Religious Affections

by Jonathan Edwards, Joe Rigney (Introduction)

"The way to grow in assurance is to kill sin, seek God's grace, and exercise it as much as you can. Assurance comes not by looking inward, but by action, by looking to Christ and living out of what you see." ~From Joe Rigney

Due to the shallowness of much modern Christian worship and life, we can often think of the display of intense religious emotions as a hypocritical outward show. And we are right to be suspicious, since "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jer 17:9). Nevertheless, emotions are a gift from God and are part of what God redeems. When the First Great Awakening was breaking out in New England in the 1700s, pastor Jonathan Edwards approved of it and prayed for great revival. However, as a man who suffered from depression and melancholy, Edwards also warned people of the dangers of relying alone on such intense emotions. The center of the Christian religion is not our emotions, but Christ and His goodness. This classic will inspire you both to consider both your life and your emotions and to follow Christ in love.

"The essence of all true religion lies in holy love; and in this divine affection, and an habitual disposition to it, and that light which is the foundation of it, and those things which are the fruits of it, consists the whole of religion." ~ Jonathan Edwards

The authors in the Christian Heritage Series paid a high price for the words you see before you. Not all paid with blood, but each spent his life fighting for the truth. This faithful sacrifice has become a rich inheritance for the Church in our day, even though it is often neglected. The Christian Heritage Series aims to put these important theological classics on every Christian's bookshelf in colorful, well-crafted, and affordable volumes, with introductions written by those that love the books and their heritage.

From amazon.com

Genres: Theology, Christian Living, Christian, Christianity

460 pages, Paperback

Published March 30, 2020

About the author

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 four years later (1720) as valedictorian. He received his Masters three years later. As a youth, Edwards was unable to accept the Calvinist sovereignty of God. However, in 1721 he came to what he called a "delightful conviction" though meditation on 1 Timothy 1:17. From that point on, Edwards delighted in the sovereignty of God. Edwards later recognized this as his conversion to Christ.

In 1727 he was ordained minister at Northampton and assistant to his maternal grandfather, Solomon Stoddard. He was a student minister, not a visiting pastor, his rule being thirteen hours of study a day. In the same year, he married Sarah Pierpont, then age seventeen, daughter of Yale founder James Pierpont (1659–1714). In total, Jonathan and Sarah had eleven children.

Stoddard died on February 11th, 1729, leaving to his grandson the difficult task of the sole ministerial charge of one of the largest and wealthiest congregations in the colony. Throughout his time in Northampton his preaching brought remarkable religious revivals.

Yet, tensions flamed as Edwards would not continue his grandfather's practice of open communion. Stoddard believed that communion was a "converting ordinance." Surrounding congregations had been convinced of this, and as Edwards became more convinced that this was harmful, his public disagreement with the idea caused his dismissal in 1750.

Edwards then moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, then a frontier settlement, where he ministered to a small congregation and served as missionary to the Housatonic Indians. There, having more time for study and writing, he completed his celebrated work, The Freedom of the Will (1754).

Edwards was elected president of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) in early 1758. He was a popular choice, for he had been a friend of the College since its inception. He died of fever at the age of fifty-four following experimental inoculation for smallpox and was buried in the President's Lot in the Princeton cemetery beside his son-in-law, Aaron Burr.

Reviews

[David Clouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would likely have gone down as a favorite book on Christianity for me, IF it was more readable. Yes, it's my own fault for not checking to see if there was a modernized version, but I was young, inexperienced with the 18th century, and full of high hopes and belief that I could understand what was going on the first time I read it.

Edwards, absolutely brilliantly, looks at the differences between true Christianity and what can be fabricated (intentionally or otherwise). I found his thoroughness on this topic refreshing. An example being, he would often write out every single verse he was referencing and this could end up being multiple pages sometimes. Now that can get tedious to read but it also significantly strengthened my understanding of his argument. He would occasionally have some very powerful sentences or paragraphs relating to each of his topic.

The only negative for this book is its verbosity and lack of breaking thoughts up more. I kid you not that one sentence could be half a page sometimes and I'm sure some were close to a full page if I had the mind to check. Because of this, I often found myself having to read paragraphs or multiple pages over and over and over again about 3-5 times. Sometimes it was extremely worth it, other times it did nothing for my reading experience. I definitely read things in this book that I was just too weary to reread and skipped over, so I'm curious if there were any amazing points or sections I missed simply due to my incompetence as a reader.

