Customer Reviews

Jonathan Edwards-A New Biography (Paperback)

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Jonathan Edwards is maybe the most exciting historical Christian to study (except for Luther. Part of this explanation is the fact that history shows us a much differnt picture than the modern stereotypes show us. Murray is to be commended for his standard setting work on Edwards. Murray is very warm and doctrine centered. As periodical "Christian History" said of Murray's work, "this is the biography Edwards himself would have most appreciated." (Spring 2003).

Final Analysis

This book is long, complex, and well researched. It is not bed time reading, but rather, Sabbath reading as it will stir one's thoughts to the Lord. Murray pulls no punches as he shows his view of Edwards: This man saw more of the glory of heaven and the terror of hell than any modern Christian ever will. Murray's aim is that after reading, Christians will then take up Edward's works and discover the glory for themselves.

Murray did a wonderful job of disputing some of the authors of previous works who painted Edwards as a mere doomsayer. He instead provides documentation and accounts of godly men of that time to show the true Jonathan Edwards as one of the greatest theological minds in history. This book helped me to understand the importance of drawing on the works of such great men of God for practical application for the lives of today's Christians.

Mark Noll said it well -- this is the only biography in which Edwards would recognize himself. Lets Edwards be Edwards. This will be THE classic Edwards biography for generations to come.

Unfortunately in academic circles today it has become taboo to express biases; to be sure, they all come through sooner or later. But, in academia, the writer must separate his own proclivities from his account of "the facts".

The simple fact of the matter is that the same God that Murray worships is the same God Edwards worshipped and now worships in heaven and so we are left with an account of Edwards by a man who is also thoroughly acquainted with the spiritual realities that Edwards experienced (perhaps not to the same degree).

Biographers like Perry Miller are atheists and so they start with naturalistic presuppositions in their accounts. This, for the Christian reader, is an untenable and unfortunate way to look at the life of one of God's choicest saints.

The book is remarkably well researched. Murray is concerned to chronicle the details of Edwards' life with painstaking thoroughness and his account of Edwards' dismissal from his Northampton congregation leaves the reader shocked. Not surprisingly, Calvin was dismissed from Geneva in similar circumstances - such has been the unfortunate tendency of Christians over the centuries.

Murray's writing style is wonderful. He's perspicuous and leaves the reader with the impression that many of today's Christian writers would do well to pack away their pens and take up different activities.

Lastly, this book is a devotional gem. I've written a three-page essay on hos Edwards' life, ministry and thought have affected my own and this has been a pleasure rather than a pain.

I heartily concur with some of the other reviewers - Murray's book is the definitive biography of a godly man who was an important part of the Great Awakening.

The book is comprehensive, covering several areas of Edwards' life:

1. Early childhood and Christian influences.
2. His salvation experience.
3. His happy home as evidenced by the large number of children, loving relationship with his life, and hospitality to others.
4. Associations with David Brainherd, George Whitfield, and other religious leaders of his day.
5. His important contributions to the Great Awakening and the resultant opposition he experienced.
6. His expulsion from the Northampton Church based on his stance on the Lord's Supper.
7. Missionary endeavors to the Indians.
8. Later years and service at Princeton University.

Murray successfully portrays Edwards as a man who although reserved in some respects, was actually a very warm and caring man towards others.

As for the reviewer from France, I only have to say - God alone determines where He will move His Spirit! That is not our choice to make!

This is truly a great book. It is not just a story about a great man who lived in the past, but about a man who was used greatly by God in a time that is in many ways like ours. This book has had a significant impact upon me, both encouraging me spiritually, as well as helping me work through some difficult theological issues. Specifically, the book gets into Edwards struggle with those who opposed the movement of God, and then his later stuggle with others who then claimed to be friends of the revival, but who perverted it's message through extremism. The issues dealt with here are extremely relevant for today.

This book shatters misconceptions that portray Edwards as a cold, stiff theologian who knew God as ONLY a wrathful judge. Instead, Murray shows Edwrads to have been a top-notch theologian who also cared deeply for others.

Murray does an excellent job of portraying one of America's greatest theologians and thinker. Murray gives wonderful insight and detail into the life of Edwards. This will be all you need to review the life of Jonathan Edwards, aside from his own writings.

I have been recently observing an unfortunate phenomenon: Jonathan Edwards is not well known. My referencing of Edwards in conversation has usually been met with an astonishing, "Who?" or, the caricature of the angry, downcast, miserable, depressed, joy-stealing preacher of "Sinners in the hands of an angry God," springs to mind and immediately prejudices the hearer against considering anything positive about the rural pastor from North Hampton, Connecticut. Sadly, this trend has settled in among those who should know and love him best: the Church of Jesus Christ.

