Why Are We Here?

The written work of Jonathan Edwards is an arena of God-focused intensity, biblical depth, joyful worship, logical precision, and personal challenge. …Edwards provides a captivating example of a life well-spent for the glory of God.

The End for Which God Created the World, by Jonathan Edwards (Author), Jason Dollar (Editor)

I previously wrote of Edwards when considering James R. Salladin work, Jonathan Edwards and Deification: Reconciling Theosis and the Reformed Tradition (all posts on this previous work can be found in the Bibliography tab, here). At the time I noted that about the only thing most Christians know of Edwards, especially those outside of the Reformed tradition, is his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

I deem that rather unfortunate for two reasons: while I wholly grant that the title of the sermon is quite off-putting, my understanding is that the sermon is much richer and deeper than a superficial understanding of the title. Second, well, it was offered in Salladin’s book: Edwards, using only Reformed theology, came to the idea of theosis as man’s end, man’s purpose. He came to this without any real exposure to Eastern Christianity.

So, on the one hand, his reputation takes a big hit by many due to the title; on the other, the richness he sees in an understanding of salvation is lost to both his critics and to those who claim to swim in Reformed waters. In my mind, this is therefore a loss to all of us all the way around.

In any case, after my very positive experience with Salladin’s book, I thought to read something from Edwards himself. And this is what I am starting now…sort of. This book is edited by Jason Dollar, meaning he has taken 300-year-old colonial English and made it better understandable to those of us who get confused by unfamiliar sentence structure and the like. In any case, this work by Edwards was recommended a couple of times in Salladin’s book, so I thought to start here.

This post, including the opening quote, is based on the Editor’s Introduction to the book, providing some helpful background to Edwards and this work.

[Edwards] was a student of theology, philosophy, history, science, and other major areas of thought. As his ideas expressed in this volume indicate, he sought to demonstrate how all these things unite at a common core.

Dollar sees in Edwards and this book an antidote to the meaninglessness of western life given the postmodern worldview in which we all swim. We are lost without a central unifying reality – in this case, not speaking of unifying in the external sense, but in an internal sense. As individuals, we have no foundation on which to stand, and we are told this is good.

In Edwards’ view, that central unifying reality is that God does all things for His own glory – all other truths hinge on this. This truth is the needed foundation for all authentic feeling and acting. God has created and ordered the universe to operate exactly toward this end: His glory. When we live within that reality, we find meaning in life.

Dollar gives an example of his editing, and I share it here to give some idea of the issues with the original and the gentleness with which Dollars addresses this. The context is Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, with the expectation that He was going there to be crucified.

Edwards’ Original: Under this distress of mind, he supports himself with a prospect of what would be the consequence of his sufferings, viz. God’s glory.

Modern English Update: Under heavy distress of mind, Jesus supported himself by considering what the outcome of his sufferings would bring – great glory to God.

And continuing:

Edwards’ Original: Now, it is the end that supports the agent in any difficult work that he undertakes, and above all others, his ultimate and supreme end…

Modern English Update: When an acting agent decides to engage in a difficult work, he needs help to succeed in it. If the end of the work is a wonderful end, he can find help by reminding himself of it.

Admittedly, Edwards’ original isn’t terribly confusing, but Dollar’s update is helpful.

Beyond this, consider here Edwards’ thinking. He is preempting Nietzsche by well over one hundred years. Nietzsche would write:

“He who has a ‘why’ for which to live can bear with almost any ‘how’.”

Conclusion

Some of you may be familiar with John Piper. Apparently, he considers this work by Edwards to be one of the greatest works ever written outside of the Bible. Now, please don’t stampede the comments section on this one – I understand. But I think it is worth noting: in the eyes of many Reformed pastors and theologians today, Edwards is considered perhaps the greatest Reformed theologian to ever live and work in the Americas.

Then there is this, from the editor:

I should give a fair warning to those encountering Edwards for the first time. Reading The End for Which can be a challenge even in a paraphrased form.

Wish me luck.