1. Is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” representative of Edwards’ entire ministry?
- “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was preached at a church that was reportedly resistant to the work of the Great Awakening, the massive transatlantic revival taking place at the time. Edwards preached many other sermons in other contexts (for instance, famously, his series on Charity and Its Fruits), but it is fair to say that Edwards believed strongly not only in the fearful reality of hell but his duty as a minister to warn people of that reality.
- Having said that, to call, as some have, Edwards’ hell-fire preaching effectively ‘theological terrorism’ is quite unjustified. Even the sermon itself Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God has, when read properly, a clear emphasis upon the mercy of God – it is nothing but God’s mercy that keeps us out of hell, he was saying, and therefore we are to ask God for an extension of that mercy for salvation.
- So is Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God representative? Yes, Edwards did preach on hell, and did seek to warn people of hell most passionately and with vibrant and alarming imagery. But Edwards also preached on many other topics more frequently (love, the beauty of Christ), and preached this sermon in a particular context of what he discerned as hard-hearted resistance to the wonderful work of God. Perhaps Edwards' preaching on hell stands out to us mostly (if not only) because we are so unaccustomed to finding warnings against hell in church or society today.
2. Did Edwards support slavery?
- Edwards, and the Edwards family, are known to have owned slaves, and we also have evidence of Edwards giving a short defense of another minister who was coming under criticism for his ownership of slaves. However, Edwards’ defense of slavery, such as it is (we only have a small scrap of notes) was a defense of the inevitable practicality of the matter, as acknowledging that slavery existed at the time around the world, and had in it a criticism of the slave trade itself.
- There are several matters of context we need to bear in mind. First of all, slavery was a very common part of society, and had been for many years, and indentured (white) servitude in Europe had been present for a long time. In those days a servant could sometimes not get married, for instance, without asking permission of his or her master. Second, Edwards did have full communicant membership of African Americans in his congregation. Third, Edwards' immediate descendants were at the forefront of the anti-slavery movement after Edwards’ death, and we may deduce that an anti-slavery component was a ticking bomb in Edwards’ thought waiting for the right moment to explode.
3. Was Edwards in favor of the Spiritual gifts?
- While Edwards strongly believed in the supernatural (“A divine and supernatural light…is both a biblical and rational doctrine…”), and sought to promote experiential conversion and sanctification in the most exalted and passionate ways, there is no evidence that Edwards believed that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit had or would return. In fact, Edwards in some sermons spoke quite virulently against those who thought those miraculous gifts had returned, and also seemed to feel that because the work of conversion was so much more of a miracle there was nothing greatly to be gained by the return of said gifts.
4. What did Edwards think about the millennium?
- Edwards held what is commonly called the ‘postmillennial’ position, meaning that he thought that the millennial reign of the saints with Christ would happen before Christ returned, and that the expanse of the church (particularly though wonderful works of God as were taking place in his lifetime through the Great Awakening) prepared the way for Christ finally to return, after this millennial glorious reign of the church, post the millennium. This is not a position that is frequently held today, and it did at times lead Edwards to make, what to us, sound like unwarranted, if understandable, statements in hope that the millennium was just around the corner because the revival seemed to be going particularly well.
5. Why did Edwards wear a wig?
- At the time, though Edwards was beginning to look a little old fashioned, a wig was a normal garment for a man of respectability and position in society. Edwards, like many other clergymen and officials then, wore a wig much like a politician today tends to wear a suit and tie. Towards the end of Edwards’ ministry in Northampton, when he was losing the respect of his congregation, one individual remarked that he would not show respect to a “wig”, meaning, in this case Edwards. Edwards’ wig wearing may have become an unwitting statement of more passing authoritarian traditions than the new climate was willing to countenance.
6. How did Edwards die?
- Edwards died of a secondary infection from a small pox inoculation. Typically for Edwards, he was willing to make the most of this slightly novel but then technologically advanced technique for dealing with small pox, but in his case with unwarranted and unfortunate results.
