Jonathan Edwards's Bible: The Relationship of the Old and New Testaments

Jonathan Edwards's Bible: The Relationship of the Old and New Testaments

New England colonial pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards (1703-58) was well aware of the threat that Deist philosophy posed to the unity of the Bible as Christian Scriptures, yet remarkably, his own theology of the Bible has never before been examined. In the context of his entire corpus this study pays particular attention to the detailed notes Edwards left for "The Harmony of the Old and New Testament," a "great work" hitherto largely ignored by scholars. Following examination of his "Harmony" notes, a case study of salvation in the Old Testament challenges the current "dispositional" account of Edwards's soteriology and argues instead that the colonial Reformed theologian held there to be one object of saving faith in Old and New Testaments, namely, Christ. Jonathan Edwards' biblical scholarship is finally getting a bit of the attention it deserves. . . . In Nichols' able hands, this exegesis and its significance for Christian thought today nearly leap off the page. Recommended to Edwards scholars and to Christian theologians teaching Scripture in the church. --Douglas A. Sweeney, Professor of Church History and the History of Christian Thought, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School This is the first full-length study of Edwards' virtually unknown but vitally important harmony project, revealing the depth and breadth of his biblicism, including his striking focus on prophecy, typology, and doctrine--an ambitious if unrealized goal here sensitively reconstructed and examined. --Kenneth P. Minkema, Executive Editor and Director, Jonathan Edwards Center, Yale University In this well-written and thoroughly-researched book, Stephen Nichols invites us to look harder at how Edwards engaged with the Bible, and how he drew its disparate parts into an intellectual harmony that inspired and resourced his own work. This is necessary reading for students of Edwards' theology. --Stephen R. Holmes, Senior Lecturer in Theology, University of St. Andrews Stephen R. C. Nichols read history at Christ's College, Cambridge, and theology at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He wrote his PhD dissertation at the University of Bristol and is an ordained minister in the Church of England. Oliver D. Crisp is Professor of Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is the author or editor of fourteen books, including Revisioning Christology (2011) and Jonathan Edwards on God and Creation (2012).