One of the greatest treatises Jonathan Edwards wrote in the relative isolation of the missionary village in the mid-1750s was titled The Nature of True Virtue, in which he argued that the norms of virtue derived from natural reason, as postulated by the Enlightenment. The philosophers of his time defined virtue very narrowly. Over the centuries, philosophers have extolled virtues such as love of the family, love of the community, and love of the nation. These may be good features, Edwards said, but they are only part of true virtue. if you begin with love for God, all loves whose higher objects are inferior to God are partial and non-universal loves, you can only partake of a truly universal love if you begin with god’s love and then begin to love all that God loves If someone’s goal is to love all that God loves , then you can start making a real personal sacrifice.
Another important work of this period was The End for which God created the world. In this article, Edwards addressed the question implicit in the title: why did a perfect being like God need to create less perfect beings?The answer, Edwards says, is that God is perfectly loving and therefore wants to share his love with creatures capable of loving. Edward’s starting point was that a loving God is at the heart of the universe. Therefore, for Edwards, the universe is essentially personal; it’s a person’s creative expression. Edward’s emphasis on personality at the center of reality contrasts radically with modern points of view. Since the Enlightenment, many modern thinkers have developed theories based on the premise that the universe is essentially impersonal, controlled by natural laws. Edwards challenged this view with a vital alternative: that at the heart of reality there is a loving God and that love is the dynamic behind the creation of the universe and everything it contains.
- Starting with a sense of God’s love at the center of reality changes the way we think about true virtue.
- At the heart of reality is the beauty of God’s love.
- So the greatest good is to return that love to God.
- Truly love God.
- We must also love what God loves.
- Which is all creation except evil or denial of love.
- Modern philosophies.
- Edwards said.
- Usually begin in the wrong place.
- With humans and their needs.
- They see human happiness as the goal of every person.
- Community.
- Or nation has its own ideas about what will bring them happiness.
- And people conflict with each other because their standards of virtue are very limited.
- That begins with love for the Creator.
- Can unite people.
- This universal love for others.
- Which must be developed from true love for God.
- Edwards called it “love of being in general.
- “.
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What lessons should we learn from Jonathan Edwards?On the Faithful Ministry website: Click here to read the article
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