The problem with writing an account of Jonathan Edwards’ (1703–1758) work is that his corpus is so diffuse and difficult to make clear in a short compass. A particular problem with Edwards is that he died before he could condense his vast notebooks down to his projected life’s work, The History of the Work of Redemption.

With the above in mind, Dr Holmes’ book gives a good account of itself as a treatment of Edwards’ theology that makes every effort to overcome these particular obstacles. The merit of this volume is that it ties Edwards’ thought into one of the overarching concerns of his thinking, God’s pursuit of his own self-glorification in all his works. Whilst Holmes is honest enough to grant that this is not a single unifying motif in Edwards thought, this is, arguably, one of the great themes that Edwards pursues in every area of his work.

Holmes takes into consideration the notebooks, the philosophy and the sermons of Edwards, but he also takes seriously, themes that are not as well known outside Edwardsian circles, like his aesthetics, typology and ecclesiastical writings. All this is done in the firm conviction that Edwards was a pastor and theologian first, before he was a philosopher or scientist. This focus on his theological concerns is the main strength of the book. For instance, Edwards’ belief that God glorifies himself in all things does not mean that the Trinity is subsumed under some more basic theological concern, but that God in his Trinitarian glory seeks his own pleasures in all that he does. Edwards is a Trinitarian theologian, whose doctrine of election focuses on Christ in a way that, according to Holmes, seems to prefigure something of Barth’s emphasis on the pre-eminence of Christ as the Elect One. In light of this, Edwards’ treatment of election and reprobation appears to lead to an elliptic element in his thought. The elect have a real status in God’s economy, since they are ‘in Christ’. The reprobate, however, (the subject of ch. 6) have no status because they are by definition ‘Christless’. This, according to Holmes, means that their very humanity and existence, is uncertain.

Edwards has not given enough attention to tire being of those outside of Christ (what being can there be outside Christ?). This lacuna is the reason why Holmes parts company with Edwards in the final chapter that lauds Barth’s understanding of election instead.

This serves to point out where Holmes’ treatment is lacking. Although it is true that the vast majority of Edwards’ work was theological (in fact, homiletical), the volume of such material should not be taken as an indicator of its supremacy in Edwards’ thought. A working pastor may churn out a lot of theological material when his private intellectual interests lie elsewhere. This was the case with Edwards, who was as much philosopher as theologian. Holmes does deal with Edwards’ philosophy, but he does not seem to think that philosophical concerns shaped his theological treatment of central doctrines. I am not sure that this is true. Edwards’ two great works, Freedom of the Will and Original Sin, both utilise metaphysics to theological ends. The same is true of his doctrine of election, seen in terms of his Idealism: all things exist as ideas in the mind of God, the reprobate and the elect. God arbitrarily chooses the elect and treats them as one for the purposes of imputing Christ’s righteousness, whilst the reprobate have Adam’s sin imputed to them. Edwards believed that it is only when we see that the reprobate are as important to God’s self-glorification as the elect that we have a true perspective on things. The reprobate are damned to display God’s glory in his retributive justice, whilst the elect serve to display his grace and mercy. Problems arise when one of these attributes is prioritised over the other. But Edwards’ doctrine of God required that no such privileging of divine attributes be permitted. That is why the righteous can rejoice in the damnation of the wicked: they see things God’s way, whereas we do not.

Nevertheless, Holmes does a fine job of making the panoply of Edwards’ thinking available in one volume, and his focus on the theological concerns are not to the exclusion of the philosophical, though they form the principal concern of the book. It is a welcome addition to the literature on Edwards, particularly for those studying him for the first time.

---