Jonathan Edwards and Scripture Biblical Exegesis in British North America

by Barshinger, David P.; Sweeney, Douglas A.

• ISBN13: 9780190249496
• ISBN10: 0190249498
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2018-05-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

For too long, scholars have published new research on Edwards without paying due attention to the work he took most seriously: biblical exegesis. Edwards is recognized as an innovative theologian who wielded tremendous influence on revivalism, evangelicalism, and New England theology. What is often missed is how much time he devoted to studying and understanding the Bible. He kept voluminous notebooks on Scripture and died with unrealized plans for major treatises on the Bible. More and more experts now recognize the importance of this aspect of his life; this book brings together the insights of leading Edwards scholars on this topic. The essays in Jonathan Edwards and Scripture set Edwards' engagement with Scripture in the context of seventeenth-century Protestant exegesis and eighteenth-century colonial interpretation. They provide case studies of Edwards' exegesis in varying genres of the Bible and probe his use of Scripture to develop theology. The authors also set his biblical interpretation in perspective by comparing it with that of other exegetes. This book advances our understanding of the nature and significance of Edwards' work with Scripture and opens new lines of inquiry for students of early modern Western history.

Author Biography

Douglas A. Sweeney is Distinguished Professor of Church History and the History of Christian Thought and Director of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has published widely on Edwards, early modern Protestant thought, and the history of evangelicalism.

David P. Barshinger is the author of Jonathan Edwards and the Psalms (Oxford University Press, 2014). He has taught at Trinity International University, Wheaton College, and Trinity Christian College. He currently serves as an editor in the book division at Crossway books.

Table of Contents

Introduction
David P. Barshinger

1 - Jonathan Edwards' Scriptural Practices
Kenneth P. Minkema

2 - Jonathan Edwards' Principles of Interpreting Scripture
Stephen R. C. Nichols

3 - Early Modern Biblical Commentary and Jonathan Edwards
Adriaan C. Neele

4 - Language of the Heart: The Bible in Jonathan Edwards' Personal Life and Spiritual Practice
Charles E. Hambrick-Stowe

5 - Spiritual Meaning and Experimental Piety in the Exegesis of Cotton Mather and Jonathan Edwards
Jan Stievermann and Ryan P. Hoselton

6 - Jacob Wrestling with "a Man": Jonathan Edwards and Contemporaries on Genesis 32:22-32
Mark A. Noll

7 - Jonathan Edwards' French Connection: The Pentateuch and the Practices of Public History
Robert E. Brown

8 - A Fish Tale: Jonathan Edwards and Cotton Mather on Jonah's Whale
Ava Chamberlain

9 - "Of His Fullness Have All We Received": Johannine Themes in Jonathan Edwards' Interpretation of Scripture
Michael J. McClymond

10 - Jonathan Edwards' Reflections on the Virgin Mary
Stephen J. Stein

11 - Jonathan Edwards, War, and the Bible
James P. Byrd

12 - Jonathan Edwards, the Bible, and Conversion
David W. Kling

13 - Was Jonathan Edwards an Evangelical? Scripture and Tradition in America's Theologian
Gerald R. McDermott

Conclusion
Douglas A. Sweeney

General Index

Scripture Index