7. What were Edwards’ last words to his wife?
- Some way from his wife at the time, he told those present to tell Sarah, “Give my kindest love to my dear wife, and tell her that the uncommon union which has so long subsisted between us has been of such a nature as I trust is spiritual and therefore will continue forever.” By this, for one brought up in that theological environment, Edwards meant to indicate that he would see his wife in heaven, and that while there is no marriage in heaven, nonetheless as their union has been also spiritual their relationship in some measure would continue.
8. Did Edwards really work ‘thirteen hours a day’ in his study?
- The phrase ‘thirteen hours a day’ comes from a contemporary of Edwards, so it cannot be entirely dismissed. On the other hand, Edwards clearly had time for other things, particularly for his family, and so this picture of Edwards never emerging from his study is perhaps slightly overdone.
9. Why was Edwards ejected from his pastorate?
- This is a complex question without a simple answer, and it’s best to read the standard works on this subject. Simply, Edwards was embroiled in a controversy that came known as “the communion controversy” and involved doctrinal questions as to who could be admitted to full communicant membership of the church. There are also indications from Edwards’ sermons that a ‘party spirit’ had long existed in Northampton, and he may have been its victim too.
10. Did Edwards read his sermons in a dull monotone?
- Again, no one knows for sure, of course, and this opinion comes from another contemporary observer. However, it appears that Edwards’ sermon manuscript were especially designed so that they could be ‘palmed’ which allowed Edwards to have a full manuscript (with the whole text of the sermon carefully crafted) while at the same time make good eye contact with the congregation. Certainly, in comparison to Whitefield, as a preacher Edwards was at the other end of the rhetorical spectrum. He was more formal and restrained, and had a nasal voice, but accounts of his preaching indicate that he deeply impressed his listeners.
11. What was Edwards’ family life like?
- We have several copies of very endearing letters from Edwards to his family, and there seems to have been a very loving atmosphere at the home, supportive and kind. With eleven children, it must have been a bit hectic, too. Sarah would have had primary responsibility for order in the household, assisted by the older daughters and by a domestic slave.
12. Where are Edwards' manuscripts?
- The great majority of his extant manuscripts are in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University (General Manuscripts 151). These manuscripts were donated to Yale in 1901 by Edwards descendants. Since that time, other Edwards manuscripts that have come to light have been purchased, for example, the "Farewell Sermon." A smaller but nonetheless significant collection, consisting mostly of Edwards' early writings and family letters, is at Andover Newton Theological Seminary's Franklin Trask Library. A small number of manuscripts, mostly letters, are scattered in repositories throughout the United States and Great Britain.
13. I'm thinking of doing some research on Edwards - how significant is the manuscript collection at Yale?
- Tryon Edwards, a descendant of Jonathan, wrote:"Perhaps no person ever lived who so habitually and carefully committed his thoughts, on almost every subject, to writing, as the elder President Edwards. His ordinary studies were pursued pen in hand, and with his notebooks before him; and he not only often stopped in his daily rides by the wayside, but frequently rose even at midnight to commit to paper any important thought that had occurred to him. As the result of this habit, his manuscripts are probably more thoroughly the record of the intellectual life of their author than those of any other individual who has a name in either the theological or literary world. The manuscripts are also very numerous. The seventeenth century was an age of voluminous authorship. The works of Bishop Hall amount to ten volumes octavo; Lightfoot's, to thirteen; Jeremy Taylor's, to fifteen; Dr. Goodwin's, to twenty; Owen's to twenty-eight; while Baxter's would extend to some sixty volumes, or from thirty to forty thousand closely printed octavo pages. The manuscripts of Edwards, if all published, would be more voluminous than the works of any of these writers, if possibly the last be excepted. And these manuscripts have been carefully preserved and kept together ..." (WJE 8:125)
14. Why is Jonathan Edwards considered America's greatest theologian and philosopher?
15. If I come to Yale to consult Edwards' manuscripts, will I be able to read them?
- To gain access to the manuscripts, you have to present a valid picture ID and provide a research topic. More to the point, however, is that once readers have been admitted, the challenge of deciphering Edwards' manuscripts confronts. Very few people can sit down and read his manuscripts without prior experience or training.
