I am currently writing a paper for a class on Jonathan Edwards’ Theology and figured I would share my introduction. The soon to be 20-page paper is titled: Jonathan Edwards the Calvinist: The Centrality of Total Depravity to Edwards’ Theology.
Jonathan Edwards is becoming a celebrity. Or, more accurately, Edwards is a dead rock star amongst 20-something evangelicals. The reformed resurgence, led by John Piper and a plethora of other pastors, theologians and leaders, has captured the minds and the hearts of a large number of young believers, promoting Edwards’ works from the dust-riddled basements of libraries to the hands of eager young Calvinists. As Collin Hansen wrote in an article(1) for Christianity Today, “Not since the decades after his death have evangelicals heaped such attention on Edwards.”
The new found attention is centered around Edwards’ propagation of the sovereignty of God. (2) And though there remains little debate on Edwards’ allegiance to Calvinism(3), Edwards’ theology as presented in his works should clear any confusion. The “T” in “TULIP,” representing the foundational doctrine of Calvinism, Total Depravity, is central to Jonathan Edwards’ Theology for without it, his understanding of the will, of sin and salvation, would crumble.