Jonathan Edwards, A Life, George M. Marsden

Marsden has provided a well researched new biography of Edwards. It is filled with what life was like in New England during Edwards' time. I was excited to receive this volume in the mail and waited with anticipation for my reading schedule to move around to it. I am sad to say though, I was disappointed. Forgive me if I am too hard on Marsden. I do respect his works but it seemed that his great attention to the Edwards' family and their influence and his many personal idiosyncrasies were intended to lower the reader's opinion of Edwards. Marsden even answers the reader's silent question early in the book when he discusses, "What do I think of Edwards?" I must admit that by that time I was already thinking, "He doesn't think much of Edwards." For me, this book was a let down. It doesn't help that I've already had a friend, referencing this book, say, "Well Edwards had his issues too. He was constantly complaining about his pay." This may not have been Marsden's intent, to diminish our estimation of Edwards, but one has to wonder if that has been the result. Today movie stars, music artists and comic book characters are assuming god-like status in culture. shouldn't we question the wisdom of emphasizing the flaws of good men, men who readily admit that they are but clay? March 2014.