Customer Reviews

The Essential Edwards Collection: Set of 5 Books

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Jonathan Edwards has always presented a bit of a challenge for me. On the one hand, so many of the pastors and theologians that I admire and who have challenged my thinking cite Edwards as one of the most influential individuals on them and their ministry. On the other hand, Edwards' work often seemed a bit cryptic and hard to comprehend as a lay-person.

With that in mind, I'm extremely grateful for the work that Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney have done with "The Essential Edwards Collection". It's a bit of a literary compilation - part biography and part introduction to the writings and theology of Edwards. And, as an "Edwards newbie", it's exactly what I needed. The books are clear, compelling and engaging, and Strachan/Sweeney set up Edwards' writings effectively.

Perhaps the one caution that I would raise relates to the summaries found at the end of each chapter. Most of the time, the summaries are insightful and quite challenging, but occasionally they highlighted/exemplified Edwards a bit too far. I get the sense that Edwards would be the first to agree that our lives shouldn't be modeled after his, but that the way he lived his life should drive and motivate us to Scripture and a greater love and appreciation for God.

On the whole, this is a fantastic series that I would thoroughly recommend as an great introduction to the life, theology, and writings of Edwards.

Jonathan Edwards is one of those rare individuals who had and proclaimed A God-entranced Vision of All Things! Edwards did not stick God in a compartment, and bring Him out only when needed; like so many of us, including myself tend to do. Instead God was the central focus in everything he saw, wrote, and said. If you read his books, letters, and sermons, you get the since that God was infinity Glorious, and the central delight of Edwards. This is a rare occurrence, and so when someone proclaims this focus it is important to take notice and read what he says. Mark Noll wrote about how rare it is: "Edwards' piety continued on in the revivalist tradition, his theology continued on in academic Calvinism, but there were no successors to his God-entranced world view . . . The disappearance of Edwards's perspective in American Christian history has been a tragedy."

With all that said, you must simply get this set. I have been slowly feasting on the richness of Edwards in these books. Edwards can sometimes be a challenge to read and understand, that is where Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney come in. These two gentlemen masterfully unpack and explain the depth and riches of what Edwards is saying. Each book covers a distinct area of focus that was important in Edwards' God-entranced view of all things. Each book might seem small in size, but don't be fooled, they are crammed full of the richness and Glory of God. After every 5 minutes of reading I had to take a break in order to soak in and process all that I was reading. If you want to be challenged to think and see the glory of God, get this set, you will not be disappointed!!!!

I completely agree with the previous review by Jake. I'm loving these myself and finding them to be filled with such great wisdom for my life. I can hardly stop reading once I have one in hand. I love how they've done these five books by covering different areas of Edwards' thought and teaching, and the way they've applied Edwards' teaching to modern-day Christian living. The authors close each chapter with a practical application section of what they've just covered in the chapter. I also appreciate the effort being made with these volumes to expose current-day believers to one of the great men of God of the past and his biblically sound teaching. We all need badly to drink from the wells of men such as Jonathan Edwards, and these volumes definitely help people like me, who find Edwards hard to read, to benefit from him. Another thing, these volumes are beautifully and simply written, easy to read, and not written on a high level. Therefore they would be excellent reading for younger people. I think these volumes could be very helpful to people like my nephew who is 14 yo (and even younger) and in their formative years, to lay a solid foundation for their life. As I've read I thought I've got to get these into his and my niece's (12 yo) hands. The practical applications in each chapter will go a long way in helping young people (and older!) apply sound biblical teaching to their lives. I love these sections! I hope to see more books like these in the future. Thanks to the authors for serving the church with these excellent volumes.

John Piper's foreword and the endorsements by D. A. Carson, Mark Dever, C. J. Mahaney, Al Mohler, Carl Trueman, Justin Taylor, and others are not false advertising. Jonathan Edwards is perhaps the most brilliant intellect in American history, and Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney accessibly introduce his profound, complex writings.

I first heard about these books from listening to the Brannon Howse show.

I actually thought I would be reading Jonathan Edwards writing on the subjects. At first I was disappointed to see it was somebody commenting and quoting Edwards on the various subjects.

But I kept reading and found these books to be outstanding in taking the subjects dear to Edwards and his ministry and breaking them down for me to truly process and comprehend.

Edwards is not easy to read and I am thankful to no end that Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney have done him this service. These books are very understandable and explain Edwards's thoughts and words very well.

My favorite one in the set is "On True Christianity".

If there were only one you could read at least read that one.

I highly recommend them.

I haven't had a chance to dig into all the books in the set yet, but what I have had a chance to read was amazing! Plus Amazon was completely reliable in their delivery time and the condition of my order when it arrived. I would recommend this item for anyone who is looking for literature to further their knowledge in general, ministry, or history of Jonathan Edward's life.