Jonathan Edwards and the Ministry of the Word - by Douglas a Sweeney (Paperback)

About the Book

Historian Douglas Sweeney examines the enduring life and work of Jonathan Edwards, opening us to understand how Edwards' profound and meticulous study of the Bible securely anchored his powerful preaching, lively theological passions and discerning pastoral work.

Book Synopsis

Jonathan Edwards has been recognized as the most influential evangelical theologian of all time. Before his death at the age of fifty-four, he had sparked a new movement of Reformed evangelicals who played a major role in fueling the rise of modern missions, preaching revivals far and wide, and wielding the cutting edge of American theology. He has never gone out of print, and Christians today continue to flock to seminars and conferences on him.In this biography of the great preacher and teacher, historian Douglas Sweeney locates for us the core and key to Edwards' enduring impact. Sweeney finds that Edwards' profound and meticulous study of the Bible securely anchored his powerful preaching, his lively theological passions and his discerning pastoral work. Beyond introducing you to Edwards' life and times, this book will provide you with a model of Christian faith, thought and ministry.

Review Quotes

"Sweeney deftly weaves considerations of Edwards's spiritual development, his study and preaching of Scripture, and his intellectual efforts into an elegant telling of Edwards's life. . . This book will not disappoint the non-Christian or Christian reader who wants an authoritative and spiritually oriented reflection on an enduring figure in American religious history."

"Sweeney hits an unmitigated home run. If I had only one recent book to give to seminarians to read about Edwards' work, it would be this one."

"Sweeney presents an image of Edwards as a boldly evangelical and pious Protestant intellectual who fruitfully combined powerful preaching and intellectual rigor that changed his world and continues to influence the world today. Highly recommended."

"Writing in clear and nontechnical language, Sweeney makes the story of Edwards's life an engrossing one."

About the Author

Douglas A. Sweeney is professor of church history and the history of Christian thought and director of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is coeditor of The Sermons of Jonathan Edwards: A Reader (Yale University Press) and author of Nathaniel Taylor, New Haven Theology, and the Legacy of Jonathan Edwards (Oxford University Press).