Embracing Contemplation: Reclaiming a Christian Spiritual Practice

Jonathan Edwards is considered by many to be America’s greatest theologian. Many have lauded him as one of the great theologians in church history. This book brings together major Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant theologians to assess Edwards’s theological acumen. Each chapter places Edwards in conversation with a thinker or a tradition over a specific theological issue.

Interest in Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards has increased markedly over the last several decades. As more and more people become interested in Edwards as a theologian, exegete, and even political theorist, there is a major lacuna in both the primary and secondary literature. Edwards’s spirituality, a central facet of his life and work, remains unexplored. Jonathan Edwards: Spiritual Writings addresses this neglect by compiling material from across Edwards’s corpus that outlines the breadth of his spiritual thought. Drawing primarily from sermons, letters, and notes, this volume showcases Edwards’s spiritual theology.

Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) is considered one of the greatest theologians and philosophers of evangelicalism, who also served as a pastor, missionary, and revival leader. By underscoring Regeneration, Revival, and Creation in Edwards’s thought, this volume uniquely captures the need to delve into Edwards’s theological and philosophical rationale for the revivals, alongside key questions concerning the historical context and Edwards’s standing in his own tradition.