- Is help available? The staff of the Edwards Center is ready and willing to assist readers. If you plan a visit to Yale, we invite you contact us (edwards@yale.edu) and we will be happy to help focus your research and read difficult passages.
16. Why are Jonathan Edwards' writings not all published yet, if he lived in the early 18th century? What's taking so long, Yale?
- There are several reasons for this. Firstly, many of Edwards's original manuscripts were not made available to the public until 1901, when Yale acquired them from the Edwards family (they were held in their private collections until then). And then, Edwards' hand is notoriously difficult to read. It can take years of experience to read Edwards' handwriting accurately.
- Secondly, for most of 20th century American history, there was some sense of antagonism towards religion, especially towards Puritanism. And, because Edwards seemed to be the representative par excellence of American Puritanism in many people's minds, it was not very popular to have any association with, or interest in, Edwards. It wasn't until the 1980s with the rise of the new evangelicalism that Christianity came "back into vogue," and with it a renewed interest in Edwards.
- The third reason has to do with funding. For the first three decades of its existence, the Yale Edition had no funding, so during that period only seven volumes (out of 26) of Edwards' Works were produced. In the 1980s, substantial and generous grants from organizations such as the Pew Charitable Trust, the Luce Foundation, and the Lilly Endowment, among others, supported a spurt of publishing activity. So, from 1989-2007, Volumes 8-25 were produced.
- The final reason has to do with how prolific Edwards was. He wrote nearly 100,000 pages in his lifetime--the equivalent of seventy volumes--which is an extraordinarily monumental task to transcribe and publish, especially considering the difficulty of reading many of his manuscripts.
17. When will the complete works be published?
- We have published 26 volumes in print format, which completes that phase. In addition, the WJE Online provides and additional 47 "digital" volumes of unpublished writings and documents, bringing the total of volumes to 73!
18. How is the Jonathan Edwards Center funded?
- The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University is funded mostly by individual and private foundation donations, with matching funds from the federal government (the WJE Online is a "We the People" Project! See wethepeople.gov/projects/2006grants.html) and staff support from Yale Universty. Yale Divinity School, which the WJE and JEC have called home for twenty years, generously provides our office space and network support.
19. What are the differences between the WJE Online and print editions of JE's works?
- The print edition from Yale University Press exends to 26 volumes (which is quite a substantial improvement on, for example, the previously-published two-volume Banner of Truth edition), and contain texts published by Edwards during his lifetime, or were published posthumously, as well as important representative selections from his manuscript corpus. However, the WJE Online edition includes the printed and unpublished works,which are integrated with Edwards' references of primary sources and with relevant scholarly articles, and is the only exhaustive Jonathan Edwards resource on the planet. By the time we are done--yes, we still have to transcribe another several hundred sermons as well as edit many more documents--or goal is to have every last thing that Edwards ever wrote will be online.
20. How is our Yale University Press (YUP) edition different from previously published editions?
There are a number of earlier editions of Edwards' works that are available:
- The Works of President Edwards, in Eight Volumes, ed. Edward Williams and Edward Parsons (Leeds, 1806–11).
- The Works of President Edwards, in Eight Volumes, First American Edition, ed. Samuel Austin (Worcester, 1808–9).
- The Works of President Edwards, in Ten Volumes, ed. Sereno E. Dwight (New York, 1829–30).
- The Works of President Edwards, in Four Volumes (New York, 1843-44).
- The Works of Jonathan Edwards, in Two Volumes (Banner of Truth and Hendrickson edition, which reprints the Worcester rev. ed.)
- The Yale University Press edition is by far the most comprehensive and accurate to date (consisting of 26 printed volumes, and more than twice that much online), including many writings never before accessible by the public. Also, earlier editions include many mistakes and "improvements," which are perpetuated in modern reprints by various publishing houses today. Only the WJE and WJE Online return to the originals to provide an authoritative and critical edition.
Acknowledgements
The Jonathan Edwards Center acknowledges Dr. Josh Moody, Senior Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church, New Haven, for discussing some of these questions.
