Douglas A. Sweeney

Scholars have long recognized that Jonathan Edwards loved the Bible, but preoccupation with his roles in Western "public" life and letters has eclipsed the significance of his biblical exegesis. In Edwards the Exegete, Douglas A. Sweeney fills this lacuna, exploring Edwards' exegesis and its significance for Christian thought and intellectual history. As Sweeney shows, throughout Edwards' life the lion's share of his time was spent wrestling with the words of holy writ. After reconstructing Edwards' lost exegetical world and describing his place within it, Sweeney summarizes his four main approaches to the Bible-canonical, Christological, redemptive-historical, and pedagogical-and analyzes his work on selected biblical themes that illustrate these four approaches, focusing on material emblematic of Edwards' larger interests as a scholar. Sweeney compares Edwards' work to that of his most frequent interlocutors and places it in the context of the history of exegesis, challenging commonly held notions about the state of Christianity in the age of the Enlightenment. Edwards the Exegete offers a novel guide to the theologian's exegetical work, clearing a path that other specialists are sure to follow. Sweeney's significant reassessment of Edwards' place in the Enlightenment makes a major contribution to Edwards studies, eighteenth-century studies, the history of exegesis, the theological interpretation of Scripture, and homiletics.

Biblical Interpretation and Anglo-Protestant Culture on the Edge of the Enlightenment

Edwards the Exegete

Daniel J. Treier

This collection of essays honours Kevin J. Vanhoozer by representing the current state of evangelical hermeneutics in light of his work. The volume consists of three parts: The Biblical Script, Great Performances, and Theodrama Today. Each part contains wide-ranging contributions from well-known scholars, who address important topics for contemporary hermeneutics in dialogue with Vanhoozer's influential work. Kevin J. Vanhoozer is today's leading evangelical theologian of biblical interpretation. He is one of the most influential voices in contemporary hermeneutics, and in academic theology he is one of his generation's most influential evangelicals.

The Drama of Evangelical Hermeneutics

Hearing and Doing the Word

Jan Stievermann

The Oxford Handbook of Jonathan Edwards offers a state-of-the-art summary of scholarship on Edwards by a diverse, international, and interdisciplinary group of Edwards scholars, many of whom serve as global leaders in the burgeoning world of research and writing on 'America's theologian'. As an early modern clerical polymath, Edwards is of interest to historians, theologians, and literary scholars. He is also an interlocutor for contemporary clergy and philosophical theologians. All such readers—and many more—will find here an authoritative overview of Edwards' life, ministry, and writings, as well as a representative sampling of cutting-edge scholarship on Edwards from across several disciplines. The volume falls into four sections, which reflect the diversity of Edwards studies today. The first section turns to the historical Edwards and grounds him in his period and the relevant contexts that shaped his life and work. The second section balances the historical reconstruction of Edwards as a theological and philosophical thinker with explorations of his usefulness for constructive theology and the church today. In part three, the focus shifts to the different ways and contexts in which Edwards attempted to realize his ideas and ideals in his personal life, scholarship, and ministry, but also to the ways in which these historical realities stood in tension with, limited, or resisted his aspirations. The final section looks at Edwards' widening renown and influence as well as diverse appropriations. This Handbook serves as an authoritative guide for readers overwhelmed by the enormity of the multi-lingual world of Edwards studies. It will bring readers up to speed on the most important work being done and then serve them as a benchmark in the field of Edwards scholarship for decades to come.

The Oxford Handbook of Jonathan Edwards

Oliver D. Crisp

In recent years there has been a flowering of interest in the work of Jonathan Edwards. In the last decade this has been encouraged by the publication of many previously unavailable manuscripts, in the Yale edition of Edwards' works. In the same period there has been some interest in the New England theology inspired by Edwards' work, which dominated much of American theology in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. However, the interest in New England Theology has been much less pronounced than that expressed in the work of Edwards. This is strange given the influence of New England Theology and the ways in which the theologians of this movement developed and expressed broadly Edwardsian themes. After Jonathan Edwards offers a reassessment of the New England Theology in light of the work of Jonathan Edwards. Scholars who have made important contributions to our understanding of Edwards are brought together with scholars of New England theology and early American history to produce a groundbreaking examination of the ways in which New England Theology flourished, how themes in Edwards' thought were taken up and changed by representatives of the school, and its lasting influence on the shape of American Christianity.

The Courses of the New England Theology

After Jonathan Edwards

This Handbook offers a state-of-the-art summary of scholarship on Jonathan Edwards by a diverse, international, and inter-disciplinary group of active Edwards scholars.

David P. Barshinger

Jonathan Edwards and Scripture provides a fresh look at the important, burgeoning field of Edwards and the Bible. For too long, Edwards scholars have published new research on Edwards without paying due attention to the work he took most seriously: biblical exegesis. Edwards is recognized asan innovative theologian who wielded tremendous influence on revivalism, evangelicalism, and New England theology, but what is often missed is how much time he devoted to studying and understanding the Bible. He kept voluminous notebooks on Christian Scripture and had plans for major treatises onthe Bible before he died. Edwards scholars need to take stock of the place of the Bible in his thought to do justice to his theology and legacy. In fact, more and more experts are recognizing how important this aspect of his life is, and this book brings together the insights of leading Edwards scholars on this topic. Thisvolume seeks to increase our understanding of Edwards' engagement with Scripture by setting it in the context of seventeenth-century Protestant exegesis and eighteenth-century colonial interpretation. It provides case studies of Edwards' exegesis in varying genres of the Bible, and probes his use ofScripture to develop theology. It also sets 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 Westernhistory.

Biblical Exegesis in British North America

Jonathan Edwards and Scripture

Jonathan Edwards has been recognized as the most influential evangelical theologian of all time. Before his death at the age of fifty-four, he had sparked a new movement of Reformed evangelicals who played a major role in fueling the rise of modern missions, preaching revivals far and wide, and wielding the cutting edge of American theology. He has never gone out of print, and Christians today continue to flock to seminars and conferences on him. In this biography of the great preacher and teacher, historian Douglas Sweeney locates for us the core and key to Edwards' enduring impact. Sweeney finds that Edwards' profound and meticulous study of the Bible securely anchored his powerful preaching, his lively theological passions and his discerning pastoral work. Beyond introducing you to Edwards' life and times, this book will provide you with a model of Christian faith, thought and ministry.

Douglas A. Sweeney

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