I certainly do not directly blame the Church for casting Edwards' life and ministry aside and remaining ignorant of the truth he labored to give to God's people for their health and spiritual good. It is probably mostly the fault of the secular schoolbooks and scholarly critics that speak of Edwards from heavily biased opinion and from misinterpretations his life and teaching. This has, regrettably, painted a picture of Edwards in the minds of Americans that is very unlike the original.

And how tragic! The God-exalting, Christ-centered, humble, love-filled life and ministry of Jonathan Edwards has provided us with deeply satisfying, spiritually nourishing, life-giving, fruit-bearing sustenance for our souls, and yet we have forsaken this well of pure water because we have come to believe, essentially, that it is contaminated! Let us not be content to allow secular authors and critics to have the sole voice to speak to us about our founding fathers! O that we would reclaim that original portrait of this great man from the theft of misinterpretation and place it back securely in its proper place: the Church of Jesus Christ, so that all people can come, see, and enjoy!

Iain Murray, with great skill and spiritual insight, has certainly provided us with the means to do just that in his book, Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography. With this book, Murray has provided us with an accurate, edifying, truthful account of Edwards' life that not only examines his theological convictions, but also demonstrates how those convictions flourished in his everyday life. Edwards is portrayed in real life, with real struggles, real passions, real heartbreak, in the context of a real family, supported, and held up by a God who was more real than all the aforementioned.

Along with a detailed, evangelical interpretation of Edwards life, thought and ministry, Murray provides many excerpts from Edwards' pen that are helpful and practical for any reader. Most notable is Edwards' keen insight on the issue of spiritual pride. Edwards writes, "Spiritual pride is a most monstrous thing. If it be not discerned, and vigorously opposed in the very beginning, it very often soon raises persons above their teachers, and supposed spiritual fathers, and sets them out of the reach of all rule and instruction, as I have seen in innumerable instances" (341).

It can be safely assumed that Edwards saw the `beginnings' of such pride when he personally wrote a young lay-man who had taken the pulpit during a time when the regular pastor was absent, instructing him to stop this practice. In the letter that Murray supplies, we read from Edwards, "I am fully satisfied by the account your father has given me, that you have lately gone out of the way of your duty, and done that which did not belong to you, in exhorting public congregations...I hope you will consider the matter, and for the future, avoid doing thus. You ought to do what good you can, by private, brotherly, humble admonitions and counsels; but `tis too much for you to exhort public congregations" (222). Murray also supplies essential quotes from Edwards regarding proper understanding of the Great Awakening, true conversion, and pastoral study, just to name a few.

Without making an unnecessary overstatement, I can easily that Murray's New Biography has been one of the most edifying and helpful books I have ever read. I often take it back off my shelf to reflect and meditate on significant portions of the book. It is well-written, detailed, thorough, extremely helpful, very interesting, and will provide the reader with a clear understanding of the life and ministry of Jonathan Edwards; not to mention a solid introduction to his theological thought. I heartily recommend it!

Jonathan Edwards continues to be one of the most prominent figures in Anglo-American Christian history and Iain Murray presents a stirring, sensitive, and comprehensive evaluation of his life. Maybe (in my mind, definitely) one of the most exciting Christians to study, Jonathan Edwards' life is an inspiring example to all Christians across the globe. Murray captures Edwards' life of great achievement and heartache, and reveals the depth of thought that Edwards himself displayed throughout his life. This biography is thorough and very detail-oriented; Murray allows the reader to delve deep into Edwards' life and offers the opportunity to get acquainted with the entire family. Using letters that were passed throughout the Edwards family, Murray is able to convey a very doctrine-centered and eloquent biography that will edify its readers and inspire all Christians to strive "to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace than before."

This book has great personal sentiment, as well. Though I attribute its impact more to the actual life of Jonathan Edwards, this biography got a hold of my heart from the start. From the very first chapter I was introduced into a world of faith that I had never experienced; I was able to see and experience another's Christian life that has since altered my entire view of what it means to love and glorify God. I would recommend this book to any person who is looking for an example of what a Christian life--and a Christian family, for that matter--should look like. It is an eye-opening experience, one that is honest and reliable: Murray doesn't sugarcoat the difficulties that Edwards was blessed with. From Edwards' early education through the Great Awakening to his death as the President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton), I was blown away with how this man of God handled his entire life. Edwards is proof that an undivided concern for the Lord's glorification breathes true life into all things. All that being said, I can honestly say that I'm a better worshiper of God for having read this book.

I would definitely recommend this book to any person, especially Christians seeking to understand God through a lifestyle of faith. Biographies in general provide stirring examples of God's sovereign work. This book, though it might take a degree of interest in American history, has a universal audience as a result of Jonathan Edwards' universal theology.