“Jonathan Edwards: Reformed Apologist” by K. Scott Oliphint

O, how is the world darkened, clouded, distracted, and torn to pieces by those dreadful enemies of mankind called words!

 

Though when Jonathan Edwards penned these words he was discussing morality, particularly of the Sabbath, his exclamation could just as easily be applied to the debates over his own words. Due to the sheer volume of Edwards’ publications as well as the depth of his insight, there seems to be no end to the potential debates with regard to the “real Edwards” on a given topic or position. Perhaps Jonathan Edwards’ many exegetes are the clearest example of the influence of one’s presuppositions on any interpretive endeavor.

 

The title of this article displays, at least implicitly, its twofold purpose. First, I will be attempting faithfully to explicate Edwards with a view toward a Reformed apologetic. More specifically, I will look briefly at Edwards’ ontology and then a bit more specifically at his view of man, particularly as that view relates to the unregenerate. Secondly, in explicating such a view, I will be attempting to distinguish Edwards’ insights from a so-called “classical” approach to apologetics and further to incorporate his work into a presuppositional or transcendental framework of apologetics. …