''A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections'' is a publication written in 1746 by
Jonathan Edwards describing his philosophy about the process of Christian conversion in
Northampton, Massachusetts, during the
First Great Awakening
The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affecte ...
, which emanated from Edwards' congregation starting in 1734.
Analysis
Edwards wrote the Treatise to explain how true
religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...
to Christianity occurs. Edwards describes how emotion and intellect both play a role, but "
converting grace" is what causes Christians to "awaken" to see that forgiveness is available to all who have faith that Jesus' sacrifice
atones for all sins. This
salvation
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...
is not possible through believers' imperfect
good works
In Christian theology, good works, or simply works, are a person's (exterior) actions or deeds, in contrast to inner qualities such as grace or faith.
Views by denomination
Anglican Churches
The Anglican theological tradition, including The ...
which are simply evidence of
faith
Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion".
Religious people ofte ...
, only through Christ's sacrifice which is free to all. Edwards describes the importance of testing new faith and discerning whether it is legitimate. He lays out twelve tests of true conversion, including ways of measuring allegedly
fruitful works.
He basically concludes that the fruit of the Spirit are the religious affections, love being the chief affection, and that all other fruit (or Christian virtues) flow from this. "Love is the chief of the affections, and as it were the fountain of them." (p. 76, Banner of Truth Edition). He further says "for it was not by men's having the gifts of the Spirit (referring to spiritual gifts), but by their having the virtues of the Spirit, that they were called spiritual." (p. 127). This is how you can distinguish between carnal men and spiritual men. Carnal men do not produce the fruit of the Spirit, but spiritual men do. So it was with Christ. "All the virtues of the Lamb of God, His humility, patience, meekness, submission, obedience, love and compassion, are exhibited to our view in a manner the most tending to move our affections of any that can be imagined." (p. 53).
Impact
"Religious Affections" remains popular and modern day
evangelists
Evangelists may refer to:
* Evangelists (Christianity), Christians who specialize in evangelism
* Four Evangelists, the authors of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament
* ''The Evangelists
''The Evangelists'' (''Evangheliştii'' in Roma ...
and writers such as
Tim Keller and
John Piper often refer to this and other Edwards works as models for their ministry.
Timothy Keller, ''The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism''
(Dutton Adult, February 2008)
See also
* " Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"
* '' A Faithful Narrative''
* '' The Freedom of the Will''
References
External links
Yale University Information on ''Religious Affections''
PDF
* Scan of a 1772 edition of ''Religious Affections'' held at the John Carter Brown Library
The John Carter Brown Library is an independently funded research library of history and the humanities on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The library's rare book, manuscript, and map collections encompass a variety of ...
*
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1746 books
18th-century Christian texts
History books about the United States
Treatises