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Prada Robby robbyprada — Ask the average American for a brief description of Jonathan Edwards, and, if you get anything more than a shrug or a blank stare, it will most likely be a caricature of a stolid Puritan unable to muster up emotion for anything but the fire-and-brimstone sermons that spew from his pulpit. And while that average American might be partially excused on the basis of simple ignorance, recent biographers of Edwards seem to share similar views. Those who have ostensibly had reason to study his teaching and theology have concluded, as did Perry Miller, that through his work “Edwards wrought incalculable harm.” Other biographers, while conceding the greatness of Edwards’ intellect, are not so charitable regarding his character. Even in his own day Edwards was viewed with some hostility; in 1750 his opponents succeeded in ousting him from the pulpit at Northampton, where he had served for 23 years. From these facts, it might seem as though the caricatured notions have some merit. But an investigation of the historical record will note much dissent. Edwards was highly regarded by many of his colleagues in the ministry, including John Newton, who called him, “the greatest divine of his era.” And Edwards’ earliest biographers, such as Samuel Hopkins, who knew him personally, paint a much more sympathetic picture. Opinion does not seem to be divided along chronological lines or by proximity to Edwards himself, yet there clearly is a division. What would lead some biographers to describe a man as a loving and able minister of the Gospel, while others label him a theological tyrant? Iain Murray, who places himself unapologetically in the former camp, offers an explanation in the introduction to his account of Edwards’ life and work. The varied responses to Edwards’ life, Murray posits, stem from the beliefs to which he unwaveringly held. Reaction against the Calvinism that was at the heart of Puritan theology, in which man is utterly dependent upon the sovereign work of God for salvation, may seem natural to the age of rationalism in the century following Edwards’ death. Indeed, it was in the midst of that era that Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote of Edwards that, “If he had lived a hundred years later and breathed the air of freedom, he would not have written with such old-world barbarism as we find in his volcanic sermons.” Yet there is nothing new under the sun; Edwards wrote of his own Calvinistic forebears that they were under attack from “gentlemen possessed of that noble and generous freedom of thought which happily prevails in this age of light and inquiry” as having “their minds shackled, living in the gloomy caves of superstition.” It should come as no surprise that men in their hubris would reject any teaching which leaves them guilty and powerless before the throne of a just and holy God. And while the supreme sovereignty of God is shot through every page of sacred Scripture, that idea has fallen out of favor even within the church. Even in Puritan New England there were many seeking to rewrite God’s Word in a form more palatable to their consciences, and it was Edwards’ design, both in his sermons and in his writings, to defend the truth of God as he discovered it in the Bible. Edwards rightly understood, as Murray relates, “why the things of the gospel seem so tasteless and insipid to natural men.” That Word is, as Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, the fragrance of life to the living, but the stench of death to the dying. Edwards’ life and work was committed to the propagation of the truths found in Scripture, for the glory of God and the salvation of sinners. Murray’s chronicle of that life and work affirms the central importance of the beliefs held by its subject. Consequently, one’s reaction to this biography will largely be determined by how one stands in relation to the original idea, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For those “possessed of that noble and generous freedom of thought,” Murray’s work will seem only a doomed attempt to defend a man clinging desperately to an outmoded philosophy from an age of ignorance. For those of us “living in the gloomy caves of superstition,” who consider ourselves the theological descendants of Edwards and the tradition he inherited, this book affords a humbling and thought-provoking look at one of the greatest thinkers America has produced. Happily for the reader, Murray’s work is much more than simply grounded in sound doctrine. Because of his reverence for his subject, the author is at pains to present as accurate a portrait of Edwards and his family as possible. He does this by digging deep into the primary sources; not only the many surviving sermons and writings by Edwards, but the letters exchanged between himself and his family, acquaintances, and colleagues. In the candid words penned by, to, and about Edwards the reader finds a picture of a man who was a tender, devoted husband and father, a faithful friend, and a gentle if oft concerned shepherd of his flock, all of which contrast sharply with the strong and unyielding Gospel apologist found in his published writing. And while Murray certainly agrees with Edwards’ theology, he is not always uncritical of the means and methods he used. In chronicling Edwards’ battles against the false notions and heresies of his day, Murray is faithful to present both the successes and failings, while offering commentary which goes quite beyond the reactionary knee-jerks of the opposition. This is an exhaustively researched, fully human rendering of a man who, for all his intellectual prowess, still recognized himself humbly as a sinner saved by grace. Many have viewed Jonathan Edwards as a great man crippled by his devotion to a failed philosophy. Others, and Iain Murray is certainly among them, have lauded him as a simple man allowed to grasp, and in turn to reflect and communicate, the great glory of Almighty God. Regardless of an individual’s personal persuasion, the technical merits of Murray’s account warrant a reading by all. The truths which Edwards taught and defended are as relevant to the church today as they have been throughout the ages. May God grant us more men with the ability and resolve of Edwards, devoted leaders committed to minister for our good, and for His glory.