Theology Thursday: The Religious Affections

We looked at Jonathan Edwards as someone who valued the mind. As an extraordinarily brilliant man, he used the intellect to the glory of God. He disapproved of shallow emotionalism and feelings-driven beliefs.

Edwards, however, was a man of great affections, and he taught that strong affections were necessary, and event he most important part of religion. Edwards divided the soul into two parts, the intellect and the will. The affections were part of the will and what caused it to choose one thing over another. The affections drive the will toward and away from what they want or don’t want. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to have the right affections toward God.

After the Great Awakening, Edwards found that some people who displayed a lot of emotion did not sustain in their Christian walk, but that didn’t cause him to dismiss the affections. He carefully analyzed the differences in true and false affections and explained them in his classic book: The Religious Affections. This is an important work for us today, and I encourage you to read it.

Edwards is not easy to read, but there are several helpful audio versions and summaries available. Here is a good summary and analysis.

The Religious Affections is a good challenge to us. Do we have truly religious affections? Are our hearts inclined toward God himself? Do our affections produce gentleness and humility?

True Christian fortitude consists in strength of mind, through grace, exerted in two things; in ruling and suppressing the evil and unruly passions and affections of the mind; and in steadfastly and freely exerting and following good affections and dispositions, without being hindered by sinful fear or the opposition of enemies... Though Christian fortitude appears in withstanding and counteracting the enemies that are without us; yet it much more appears in resisting and suppressing the enemies that are within us; because they are our worst and strongest enemies and have greatest advantage against us. The strength of the good soldier of Jesus Christ appears in nothing more than in steadfastly maintaining the holy calm, meekness, sweetness, and benevolence of his mind, amidst all the storms, injuries, strange behaviour, and surprising acts and events of this evil and unreasonable world.