Guide Religious Affections - Enhanced Version

Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. A couple of years ago I plowed through Edwards' Religious Affections and what greatly edified and encouraged by his words. It is frustrating to know that such a work is available to believers and because of the writers complex style many will never benefit from this treasure. Storms for this labor of love. What a wonderful gesture of putting the cookies where the kids can reach them. Signs of the Spirit is a should read for anyone struggling in a world of post modern evangelicalism and the empty life of man centered worship.

One person found this helpful. After realizing that despite his oft and repeated recommendations that people read Edwards for themselves most people simply would not persevere through Edwards' cumbersome and hefty treatise on the Religious Affections, Sam Storms decided to give a distilled version my words, not his of Edwards for modern readers. He has retained Edwards' basic outline and much of Edwards' actual wording. But he has trimmed away what seemed to him superfluous to Edwards' main argument.

I am currently reading Religious Affections for the third time and actually purchased Storms' book because I was hoping for a more sermonic distillation of Edwards.

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That is not what Storms has written. But I still finished his book with profit and expect to use it in the future. The great strength of Storms' "interpretation" of Edwards is its brevity - pages vs. The first time I read Religious Affections it took me four or five months to get all the way through. Storms' book can easily be read in several sittings.

The downside is that the cumulative weight of Edwards' argument is somewhat lost with the editing. For example, Storms summarizes much of Edwards' actual exposition of biblical passages and just includes the verses in brackets, whereas Edwards actually quotes the verses. I find these parts some of the richest portions of Edwards' original. I like reading Edwards himself because I value the effect his more lengthy explanation and argumentation has on my heart.

But there is a second benefit to Storms' book - and this is really the reason I want to commend it. The last third of Storms' book p.

The Personal Narrative is Edwards' own recounting of his conversion experience and early spiritual growth. It is simply breathtaking! And Storms' commentary on it is exceptionally edifying. I read all of this on a Saturday evening and it really helped sensitize my soul to the Lord and prepare my heart for worship the next day. Even if you don't read all of the Religious Affections section though I hope you will!

I picked this book up for a class and was surprised by how deeply impacted I was by it. Sam Storms navigates through the Religious Affections of Jonathan Edwards in a wonderful, informative and comprehensive way. He is able to explain to the reader the depth of what Jonathan Edwards was trying to convey while also letting Jonathan Edwards speak for himself. This book was extremely impactful and I plan on rereading it. It's dense, and there's a lot in one page, but it is all worth it! I would definitely recommend this book.

Well written exposition of the work of Well written exposition of the work of the Holy Spirit. Each chapter takes away a layer of religious 'feelings' that can be taken as a true saving faith. This book will help you examine your heart and your religious emotions.

A treasured addition to a Christian library. It is not a commentary on the work by Jonathan Edwards cited in the title. And, since Edwards' work was written in English, it is certainly not a translation. Like some renderings of the Bible, Storms' book is a paraphrase of Edwards' work, in modern English. This effort is, or should be, immensely appreciated by our modern Christian lay faithful I'm assuming a seminary trained person would be held responsible for reading Edwards' original words as it answers a question which has puzzled me ever since I began attending congregational and synod-wide meetings.

Storms, a pastor and part-time professor of theology at Wheaton College in Illinois, has done us the service of making available to us an important piece of evidence showing what made Jonathan Edwards the foremost American theologian, and on the short list of the most important American thinkers. Our problem with Edwards may be that he preached and advocated a form of Calvinism which was very close to the strict, conservative, pre-destination oriented doctrines of John Calvin and the other early Swiss reformers. He did this at a time when his own New England Congregationalist pastors, several of whom were his cousins, were tending toward the Armenian variety of Reformed theology, softened the doctrine of predestination by claiming that humans could reject election, which was also conditional on faith in the sacrifice and Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Religious Affections was especially topical, as it was written in , following the two great rounds of religious enthusiasm which sprang up in and , sparked by the preaching of Edwards himself See Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God and George Whitefield, a travelling English Anglican revivalist preacher touring New England. The question was especially acute in that Edwards' opponents were advocates of a very cerebral approach to belief.

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While Edwards' theology was conservative Calvinism, he rebuilt the underpinning of predestination theology on the epistemology of John Locke and the physics of Isaac Newton, both of which were radically new, totally beyond the ken of Calvin This makes Edwards' theology far more modern than his Reformer antecedents. False affections, on the other hand, rest satisfied in themselves.

