Understanding Affections in the Theology of Jonathan Edwards
Subtitle: "the high exercises of divine love"
Series: T & T Clark studies in systematic theology
Publisher: T&T Clark, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2019
Place of publication: London; New York; Oxford; New Delhi; Sydney
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 296
ISBN-13: 9780567682246
Copyright date: 2019
Description: "This volume argues that the notion of "affections" discussed by Jonathan Edwards (and Christian theologians before him) means something very different from what contemporary English speakers now call "emotions." and that Edwards's notions of affections came almost entirely from traditional Christian theology in general and the Reformed tradition in particular. Ryan J. Martin demonstrates that Christian theologians for centuries emphasized affection for God, associated affections with the will, and distinguished affections from passions; generally explaining affections and passions to be inclinations and aversions of the soul. This was Edwards's own view, and he held it throughout his entire ministry. Martin further argues that Edwards's view came not as a result of his reading of John Locke, or the pressures of the Great Awakening (as many Edwardsean scholars argue), but from his own biblical interpretation and theological education. By analysing patristic, medieval and post-medieval thought and the journey of Edwards's psychology, Martin shows how, on their own terms, pre-modern Christians historically defined and described human psychology."--Bloomsbury Publishing.
Notes: "T & T Clark Studies in Systematic Theology is a series of monographs in the field of Christian doctrine, with a particular focus on constructive engagement with the subject through historical analysis or contemporary restatement." - Back cover.
Table of contents: title: Foreword / Kenneth P. Minkema (Jonathan Edwards Center & Online Archive, Yale University); title: Note on text; title: The Yale University Press Edition of The Works of Jonathan Edwards; title: Introduction; title: 1. Lost in translation : the problem of Edwards, affections, and emotions; title: 2. Human affections in patristic and medieval theology; title: 3. Human affections in post-Medieval thought; title: 4. Young Jonathan Edwards's education in affections; title: 5. Jonathan Edwards's early psychology; title: 6. Enthusiasm, passions, and the Great Awakening : disputes over the role of affections in religion; title: 7. Affections and Christian apology : the later psychology of Jonathan Edwards; title: 8. Toward a theology of affections; title: Bibliography