An Infinite Fountain of Light (Marsden)

"It's hard to beat George Marsden as a guide to Jonathan Edwards—and this gem of a book will be treasured by thousands who know or will discover exactly what I mean. It sparkles brightly with profound Christian wisdom from the past interpreted for modern-day readers with clarity and a large helping of simple—though also deeply learned—Christian common sense." -Douglas A. Sweeney, dean of the Beeson Divinity School at Samford University

"In this brief but wonderfully written appreciation of Jonathan Edwards by prize-winning scholar George Marsden, readers encounter an Edwards meant for twenty-first-century believers. In place of emphasizing Edwards's celebrated but difficult philosophical treatises like Freedom of the Will or The Nature of True Virtue, Marsden offers an insightful overview of Edwards's classic A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections, celebrated by William James as America's first religious psychology. In Marsden's hands, readers learn to understand Edwards's signs of saving faith in terms as relevant to today as they were in the eighteenth century. In the process, they see a new meaning of the Enlightenment grounded less in 'laws' of nature than in a system of personal interrelationships governed by a caring, sovereign God." -Harry Stout, Jonathan Edwards Professor Emeritus of American Religious History, Yale University

"A remarkable book that renders Jonathan Edwards highly accessible to twenty-first-century evangelicals. Marsden wonderfully brings together a lifetime of reflection on American religious history and decades of work on Edwards to reveal the ways Edwards's powerful theological vision and penetrating spiritual theology can practically contribute to the renewal of the church today. An Infinite Fountain of Light is an outstanding example of how history and biography inspire, convey a sense of wisdom, and positively inform our present." -Robert W. Caldwell III, professor of church history at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

"In a culture still in thrall to the ideals of Benjamin Franklin, George Marsden calls American evangelicals back to Jonathan Edwards's coruscating vision of divine beauty." -Amy Plantinga Pauw, Louisville Presbyterian Seminary

About the Author

George M. Marsden (PhD, Yale University) is professor emeritus at the University of Notre Dame. His many books include Fundamentalism and American Culture, The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship, and Jonathan Edwards: A Life.