Jonathan Edwards

Reading Guide for Jonathan Edwards' "Personal Narrative"

Vocabulary

affection	felicity	Canticles	ineffable
sanctified	cavils	awakening	vivifying
ardency	pleurisy	abyss	ejaculatory

Ask yourself as you read: Is Edwards a fundamentalist Calvinist? In other words, does he strongly believe and adhere to the following doctrines or does he vacillate, have second thoughts, or otherwise moderate the Calvinist doctrines as outlined below?

The Five Tenets of Calvinism:

Total Depravity: Humans are so totally depraved as to be incapable of effecting any part of their salvation.
Unconditional Election: Election to heaven is unconditional (that is not a covenant) and a gift from God.
Limited Atonement: Even so, the saint is only partially successful at heeding the call and doing the will of God.
Irresistible Grace: If one is elected he or she experiences a call to life the regenerate life, the life of a saint.
Perseverance of the Saints: Yet they strive to the end, even through their moral and physical infirmities to fulfill the calling and make their election sure.

The Narrative

How many "seasons of awakening" did Edwards experience before "change." What did he change into?
What did he build in the swamp for he and the other boys?
He returned to his sin like a dog returns to . . . . what? Proverbs 26:11?
How old was Edwards when he first went to college?
About how old was Edwards when he experienced his first awakening? Second awakening?
What specific event/experience catalyzed the 2nd awakening?
What doctrine did Edwards have most difficulty believing/accepting?
What did storms emblemize to him before, then after his awakening? In other words, how has he changed in his attitude to toward God's world?
When he walked in solitary in the woods or storms, what "peculiar" [to some of us maybe] behavior did he display?
Despite his eager search for salvation and holiness, he depended too much on . . . . what?
What is the emblem or symbol of a Christian soul to Edwards?
What finally "swallowed" Edwards?