Jonathan Edwards is one of America's greatest "vintage" theologians. A Congregational pastor and key figure in the 18th century "Great Awakening", Edwards produced a theology of Christian spirituality for his age. Edwards' main concern was the question, "How do we distinguish the presence of the Holy Spirit?" He spent his life working out ways in which we define that experience.
In the brief text by Jonathan Edwards in
Devotional Classics, we consider the roles that the intellectual life and the passionate life play in our spiritual experience. I invite you to read these four pages and discover what wisdom this vintage Christian has to say to you.
Respond to any or all of these discussion questions with your "comment" following this post. Or simply express your own response!
- If a friend asked you, "What is true religion?" what would your own definition be?
- What elements of this reading really speak to you?
- Does Edwards make any points that you would disagree with?
- What part does passion play in your own life of faith? How important is intellect?
"A person who has a knowledge of doctrine and theology only--without religious affection--has never engaged in true religion. Nothing is more apparent than this: our religion takes root within us only as deep as our affections attract it....In a word, there is never any great achievement by the things of religion without a heart deeply affected by those things.,"
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