Rather we pray "to affect our own hearts with the things we express, and so prepare us to receive the blessings we ask. No other reason can be assigned, why we should express ourselves to God in verse, rather than in prose, and do it with music, but only that such is our nature and frame, that these things have a tendency to move our affections. The author has stated that this book, in spite of its difficulty in the original, has been a manual for many contemporary evangelical preachers, and I can hope that with this paraphrase, it will find even greater use.

I compared parts of Storm's text to Edwards' original and I have come to be especially grateful for his contribution, as Edwards genius is not in great English prose.

You may wish to read the original, but finish and digest the paraphrase before jumping into Edwards' fire with him. My experience is that it is not easy to locate Edwards' source for Storm's paraphrase. I liked his book because it helped me understand Jonathan Edwards and the time he lived in.

The author also related what Jonathan Edwards said to today's time which is interesting. It's hard to understand the old English sometimes but Storms explains it well! Great work for my class; arrived timely. See all 20 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published 1 year ago. Published on July 16, Published on April 9, Published on March 24, Published on December 31, Published on July 21, Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers.

Learn more about Amazon Giveaway. Signs of the Spirit: Set up a giveaway. Paul's letters are filled with references to his overflowing affection for the church 2 Corinthians He speaks of his "bowels of love" Philippians 1: Countless texts could be cited in which Paul portrays his life as filled with godly passions and desires.

Surely Jesus himself was a passionate man greatly moved in heart and spirit with holy affection. He was not ashamed or hesitant to pray with "loud crying and tears" Hebrews 5: The gospel writers speak of him as experiencing amazement, sorrow and grief Mark 3: He himself said in John Thus our joy is the joy of Jesus in us!

Other examples could be cited, but one in particular comes to mind. Think for a moment of heaven itself.

The essence of life in heaven, says Edwards, "consists very much in affection. There is doubtless true religion in heaven, and true religion in its utmost purity and perfection. That holy affections are the essence of true spirituality can also be seen from what God has commanded concerning our public worship. Some actually orchestrate worship in such a way that the affections of the heart are reined in and, in some cases, even suppressed.

People often fear the external manifestation of internal zeal and love and desire and joy. Though they sing, they do so in a way that the end in view is the mere articulation of words and declaration of truths. But if that were what God intended, why did he not ordain that we recite, in prose, biblical truths about him? We sing because God has created not only our minds but also our hearts and souls, indeed our bodies as well, in such a way that music elicits and intensifies holy affections for God and facilitates their lively and vigorous expression. The same may be said of how God operates on our souls in the preaching of his Word.

So, with a view to affecting sinners and not merely informing them, God has appointed that his Word be applied in a particularly lively way through preaching. When people object that certain styles of public worship seem especially chosen for their capacity to awaken and intensify and express the affections of the heart, they should be told that such is precisely the God-ordained purpose of worship.

For God is most glorified in his people when their hearts are most satisfied i. What is the common link among these three affections of the heart? Love, trust or confidence or belief, and joy. The answer is Jesus! But such love is often lacking in discernment. It is undiscriminating, such that things are loved that ought to be hated; things are cherished that ought to be rejected; things are valued that ought to be cast aside. There are guidelines in Scripture about what we are to love and what we are to hate.

If nothing else, consider 1 John 2: If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. We are told at every turn that it matters little what or whom you believe, but only that your belief be sincere and meaningful to you and helpful in life and fulfilling and pleasant. And so it also goes with joy. Whatever makes you happy, go for it.

Whatever enhances your sense of self-esteem, embrace it. Whatever feels good, do it. But joy or delight or satisfaction in some things will destroy the human soul both now and in eternity. Being a Christian means loving Christ, believing and trusting Christ, enjoying and delighting in Christ! He is the center of our affections. He is the source of our joy. He is firm foundation for our trust and belief.

Without him, all the affections and feelings and beliefs and hopes of the human heart are empty and vain and end in death. Sam Oct 19, at 7: Gary Oct 18, at 8: According to Peter's text and your article, Piper's slogan, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him," should really be, "God is most glorified in us when we most rejoice in him.

Oct 18, at 7: For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.