Genre: Information/Explanation

In Virtue , Edwards describes his views on the different levels of virtue , specifically "common morality " and "true (saving) virtue." [ 1 ] God , Edwards argues, had in mind as the end for his creation of the world His own glory and not human happiness. Thus, true virtue does not arise from self-love or from any earth-bound selflessness (these were two common views at the time) but from a desire to see God's glory displayed above all. Love of self, family, or nation is good only to the extent that it magnifies the glory of God. [ 2 ] The Nature of True Virtue , and its companion work, A Dissertation Concerning the End for Which God Created the World , are still popular works today. Modern theologian John Piper , who extensively studied the works of Edwards while at Seminary , credits the work with awakening in him a "a deep longing to be a good man." [ 3 ]