Anyways, if I can find a modern version, this book will jump to an all time favorite for me and something I come back to again and again throughout life. I would give this version a three stars most likely, but I can't let my idiocy influence the rating it deserves for its content.

[Derric · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Though the more excellent things are, the more difficult it is to make anything that shall be like them, in their essential nature and internal virtues; yet the more manifold will the counterfeits be, and the more will art and subtlety be displayed, in an exact imitation of the outward appearance. “

The intentionality and exactness of his word choice throughout make careful reading requisite and rewarding. It is a complete cover of the subject and well worth a read for everyone! 5 stars!

[Ben Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely exceptional.

[April Thrush · Rating 4 out of 5]

The content is amazing, I just wish it could have been sectioned into chapters to make it easier to put down and pick back up. Lots to take in here and warrants multiple reads throughs.

[ThePrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edwards hits very hard in this volume, and rightfully so. Written at the tail end of the Great Awakening in Northampton, when disrepute began to fall upon the revival due to these 'religious affections', Edwards sought to divide genuine supernatural experiences from counterfeits. This book was the result, and it is terribly informative. I will say, I began this book before taking a course on Scottish revivals, and the book was far easier to understand once that course was complete. Edwards draws fascinating conclusions, and it is noteworthy that he is a divisive character within revival historiography. Some place him within the same tradition as Charles Finney, and others shudder at the very thought of placing their names next to each other. I find that they are not very similar, but that trends in revival going back to Edwards reared their heads again when Finney was alighting the heather.

Edwards makes fascinating points regarding bodily effects, and what the true fruits of religious affections ought to be if they are genuine. In this way, 'Religious Affections' is more of a guidebook than a narrative. He uses no personal experiences, and neatly ties his points back into scripture whenever possible. He explains that the higher affections are, the more likely they are to have counterfeits, and how the abiding fruits of the Spirit, in a nutshell, are the distinguishing factor between high affections and genuine affections. He also seems to be of the mind that these manifestations ought not be discouraged if they then lead to a genuine faith. Edwards makes far too many points and covers far too much ground to narrow down his views into a short review. His comments are thought-provoking and insightful and I greatly enjoyed reading his perspective on these behaviours that have stirred and divided opinion since their appearance. I recommend, but not as a primer. If you have never read anything on revival I fear you may get a bit lost.

[Matthew C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've seen this Edwards masterpiece quoted and appealed to for over a decade in my personal forays into theological and biblical studies. It was about time that I went through it myself, and I was not disappointed. Edwards writes with precision and authority. At times the reading process felt like a religious experience. This book is especially relevant in the charismatic era, which is one of the reasons I delved into the book this year. The introduction by Joe Rigney is helpful for understanding Edwards' concept of the human composition.

[John Darwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many modern pastors approach assurance with a series of "silver bullets", aimed at giving pithy phrases to convince listeners that they are saved, i.e. "if you're concerned about your salvation, you are probably saved." Rather than opting for a gun, Edwards takes a scalpal to the human heart and mind and draws out the Biblical truths that will either encourage the reader in their assurance or cause them to run weeping to Christ for forgiveness. This is the most thorough and Biblical work on assurance that I have read, and I recommend it to anyone struggling with the issue.

[Emma R. Pilcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meticulously precise.

This was particularly interesting to read in the context of the First Great Awakening. Edwards continually urges the reader to test and discern the spirits, supporting his claims with plenteous biblical examples. He trains the reader to discern those spirits(I now see that I have failed miserably at Edwards’ test to the reader. A depressing read at times?) The height of his discernment is…remarkable.

There are few books I foresee being a daily influence in my life. This is one of them.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hard read, but a worthwhile one.

[Ryan Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only made it halfway. A strong reminder that I generally dislike reading theologians who are deeply influenced by secular philosophy.

[Dr V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Affectionate.

[Shirley Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a shame this book is out of print. For me, it contained the best explanation I have ever read of what Christianity is, and more importantly, what it is not. The definition Edwards presents of evangelical humility is both convicting and encouraging.

I first borrowed this from the library, but wanted to read it more slowly and reflectively, so found a copy on Amazon to my delight.

If you wonder if you are truly a child of God, this book will help you. If you wonder if others are true Christians, this book will tell you to stop doing so. Only God knows the heart of man.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great many spiritual slaps to the face. A sturdy example of testing the revivalist attitudes of one's time against the timeless proofs of Scripture.