The Religious Affections [Paperback]

Jonathan Edwards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 2009

In THE RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS Jonathan Edwards provides an incisive analysis of genuine Christian feelings. Drawn from his experiences during the Great Awakening, his insights are every bit as relevant to our own times as they were then. Religion is not a matter of mere emotionalism, but neither is it a matter of doctrines with no personal emotional investment. Some signs of Christianity conversion are unreliable, but there are twelve genuine marks of a Christian. Jonathan Edwards was a preacher and missionary in colonial America. The son of a minister, he attended Yale while still a teenager and went on to study theology. While he was pastoring a church in Northampton, the Great Awakening reached the town. Amid the fervor of religious revival, Edwards preached both encourage to true Christianity and to alert congregations to superficial imitations. THE RELIGIOUS AFFECTIONS is a systematic collection of his preaching at that time. Above all, he says, it is changed lives and characters that provide evidence of true Christianity.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) offers here his most detailed description of the signs of revival and takes a look at the evidence of true conversion. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was a colonial American Congregational preacher, theologian, and missionary to Native Americans. Edwards "is widely acknowledged to be America's most important and original philosophical theologian," and one of America's greatest intellectuals. Edwards' theological work is very broad in scope, but he is often associated with his defense of Reformed theology, the metaphysics of theological determinism, and the Puritan heritage. Edwards played a critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening, and oversaw some of the first fires of revival in 1733-1735 at his church in Northampton, Massachusetts. Edwards' sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," is considered a classic of early American literature, which he delivered during another wave of revival in 1741, following George Whitefield's tour of the Thirteen Colonies. Edwards is widely known for his many books: The End For Which God Created the World; The Life of David Brainerd, which served to inspire thousands of missionaries throughout the nineteenth century; and Religious Affections, which many Reformed Evangelicals read even today. Edwards died from a smallpox inoculation shortly after beginning the presidency at the College of New Jersey (later to be named Princeton University), and was the grandfather of Aaron Burr. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Eremitical Press (September 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 192677700X
• ISBN-13: 978-1926777009
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #875,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A theology unseen in today's Christian books, November 8, 2002

By 

Daniel L Edelen (Mt. Orab, OH USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Religious Affections (Paperback)

As grape soda is to Louis Roederer Cristal, so today's Christian books are to Edwards' "The Religious Affections". Espousing a theology foreign to most postmodern Christians, Edwards lays out the cornerstone of Christian thought of the mid-18th century.

As unflinching as his more famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", this work develops the idea that what we feel and our true status in Christ are at war with one another, a constant battle that requires the searching of our souls by the Spirit of God in order to find the truth of our standing in Him. For some, the level of introspection and faithfulness demanded of the believer is higher than we might otherwise be prepared to endure. But only by complete surrender, the development of an inner craving for Christ, and spiritual examination can we rest in the assurance of our salvation.

This work also holds up a Christian faith that seems radically different - and more vital - than what we know. For this we should thank Edwards for allowing 21st century men and women a tie to historic Christianity, especially as seen through early-American eyes.

"The Religious Affections" is an extremely difficult book to read, not only because of the sentence structure and word choices of the 18th century, but also because of the loaded theology. It is a bombshell to the heart of anyone who earnestly desires to follow Christ. Impossible to ignore, Edwards' book demands a response. No one can read it and be unchanged. The level of discipleship it asks is shocking to modern readers, but ultimately necessary for our salvation.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Final Word, September 17, 2005

By 

Robert W. Kellemen "Doc. K." (Crown Point, IN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Religious Affections (Paperback)

Jonathan Edwards penned "Religious Affections" in a day much like our own. Battle lines were drawn over religion of the heart and religion of the head. Edwards, the consummate scholar, but his biblical mind and spiritual heart fully into the task of explaining the scriptural, theological, and practical truth of the nature of spiritual conversion and spiritual growth.

Unlike many Christian scholars today, Edwards recognized the age-old (Old Testament, New Testament, and Church History) truth/tradition of the affections. He saw them as the relational motivation that impelled the soul. Further, he saw the affections, or our longings, desires, and thirsts, as God-created/designed core components of the healthy human personality.

He then traced the relationship between the affections, our cognitions, our volition, and our emotions. Brilliantly he demonstrated that we pursue (volition) what we perceive (cognition) to be pleasant (affections) and pleasing (emotions). In other words, the "action" is in the affections. Capture the affections through the imagination (the deepest aspects of our cognitive capacity) and you capture the soul.

To understand the biblical psychology of the soul, other than the Bible itself, this is THE book to devour.

Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," and the forthcoming "Beyond the Suffering: The Story of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction."

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absolute MUST Read, May 18, 2001

By 

Matthew Westerholm (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Religious Affections (Paperback)

I'm a minister of music at an evangelical church. Almost every week, I have the conversation with someone "what are the role of emotions in our services and in the Christian's life in general?" (Nobody really asks it THAT way, but you get the idea.)

I've come to the point where I won't even begin the conversation without having them read this book. Seriously! Edwards covers ALL the issues in a thorough and practical way.

Strap on your thinking cap, but know it's worth it! I read this book every year and God never fails in using it to refocus my heart on Him.