. I thought reading this book I would find something complicated and brainy. It was very straight foward. It slowly became thought provoking and caused me to think all sorts of thoughts. I was very convicted by this book. It challenges you to live a truly authentic Christian life. It goes to the reaches of depravity in the mind a person who boasts in humility. It challenges you to think about geniune religious affections and not the show. After reading this book I hav...more
This stands as Edwards’ most penetrating interpretation of the awakenings of his time, not to mention one of the most penetrating of any time. As in "Some Thoughts," he argued against the extremes of emotionalism on the one hand and intellectualism on the other. Affections were essential to true religion, but they had to be tested. First, Edwards lays out his religious psychology of affections, which encompassed both understanding and will and involved the total range of human faculties. Answeri...more
Can't really put into words what kind of affect this book had on me. A good ...hard slap in the face is probably a start. Reading it once will not do it justice...the second time around will really get things going..as it's impossible to truly comprehend everything the first time round. Mr. Edwards is most notably a keen intellectual...a brilliant mind & has the most unique way of communicating the timeless truths of scripture...I just wish my mind had an easier time translating it all. Once...more
This is a well known classic from the pen of Jonathan Edwards. It is very good and thought provoking. I would recommend that one should read through this slowly. It is very profitable. He makes statements such as "If there is no great & abiding change in people who think they have experienced a work of conversion, they are deluded." The following is not Buddhism it is Christian thinking: “The great Christian duty is self-denial. This duty consists in two things; first, in denying worldly inc...more
After a second reading, I think this is both the best book I've ever read on Christian hedonism, and one of the most dangerous on various other problematic doctrines.
It does an excellent job answering the question, are affections really important in religion? And it also does an excellent job (far better than I realized the first time I read it) at laying out the essential parts of pursuing such affections for God. It's laid a number of principles out that I can see myself diving into for years...more
It does an excellent job answering the question, are affections really important in religion? And it also does an excellent job (far better than I realized the first time I read it) at laying out the essential parts of pursuing such affections for God. It's laid a number of principles out that I can see myself diving into for years...more
Religious Affections is a classic work by America’s greatest theologian, and my favorite theologian, Jonathan Edwards. The thesis: True religion, in great part, consists in holy affections.
Section one discusses the nature of the affections and their importance in religion. Edwards defines his terms early in the work. He describes the affections as the exercises of the "inclination and the will of the soul." He notes that one may have doctrinal knowledge and speculate in matters of theology, but...more
Section one discusses the nature of the affections and their importance in religion. Edwards defines his terms early in the work. He describes the affections as the exercises of the "inclination and the will of the soul." He notes that one may have doctrinal knowledge and speculate in matters of theology, but...more
INTRODUCTION
Edwards’ topic of discussion in Affections was one of great controversy in his day and continues to be a significant and perhaps troublesome issue for many evangelicals today. How does one determine if he/she is truly saved? Or, in a language more in step with Edwards, What affections are signs of a truly gracious and efficacious miracle of redemption? This is the question which Edwards meticulously works through in his soteriological magnum opus. The book is divided into two main s...more
Edwards’ topic of discussion in Affections was one of great controversy in his day and continues to be a significant and perhaps troublesome issue for many evangelicals today. How does one determine if he/she is truly saved? Or, in a language more in step with Edwards, What affections are signs of a truly gracious and efficacious miracle of redemption? This is the question which Edwards meticulously works through in his soteriological magnum opus. The book is divided into two main s...more
Phew. It is a miracle I finished this book. I am not one to put down a book lightly. Unlike some people, like my sister, I can't be 20 pages from the end of a book and just walk away. I can't stop midpoint and never pick it up again. I am haunted to know, what happens in the end? Does it get better and redeem itself? Does it live up to the hype when taken as a whole? In the case of a book revered as a "classic," these quandaries push me all the more to complete a book and not leave myself wonder...more
Very interesting. I'm going to be thinking for a long time about three ideas from this book: 1) that we do not truly love God if we have no actual affection for him in our hearts. Dutiful obedience is not love, knowledge about the things of God is not love. Love is love. 2) Edwards' idea that true love for God is founded upon God's own loveliness, which, combined with #1, means that true love for God means, among other things, a deepening trust in the face of mystery, a deepening confidence that...more
This is one of the best books I've ever read. Reading it was like putting up a mirror to our present culture in the USA. Edwards precise definitions, distinctions, descriptions, expositions, and elaborations complete a masterpiece on the subject of discerning vibrant faith from counterfeits. There are too many profound things to share that I'm just going to say that anyone who hasn't read this book is deprived of profound riches until they do.
Brilliant work by Edwards differentiating the signs of true conversion from false, and true revival from false. A must read for those serious about studying revival. A bit dense so it will take the modern reader some time but once you get used to the Edwardsian prose you will realize that it is the modern writers who can't communicate rather than the puritans.
What is the most legitimate means of attaining a reliable assurance that a person is in Christ? - by observing the fruit produced in that person's life.
Here are some words that come to mind regarding this book: Humbling. Sophisticated/nuanced. Prudent. Scriptural. Thorough.
Reading this book provided me with what I think was a healthy self-evaluation.
Here are some words that come to mind regarding this book: Humbling. Sophisticated/nuanced. Prudent. Scriptural. Thorough.
Reading this book provided me with what I think was a healthy self-evaluation.
Aug 04, 2007
Dave Shulse
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Pastors
This book was a tough one to read, not because of the style so much as what he was saying. Edwards was greatly distressed, by the condition Christianity had fallen into so soon after so many had embraced the Christian faith as a result of the revivals of the Great Awakening. He seems to encourage serious heart surgery by Christians so that they can discover if they have truly embraced faith in Christ. He speaks frequently in this work of a needed "principle of grace" which must be placed in the...more
A little group of six friends read this together and met to discuss it weekly (and sometimes weakly). Edwards wrote it in 1746 to address a controversy in his day regarding the authenticity of some New Englanders' emotionally enthusiastic response to an re-awakening of Christian faith. He aims to establishe a balance that neither dismisses 'religious affections' as trivial nor credits them with too much authority.
The book is not an easy read. Edwards is long-winded, never stopping at one support...more
The book is not an easy read. Edwards is long-winded, never stopping at one support...more
Apr 12, 2012
Brandon Barnes
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
theology-christian
You can't really go wrong with Edwards. This edition has some tiny print, but it is well worth the eye strain.
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database named Jonathan Edwards.
Jonathan Edwards was the most eminent American philosopher-theologian of his time, and a key figure in what has come to be called the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s.
The only son in a family of eleven children, he entered Yale in September, 1716 when he was not yet thirteen and graduated fou...more
More about Jonathan Edwards...
Jonathan Edwards was the most eminent American philosopher-theologian of his time, and a key figure in what has come to be called the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s.
The only son in a family of eleven children, he entered Yale in September, 1716 when he was not yet thirteen and graduated fou...more
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“Godliness is more easily feigned in words than in actions”
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“A truly Christian love, either to God or men, is a humble broken-hearted love. The desires of the saints, however earnest, are humble desires. Their hope is a humble hope; and their joy, even when it is unspeakable and full of glory, is a humble broken-hearted joy, and leaves the Christian more poor in spirit, and more like a little child, and more disposed to a universal lowliness of behaviour.”
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Mar 20, 2010 10:48am