It is blasphemy in some circles. To suggest that our religious heroes are fallen men strikes some as disrespectful and, they say, discourages admiration. We saw this clearly in the fall out from the song “Precious Puritans” by Christian rapper Propaganda. I am not a personal fan of rap music, but I took interest in that discussion as it conveyed a kind of unhealthy hero-worship, particularly of the Puritans. After all, they , like all of us, are sinners affected by the Fall with some very glaring failures in history. The same is true of Edwards. You wouldn’t know it from the plethora of literature on the great theologian, but Edwards was a man who struggled with sin and anxiety, and sometimes didn’t even struggle with his sin. This new series aims to introduce us to the weaknesses in Edward’s life.
There are a number of things we could discuss and examine. We will over the next few weeks learn from Edward’s life by exploring his temper and his pride. We will glean from his mistakes in order that we might avoid repeating them. Edwards’ brilliance was both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes he was not great at communicating or being patient with others of lesser brilliance. We will also explore the pastor’s own personal struggle with assurance of salvation. It will surprise some to learn that Edwards was, throughout his life, consumed with the nagging fear that he was deceived and not truly converted. For Edwards it seems some of the doubt arises from an overly self-focused obsession. Many Christians in the church today who struggle with similar doubts can learn from Edwards’ unbalanced focused. When we doubt we ought most to look to God, not to ourselves. There will also be some discussions about he possibility that the great puritan struggled with lust. Some scholars have suggested this in recent years and we will explore some of that research.
Finally, no survey of Edwards’ humanity would be sufficient without considering his own racism. This is less of a struggle and more of a fact. This gospel preaching, Bible loving, God-centered theologian nonetheless retained slaves throughout his life. More and more research and discussion is happening in regards to this subject and we will want to examine some of it in order to try to understand how such a solid theologian was so blind to such an obvious sin.
But in order to see all of this properly and within proper context we will want to begin by looking at Edwards’ own theology of the fall. What did he believe about the metaphysics of sin? In what ways did he see and understand sin, according to Scripture, experience, and reason, to affect humans? These and other questions will dominate our initial discussions. We will look particularly at this work on Original Sin; that will serve as a good starting place. After all to understand more clearly Edwards personal struggles and failures, we ought to examine how his theology shaped his life – or in some cases didn’t.
Jonathan Edwards was a man, a deeply fallen man. He, like all of us, was saved by grace through faith. He like all of us, was blessed by God almighty with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Sanctification for him, like it is for all us, was a process of ever-increasing conformity to Christ. That means that as we study him we will see both glaring failures and great benefits. He can bless the church and serve, by way of example, as a warning to the church. Honest evaluation of the man must accept this, be honest about it, and learn from it. Jonathan Edwards was a man, to say anything less than this is actually the real blasphemy.
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