Abstract
With books like this, the study of Jonathan Edwards reaches for a new height, for here we meet the Northampton Sage in all his philosophical complexity, and never with ideological reductionism. Oliver D. Crisp, professor of systematic theology at Fuller Seminary, balances ably between critique of opinions and respect for the man. Edwards is not merely mined for quotations for sermons, but is elevated to the status of genuine interlocutor with theological minds of the ages. Conversing with Anselm, Arminius, Girardeau, Bellamy (and Augustine and Thomas more distantly) in chapters dedicated to each, Edwards’s views on creation, sin, Trinity, and atonement are analyzed. There are also some more general chapters on Edwards in the Reformed tradition, his philosophy of preaching, and his place in orthodoxy. Crisp’s philosophical steel-trap mind pulls apart Edwards’s own words to uncover tensions, convergences, and yes even possible contradictions in Edwards’s speculative theological project, which pulls out the rug from under the feet of many of Edwards’s homeboys. This book is an energizing attempt at constructive theologizing. It is asking the question whether in the end Edwards is really orthodox at all.
Perhaps not many of these Edwards fans will read this book, for it appears to me to be written for more serious systematicians or those engaged in philosophical or analytical theology. It contains exceptionally clear definitions of terms being discussed and regular summaries of the argument so far, enabling nonspecialists in these fields (like me) to keep up. Though tight in its logic, it does not constrict Edwards’s capacious mind. Families of views are acknowledged all along, avoiding reductionist categorization. Edwards is positioned as a member of the Reformed family, though at points he might be its black sheep, for Crisp concludes by describing the Edwardsian Dilemma, the fundamental challenge to reconcile Edwards’s understanding of divine simplicity, doctrine of creation, occasionalism, and trinitarian relations, and so deal with the reputational risk of being called a panentheist. Crisp is not sure that it is possible.
There are some drawbacks to this book as it is conceived, however. Its title places Edwards in conversation with other theologians, though one may be disappointed that the selection is a little eccentric. There is no chapter on Scotus or Luther or Turretin or Mastricht, but one on Girardeau the Southern Presbyterian and one on Bellamy the Connecticut Congregationalist, neither of whom are seen by moderns as serious constructive systematicians. Of course they engage closely with the writings of Edwards, but their contribution here is to deconstruct Edwards as much as construct theology. Sometimes it felt like this book was designed around essays which could not find a place in Crisp’s earlier magisterial writings on Edwards. It would have helped as well to ground the debates in a little more historical context, though I understand that philosophy in its purest moments transcends it.
Read this book slowly to make sure that your own views on theology more generally and Edwards more specifically are being tested and honed, and do not be too worried if Crisp’s conclusions do not sit comfortably at first. Edwards did not want his hearers or readers to be too comfortable, though the question remains to what degree Edwards would see himself as a philosopher, on the one hand, or as a pastor, on the other. Confessional theologian, it appears, he certainly was not.