In this short exposition and summary of the main principles of Jonathan Edwards's The Religious Affections, Craig Biehl has shortened and simplified, the logic, flow, and structure of Edwards's arguments, including how they follow and fit together to make his case and draw his biblical conclusions. The nature and object of true faith are identified and explained while exposing the deceptive nature and objects of false faith, including extraordinary and deceptive experiences, and true and false love and zeal for God. This small book contains enough of the essential truths presented by Edwards in Affections to bless the reader with a deeper and more profound view and love of the infinite excellence of God, the beauty of His holiness, the marvels of His transforming work within us, a better understanding of how to live a joyful Christian life that honors God as led by the Holy Spirit, and discernment and protection from deceptions of slick and deceptive imitations. This book will assist and encourage a thoughtful reading of Edwards's masterpiece, The Religious Affections.
Endorsements
"Jonathan Edwards was a burning and shining light of biblical truth. His book Religious Affections is a spiritual classic about false and true marks of grace, and about humility and holiness. However, Edwards was also a very deep thinker who lived three centuries ago—and his writing shows it. Craig Biehl takes Edwards’s core insights and makes them simple and clear for the modern reader in a helpful introduction to Edwards’s thought on the marks of saving grace." -Dr. Joel R. Beeke, President, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
"I have never met a student of Jonathan Edwards’s Religious Affections who, on reading it, was not overwhelmed, even quite devastated. C. S. Lewis described reading the Sermon on the Mount as being like being knocked flat on the face by a sledgehammer. Edwards’s work tends to have a similar effect. But the reader should not be dismayed and give up. A helpful guide is much to be appreciated, and Craig Biehl proves to be one in this work. May it encourage many to delve into Edwards, to be knocked flat and to be renewed." -Dr. Peter Barnes, Pastor, Revesby Presbyterian Church Lecturer in Church History at Christ College, Sydney
"If Jonathan Edwards, who has been described recently–and rightly–as the American Augustine, had written only his treatise on Religious Affections, he would be remembered for having made a signal contribution to the history of spirituality. A study guide that helps get people into The Religious Affections is therefore most welcome and this new book by Dr Biehl does that in spades." -Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin, Chair & Professor of Church History The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
"To take on Jonathan Edwards’s Religious Affections with the goal of producing an attractive and edifying summary and digest of this classic work, that awareness must be keen. The narrative of historical setting is clear, brief, accurate, and sufficient. The combination of summary, quoted material, biblical catenae, application, and review is excellent and keeps the reader current with the argument, interested in continuing, and challenged with personal application. If you are looking for an excellent topic for a small group study in your church, this is your book of choice." -Tom J. Nettles, Senior Professor of Historical Theology The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
