Status
Available
Collection
Publication
Yale University Press (2004), Edition: New edition, 640 pages
Description
Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is a towering figure in American history. A controversial theologian and the author of the famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, he ignited the momentous Great Awakening of the eighteenth century.In this definitive and long-awaited biography, Jonathan Edwards emerges as both a great American and a brilliant Christian. George Marsden evokes the world of colonial New England in which Edwards was reared-a frontier civilization at the center of a conflict between Native Americans, French Catholics, and English Protestants. Drawing on newly available sources, Marsden demonstrates how these cultural and religious battles shaped Edwards's life and thought. Marsden reveals Edwards as a complex thinker and human being who struggled to reconcile his Puritan heritage with the secular, modern world emerging out of the Enlightenment. In this, Edwards's life anticipated the deep contradictions of our American culture.Meticulously researched and beautifully composed, this biography offers a compelling portrait of an eminent American.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member fatgecko
Since Yale University’s masssive project of publishing Jonathan Edwards Works in the latter half of the 20th century, there has been an explosion of scholarly interest in his life and writing. (One bibliography lists more than 500 publications in the 1980’s alone). George Marsden’s biography
The detailed portrait Marsden achieves is magisterial, and the book has won significant awards. Innumerable strands of American history are woven skillfully together with a deep understanding of Edwards own life and thought. The shift from the American puritan heritage of the beginning of the 18th century, to the ‘happy age of light and liberty’ of the Enlightenment is palpable through the pages of the book. We stand alongside Edwards as he contends internationally for the reputation of the revivals, and as the unity of the New England clergy slowly divides into ‘Old Light’ and ‘New Light’. Edwards’ intense spirituality is clearly portrayed, along with his deep human frailties - there is no stylising of Edwards into a supersaint.
I sensed that Marsden may have been in slightly more familiar territory in Edwards’ cultural world than in Edwards’ theological world. Nonetheless, substantial sections of the book are taken up with illuminating descriptions of Edwards’ thought - illuminating both for his own time and for the centuries that have followed. Edwards saw his writing as his chief contribution to the kingdom of God, and was frequently the leading writer for the ‘New Light’ clergy. Especially interesting from a history of philosophy perspective is his work in response to the trends of the Enlightenment — Marsden traces something of Edwards’ vindication in this regard. There were many ‘Aha’ moments as I read the book, as Marsden placed Edwards in his theological context and showed his significance for theological thought that has followed. This is a very valuable aspect of the book.
If Iain Murray’s 1987 biography of Edwards might be described as responsible hagiography, then Marsden’s is more strictly critical biography (albeit with an unmistakable warmth and admiration for the subject.) One of the delightful features of the book is that the careful critical work of Marsden is never reduced to mere deconstruction or scholarly point-scoring. What stands out is not the critical nature of the work, but its synthesis, as is Marsden’s intention: “Historical scholarship … should also be to help people see how to put things back together again. We need to use history for the guidance it offers, learning from the great figures of the past—both in their brilliance and in their shortcomings. Otherwise we are stuck with only the wisdom of the present.” (p. 502)
This biography is utterly magnificent, brilliant in its careful scholarship and beautifully written. (It’s hard to put down!) The portrait of Edwards life and thought is so clear that you gain the sense of having met him personally. It is this that makes the book, above all, deeply edifying for the preacher and Christian today.
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is self-consciously built upon the work of this generation of Edwards scholars. Marsden seeks to bridge what he sees as a gap between two dominant strands in the recent scholarship, viz, Edwards in his North American cultural influence and the theological thought of Edwards. The detailed portrait Marsden achieves is magisterial, and the book has won significant awards. Innumerable strands of American history are woven skillfully together with a deep understanding of Edwards own life and thought. The shift from the American puritan heritage of the beginning of the 18th century, to the ‘happy age of light and liberty’ of the Enlightenment is palpable through the pages of the book. We stand alongside Edwards as he contends internationally for the reputation of the revivals, and as the unity of the New England clergy slowly divides into ‘Old Light’ and ‘New Light’. Edwards’ intense spirituality is clearly portrayed, along with his deep human frailties - there is no stylising of Edwards into a supersaint.
I sensed that Marsden may have been in slightly more familiar territory in Edwards’ cultural world than in Edwards’ theological world. Nonetheless, substantial sections of the book are taken up with illuminating descriptions of Edwards’ thought - illuminating both for his own time and for the centuries that have followed. Edwards saw his writing as his chief contribution to the kingdom of God, and was frequently the leading writer for the ‘New Light’ clergy. Especially interesting from a history of philosophy perspective is his work in response to the trends of the Enlightenment — Marsden traces something of Edwards’ vindication in this regard. There were many ‘Aha’ moments as I read the book, as Marsden placed Edwards in his theological context and showed his significance for theological thought that has followed. This is a very valuable aspect of the book.
If Iain Murray’s 1987 biography of Edwards might be described as responsible hagiography, then Marsden’s is more strictly critical biography (albeit with an unmistakable warmth and admiration for the subject.) One of the delightful features of the book is that the careful critical work of Marsden is never reduced to mere deconstruction or scholarly point-scoring. What stands out is not the critical nature of the work, but its synthesis, as is Marsden’s intention: “Historical scholarship … should also be to help people see how to put things back together again. We need to use history for the guidance it offers, learning from the great figures of the past—both in their brilliance and in their shortcomings. Otherwise we are stuck with only the wisdom of the present.” (p. 502)
This biography is utterly magnificent, brilliant in its careful scholarship and beautifully written. (It’s hard to put down!) The portrait of Edwards life and thought is so clear that you gain the sense of having met him personally. It is this that makes the book, above all, deeply edifying for the preacher and Christian today.
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LibraryThing member joannaholbrook
Quite possibly one of the best biographies I've ever read. I loved the way Marsden incorporates the sociological and cultural aspects as major influences in Edward's life and then even goes on to relate the impact of Edward's life and works on the future of America. I was truly sad to put it down
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at the end. Show Less
LibraryThing member HGButchWalker
Great biography of a remarkable mind and life. It starts a little slow, but stick with it. You won't regret it.
Awards
National Book Critics Circle Award (Finalist — Biography — 2003)
Christianity Today Book Awards (History/Biography — 2004)
Merle Curti Award (2004)
Grawemeyer Awards (Winner — Religion — 2005)
Philip Schaff Prize (2004)
Bancroft Prize (2004)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2003
Physical description
640 p.; 9.1 inches
ISBN
0300105967 / 9780300105964