Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat p-ISSN 2548-7868, e-ISSN 2548-7558 https://journal.
id/index.
php/EJTI/ Volume 9.
Number 2.
September 2025 .
DOI: https://doi.
org/10.
46445/ejti.
Jonathan Edwards: His Holistic Theological Education Legacy of Lights and Shadows Robert W.
Pazmiyo1.
Octavio J.
Esqueda2 Andover Newton Seminary at Yale University.
United States Talbot School of Theology.
Biola University.
United States ABSTRACT Jonathan Edwards was a colonial pastoral leader and theologian in the United States.
Edwards is considered one of the greatest American theologians, excelling as a preacher.
however, his importance as a theological educator has received little attention.
This conceptual article examines the significance of his educational legacy for Christian educators in the twenty-first century.
Edwards espoused holistic theological education with an emphasis on the heart and affections.
the same time, however, he supported slavery, contradicting his theological anthropology.
Christian educators, we would benefit from receiving his invitations, imitating his faith, and learn from his mistakes.
Keywords: holistic theological education.
Jonathan Edwards, legacy of lights, legacy of Article history Submitted: May 23, 2025 Revised: August 31, 2025 Accepted: September 9, 2025 Corresponding author: Robert W.
Pazmiyo .
pazmino615@gmail.
How to cite this article:
Pazmiyo.
& Esqueda.
Jonathan Edwards: His Holistic Theological Education Legacy of Lights and Shadows.
Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat.
: 197-208.
DOI:
https://doi.
org/10.
46445/ejti.
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INTRODUCTION
Jonathan Edwards was one of the three pillars of colonial education in the United States, as adeptly identified by Lawrence Cremin, former President of Teachers College.
Columbia University.
Professor Cremin was a dedicated Jewish figure in New York City, an engaging speaker, and an author who won the Pulitzer Prize for his work on the history of education.
Cremin pointed out two additional main figures in colonial education: Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.
Edwards represented faith or religious devotion within the Reformed Puritan tradition.
Jefferson symbolised republicanism in government matters, and Franklin stood for utilitarianism in society and daily activities.
Their legacy shaped the education system of their time, serving as role models for the new nation of the United States and having effects that remain.
Edwards has become a model for deep theological reflection with implications for daily life practice (Edwards, 1.
With more recent scholarship, we also learn of his practice of owning slaves, which casts deep shadows upon the lights of his stellar career and legacy.
The Christian theologian Mark Heim .
notes in his chapter entitled AuOutside Many Gates: Orlando Costas and the Ecumenical Church'' in the work Antioch Agenda:
Essays in Honor of Orlando Costas that Edwards was not simply a contextual theologian from New England in the colonial period of the United States that spans from 1607 to .
Yet, similar to CostasAo ideas and works.
Edwards' perspectives went beyond New England to encompass the globe and eras far past the colonial times in American history, as well as the religious ideas of their age.
EdwardsAos influence continues today as one of the greatest theological minds in the evangelical movement.
This article provides an insight into EdwardAos life and work, with implications for contemporary Christian educators.
The grandson of Solomon Stoddard, a colonial minister who laboured for more than fifty years in the backcountry of Massachusetts.
Edwards was educated at Yale University and ordained to the Congregational Church ministry in Northampton.
Massachusetts, where he served from 1726 to 1750.
Edwards had a powerful and lifechanging conversion experience in 1727, and after his grandfather died in 1729, he assumed full pastoral responsibility for the Northampton church.
Before his senior pastoral position in 1729, his journey following graduation from Yale in 1720 is He studied theology for an additional two years in New Haven, had a brief ministry in New York City, followed by a subsequent tutorship at Yale, and then received a call to the pulpit at Northampton.
Massachusetts, where he served until 1750.
Perhaps because of his fervour in preaching, teaching, and writing, along with several parish squabbles, the church council voted to dismiss him as their minister in 1750.
For the next seven years.
Edwards worked among the Native Americans in Stockbridge, writing several influential philosophical treatises that shaped the theological thinking of his time.
He accepted the presidency of a new revivalist college in New Jersey, which later became Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat 9.
September 2025 Princeton University.
