Jonathan Edwards and the News
In his biography of Edwards, George Marsden pointed out something that surprised me a bit.
During his stay in New York he began making entries in his notebooks on the mysterious revelations of the last book of the Bible as a framework for understanding current events. This subject soon became a lifetime preoccupation. [...] “If I heard the least hint of any thing that happened in any part of the world, that appeared to me, in some respect or other, to have a favorable aspect on the interest of Christ’s kingdom, my soul eagerly catched at it; and it would much animate and refresh me. I used to be earnest to read public news-letters, mainly for that end; to see if I could not find some news favorable to the interest of religion in the world.”1
- Marsden, George. Jonathan Edwards. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003. 48.↩
Camden:
If you are really interested in Edwards and his predilection for reading the press for reports of the advance of Christ’s kingdom, read vol. 5 of the Yale edition of the Works of Jonathan Edwards: Apocalyptic Writings, which includes all his clippings but also his comments on the book of Revelation and you will see how his brand of postmillennialism works. His big concern was with anything that indicated that the Roman Catholic church or the Papacy was in retreat and that Protestantism was on the rise. You will also find his “History of the Work of Redemption” (Yale Works vol. 9) quite helpful for the big picture.
Comment on June 16, 2007 @ 10:45 am
I’m confused. What is the author saying that Edwards was doing? Was he looking for current events that seemed to fulfill end times prophecy in Revelation?
Seth
http://www.whatum.com
Theological Satire
Comment on June 27, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
Yes, Edwards was looking for evidence of the downfall of the papacy and the advancement of Protestantism which he thought were events that would usher in the millennium.
Comment on July 1, 2007 @ 4:32 pm
So kind of like and Enlightenment Jack van Impe?
Comment on July 21, 2007 @ 10:16 am
Not exactly.
Comment on July 24, 2007 @ 7:41 am