It has long been thought that Edwards''s polemical arguments were aimed against Arminianism -- a doctrine that denied the Calvinist idea of predestination. In this book, Gerald McDermott shows that Edwards''s real target was a larger and more influential one, namely deism -- the belief in a creator God who does not intervene in His Creation. To Edwards''s mind, deism was the logical conclusion of most, if not all, schemes of divinity that appropriated Enlightenment tenets. McDermott argues that Edwards was an inclusivist who came to realize that salvation was open to peoples beyond the hearing of the Christian gospel.
Industry Reviews
"This well-documented and clearly written book is proof that Jonathan Edwards's image continues to be transformed by the study of the unpublished texts in the Beinecke Library in Yale University. Even readers who are acquainted with Edwards's better-known writings will find McDermott's book a journey into terra incognita, or toward "a strange, new Edwards" (pp. 3-13) He conclusively demonstrates that Edwards devoted his final years to developing what today
would be called a theology of world religions." --Journal of Religion
"This surprising and stimulating study comprises three parts and a conclusion." Anglican Theological Review.
"It is testimony to both Gerald R. McDermott's talent as a scholar and to Jonathan Edward's own genius that this new volume succeeds in exploring a virtually unknown and fascinating aspect of the thought of perhaps the most carefully scrutinized theologian in U.S. religious history."--Journal of the American Academy of Religion
"This well-documented and clearly written book is proof that Jonathan Edwards's image continues to be transformed by the study of the unpublished texts in the Beinecke Library in Yale University. Even readers who are acquainted with Edwards's better-known writings will find McDermott's book a journey into terra incognita, or toward "a strange, new Edwards" (pp. 3-13) He conclusively demonstrates that Edwards devoted his final years to developing what today
would be called a theology of world religions." --Journal of Religion
"One of the finest, most sensitive , and well-written works on Edwards available in recent years. Indeed, one gets the impression that [McDermott] has gotten Edwards 'right.' . Quite simply, [McDermott] proves that even in areas where we might expect little, Edwards rewards the reader richly."- Theological Studies
McDermott adds to his excellent contribution to Jonathan Edwards scholarship with a thorough investigation of Edwards's confrontation of deism.--Choice
"[M]cDermott's book is one of the finest, most sensitive, and best-written works on Edwards available in recent years. Indeed, one gets the impression that McDermott has got Edwards 'right.'"--ewanee Theological Review
"It is testimony to both Gerald R. McDermott's talent as a scholar and to Jonathan Edward's own genius that this new volume succeeds in exploring a virtually unknown and fascinating aspect of the thought of perhaps the most carefully scrutinized theologian in U.S. religious history."--Journal of the American Academy of Religion
"One of the most interesting and important works on Edwards in the last decade." William and Mary Quarterly
"This surprising and stimulating study comprises three parts and a conclusion." Anglican Theological Review.