He died, tragically, after residing for only several weeks in Princeton, suffering from an adverse reaction to a smallpox inoculation he received in March 1758.
EdwardsAo extensive writings offer glimpses of his educational vision for an emerging nation and society, as well as the global implications of how the Christian faith can be passed on to succeeding generations.
Kenneth Minkema .
provides a detailed description of EdwardsAo views on education and his legacy.
What might EdwardsAo educational legacy mean for the current context of faith communities, especially for all who bear the name of Jesus Christ in their teaching ministries globally? The evangelical beliefs during Edwards' era involved a fresh approach to learning, marked by passion and devotion to God, which we now refer to as spirituality.
The main purpose of life, as Edwards understood it from the laws shown in the Bible, was to get ready for life after death.
Everyone was encouraged to have personal conversations with God and to seek harmony with their creator.
This new approach was shown in his life and discussed in his religious writings.
Cremin highlights that Edwards committed his life to understanding, instructing, and accepting GodAos absolute authority, greatness, and boundlessness .
0, p.
According to Cremin .
0, p.
, the Great Awakening, backed by Edwards, has been described as a movement in religion, society, and politics, but it was also a significant educational initiative.
Given this, what is EdwardsAo educational legacy for Christians today? This article explores a conceptual methodology that argues, clarifies, and explains the educational legacy of Jonathan Edwards.
This theoretical framework is based on synthesising existing literature to articulate the argument about EdwardsAo positive and negative educational legacies for contemporary Christian educators.
EDWARDS POSITIVE LEGACY
Three positive aspects of Edwards' legacy emerge as an enlightenment that serves as an authentic invitation to all believers in the context of the turbulent dynamics of the 21st century.
These three aspects indicate how Edwards' educational legacy can be replicated or contextually adapted today, especially in the face of the challenges of postmodern life marked by the diversity of religious streams.
The lights of EdwardsAo legacy can be identified with three timely educational invitations for efforts to pass on a vital faith today.
These invitations transcend our geographical location, ethnic identity, and religious background.
The invitations reflect foundational principles of Christian education.
Invitation One: Embrace education of the heart The education of our hearts, minds, and spirits is crucial in our time, as it was in colonial times.
In Basics of Teaching for Christians.
Robert Pazmiyo .
8, pp.
64Ae.
Pazmiyo & O.
Esqueda.
Jonathan Edwards: His Holistic Theological Education A 199 celebrates EdwardsAo attention to matters of the heart.
The Puritan background that Edwards was part of valued the readiness of the heart, as mentioned by Norman Pettit in his book The Heart Prepared: Grace and Conversion in Puritan Spiritual Life .
From a viewpoint of history, the link between thought and feeling has long been part of learning, even during colonial eras, as Aristotle .
pointed out in his texts on Politics, in Book 8, and Ethics, in Book 10, when he stated that Auteaching the mind without teaching the heart is not true education.
Ay What Edwards accomplished in the American setting was to tie the teaching of thought and feeling to his own life experiences.
think that in his vast theological publications.
Edwards acknowledged and communicated the autobiographical and emotional connection that permeates all long-term academic inquiry (Setran, 2.
Proverbs 4:23 admonishes us all: AuKeep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
Ay As those who believe in Christ, we all have the duty to guard and direct our hearts so that true life can emerge, especially during times when the forces that harm life, as God designed it, are clear on a global and national scale.
We are summoned to change the forces that threaten life in our era, just like Edwards aimed to do in his period.
What is the heart? We must question while referencing Edwards' legacy.
The core of who we are is found in our hearts.
Like Augustine and the Puritans.
Edwards believed that the heart was the spiritual centre of our being, uniting will, love, and thought.
According to Edwards.
God bestows fresh concepts, discernment, and desires in the heart, which is consistent with Proverbs 23:7 (KJV), which states that AuAs a person thinks in their heart, so are they.
Ay Edwards believed that all education must include the knowledge and love of the truth as beautiful and a gift from God.
Perry Miller's biography of Jonathan Edwards .
describes Edwards as an artist who works through ideas.
In his writings.
Edwards put forward theological ideas that were common in his day.
He valued complex ideas and ideals, as well as their relationship to the sciences of his time, including Newtonian physics and empirical Edwards's theological ideas focus on will, virtue, excellence, pleasure, and Heart education connects these ideas with the lives and hearts, and minds of others.
Regarding heart matters, one of EdwardsAo resolutions that he began writing while pastoring in New York City, at the age of 19 and 20, was AuResolved: To follow God with all my heart.
Ay (Edwards et al.
, 2.
A second resolution: AuResolved also: Whether others do or not.
I will.
Ay Education of the heart facilitates educational and holistic This integration connects faith, personal and public life, and ministry with The excellence of GodAos providence is to bring unity of diversity.
Education of the heart concerns the arts of living, loving, and dying well in this world.
These are as crucial today for all of us as they were in colonial times.
Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat 9.
September 2025 To embrace an education of the heart does not mean to minimise reason or acts of Our affections serve as the centre that brings together orthodoxy .
ight belief.
, orthopathos .
ight emotion.
, and orthopraxis .
ight practic.
A key contribution of EdwardsAos spiritual theology is placing love at the centre of the Christian life, emphasising a harmonious relationship.
Contemporary theologians and philosophers like Robert Saucy, in his final book.
Minding the Heart: The Way of Spiritual Transformation .
David Naugle in his award-winning book Worldview: The History of a Concept .
, and James K.
Smith in his also award-winning book You are What You Love:
The Spiritual Power of Habit .
, continued building in Edwards invitation to highlight the heart as the foundation for Christian thought and practice.
As Miller .
Edwards also saw the shadows and corporate sins of his time that called for clarity and justice from a faith perspective.
A faith perspective addresses matters of the heart.
First Samuel 6:7 reminds us, "God does not look on oneAos outward appearance, but on our hearts.
Ay Therefore.
Christian educators can honor the invitation to embrace the education of the heart.
Invitation Two: Sustain self-education Together with Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.
Edwards embodied an activist approach to education that centered the American colonial experience around selfeducation and self-determined education.
In order to survive and succeed in the "New World," this fashion was crucial.
Notably.
Jefferson's vast collection was sold to the Library of Congress, where it is currently on display behind glass.
Edwards' education, in many respects, started after he had his Yale University degree.
Why was and is continuing self-education important to sustain? Although the content of our academic and theological wisdom may be secure and validated by academic credentials, applying and living out what is learned varies from person to person and requires growth and nurturing over time.
It differs from the people one is currently serving and will serve in the future.
It varies according to the particular context of our ministries, the community, and the society we are divinely called to serve.
In times of stress and change, continuing education could seem like a luxury, yet it is more important than ever to have a clear perspective.
Edwards's thorough reading, investigation, thinking, and writing helped him handle the controversial topics of his day.
Like Edwards.
Ezra stands out in the biblical record as a religious leader who, in Ezra 7:10, is described as devoting himself to the study of the Lord's law, the observance of the Lord's law, and the teaching of its decrees and laws in Israel.
That required a lifetime of self-education and ongoing learning.
Edwards recognised what modern educators now affirm: that real education extends beyond traditional and formal models, moving toward informal and nonformal modalities (Coombs, 1.
Self-directed learning is the most visible form of informal learning, often occurring in everyday Pazmiyo & O.
Esqueda.
Jonathan Edwards: His Holistic Theological Education A 201 settings.
In our present context, self-directed learning Auhas emerged as one of the major thrusts of adult education researchAy (Merriam & Baumgartner, 2020, p.
This continuing education serves as the foundation for lifelong learning, impacting all areas of life, as modern educators recognise and Edwards, following biblical principles, affirmed.
To sustain self-education, one must have a Auteachable spiritAy as Richard Osmer .
insightfully described in his work by that title.
We can and should learn from others, whether they are theologically educated or not.
Gain insight from the wonders of nature showcased by Edwards in his works.
Understand the darker sides of humanity that urge us to be compassionate towards one another, and take lessons from the planet that we all share.
The second invitation is to continue learning on our own, respecting Edwards' contributions.
Invitation Three: Affirm our religious affections Edwards placed great importance on feelings of love and happiness, and Strachan and Sweeney .
recognised him as a AuLover of God.
Ay It is important to mention that First Peter 1:8 was a significant verse for Edwards, which states: AuAlthough you have not seen him, you love him.
and even though you do see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy.
Ay EdwardsAo description of his aesthetic transformation is a classic that has recently been noted in the Basics of Teaching for Christians (Pazmino, 1998, pp.
64Ae.
because of his moving account of loving God while taking a walk in his fatherAos pasture and experiencing a deep and abiding joy.
In our educational journey and the explorations of our intellect, especially in Christian and religious studies, we might overlook our feelings.
With a heavy focus on logic, we might neglect the emotional aspects of our existence.
Edwards, similar to modern teachers, believes that emotions play a crucial role in education.
We can support EdwardsAo views on feelings, particularly the spiritual feelings of love, hope, faith, and joy, along with a dedication to truth, all of which are vital.
Truth is facing challenges today, with widespread accusations of false information and modified facts both nationally and internationally, and the spread of misleading information is common.
light of this, we must reaffirm that our three-in-one God embodies truth.
Thus, truth reflects divine beings that we should love beyond mere statements to confirm (Pazmiyo & Esqueda, 2.
In recognising the importance of our spiritual feelings, we acknowledge the role of playful spirituality and creativity that encourages us to explore the world, enjoy music, and discover art in a way that allows us to appreciate the beauty of everything that God has created.
Edwards believed that the emotions and sensations found in nature, art, and music are linked to religious beliefs and divine understanding.
Jesus, as a Jewish teacher and prophet, was reclaimed by Jewish scholars like Walter Homolka .
, affirmed our affections in his two great commandments restated from the Torah:
Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat 9.
September 2025 From Deuteronomy 6:5: AuYou shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Ay From Leviticus 19:18: AuYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Ay Our affections are the source of behavioral change, rather than merely cognitive This idea contradicts the traditional view that holding the right beliefs will lead one to behave with integrity.
Theology is ultimately practical: true religion consists, in significant part, of holy affections.
Therefore.
Christian educators would do well to consider invitation three to affirm our religious affections.
Jonathan Edwards has had a profound impact on Christian thought.
Douglas Sweeney .
Dean of Beeson Divinity School in the United States, argues that he is Authe most influential thinker of all evangelical history .
As one of the most recognized Edward scholars.
Sweeney, in his book Jonathan Edwards: and the Ministry of the Word .
, synthesizes his positive insights and examples in seven principles that help in our Christian faith and gospel witness.
These theses complement the three positive invitations for Christian educators in the twenty-first century:
Edwards shows us the importance of working to help people gain a vivid sense, an urgent impression, of GodAos activity in our world.
Edwards shows us that true religion is primarily a matter of holy affections.
Edwards shows the advantage of keeping an eschatological perspective in our Edwards shows us how God uses those who lose their lives for Christ.
Edwards shows us that theology should be done primarily in the church, by pastors, for the sake of the people of God.
Edwards shows us that even the strongest Christians need support from others.
Edwards shows us the necessity of remaining in GodAos Word .
As we can see.
Jonathan Edwards continues to influence the evangelical mind in many ways.
The constant scholarship regarding Edwards acknowledges his genius of mind and connection to practical ministry.
At present.
Christian educators can disagree with some of his claims, such as the one that affirms pastors or ministers should primarily undertake the theological task due to the biblical foundation of the priesthood of all However.
EdwardsAos invitations provide a solid foundation for Christian educators worldwide, and his educational principles serve as a helpful guide to emulate.
THE SHADOWS OF EDWARDSAo LEGACY The opportunity for a revisionist reading and interpretation of Jonathan EdwardsAo legacy underscores the importance of maintaining a commitment to truth in our lives and cultivating a deeper understanding of our shared history.
Lights and shadows from the past must be fully disclosed to guide the present and future of Christian education.
The relatively recent discovery of shadows does not fully discount the legacy of Edwards, but it provides an essential perspective worth sharing.
Pazmiyo & O.
Esqueda.
Jonathan Edwards: His Holistic Theological Education A 203 Even though Jonathan Edwards is widely considered the most significant American theologian.
Auhis significance must also include the fact that he compromised Christian principles by enslaving human beingsAy (Tisby, 2019, p.
This situation was common at that time and in that social context, even among many religious leaders.
However.
EdwardsAo strong emphasis on sound doctrine makes his practice paradoxical, demonstrating an evident conflict between his anthropology and his other core biblical The greatest theologian who dedicated his life to a holistic biblical and theological life had deep blind spots in his commitment to human dignity for all.
Historian Jemar Tisby .
claims that Edwards held the view, unlike some Christians, that enslaved Africans possessed souls and were able to embrace Christ.
supported spreading the gospel to those in bondage and envisioned a worldwide blossoming of faith .
Edwards is an example of an evangelicalism that separates the spiritual from the social context.
In this way, the salvation of souls takes precedence over the social and institutionalised injustices.
The two pillars of the spiritual Great Awakenings in colonial America.
George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards, supported slavery, demonstrating a deep divide between their passion for the salvation of human souls and their apathy for the protection of the dignity of some of those human beings they were trying to convert.
For economic reasons.
Whitefield went beyond Edwards in actively advocating for the preservation of slavery, primarily to support the welfare of the Bethesda orphanage (Tisby, 2019, pp.
47Ae.
The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University keeps the receipt for a fourteenyear-old slave girl he bought in 1731.
The documentAos title is AuReceipt for a Slave named VenusAy (Edwards, 1.
This document proves that Edwards not only accepted slavery as a common social practice but also participated in enslaving other human beings.
The receipt describes the transaction as follows:
KNOW ALL MEN by these presents that I Richard Perkins of Newport in the County of Newport & Colony of Rhode Island & Mariner For & in Consideration of the Sum of Eighty pounds of lawful Current money of said colony To me in hand well & truly paid at & before the ensealing & delivery hereof by Jonathan Edwards of Northampton in the County of Hampshire & Province of the Massachusetts Bay in new EnglandAAnd I the said Richard Perkins do hereby bargain sell & deliver unto the said Jonathan Edwards a Negro Girle named Venus aged Fourteen years or thereabout TO HAVE & TO HOLD the said Negro girl named Venus unto the said Jonathan Edwards his heirs Execrs & Assigns and to his & their own proper Use & behoof for EverA.
We have a record that 25 years later.
Edwards bought a three-year-old named Titus for 30 pounds (Silliman, 2.
Two years later.
Edwards included this boy in his will Auin a list of animals that he owned.
Ay This egregious situation for a great theological educator who has become an exemplar for generations is also tragically ironic because in 1750.
Edwards used the Venus receipt to write a sermon about AuOne Great End in GodAos Evangelikal: Jurnal Teologi Injili dan Pembinaan Warga Jemaat 9.
September 2025 Appointing the Gospel Ministry.
Ay In this sermon.
Edwards admonished Christian ministers to teach and act according to Christian principles:
This is a great part of the proper work and business of ministers.
It properly belongs to them to endeavor to find out the truth and to exhibit it to the people of God, to search and see whether the way they are going on in be right or no.
and if they see them to be going in a wrong way.
Aotis their proper business to declare it to them.
They are set to be shepherds, when they see the flock going astray or gone astray out of their right way, to endeavor to reclaim Aoem.
(Kleven, 2.
Jonathan EdwardsAo extensive writings and messages indicate that he was a passionate Christian leader with a strong commitment to teaching others GodAos biblical He identified core beliefs and practices that continue to influence believers, particularly Christian educators, worldwide (Lee, 2.
At the same time, he demonstrated shortcomings and had theological and practical gaps.
He was a human being after all, with virtues and flaws.
CONCLUSION
Much of Christian education is immersed in essentialism as an implicit educational philosophy in its curriculum formulations.
The educational essentials from Jonathan EdwardsAo legacy can be identified as timeless insights relevant for today.
The battle cry of the educational philosophy of essentialism is AuBack to the Basics.
Ay The basics of EdwardsAo legacy are worthy of consideration today and include the three specific invitations: .
Embrace education of the heart.
Sustain self-education.
Affirm our religious affections.
The shadows of EdwardsAo educational legacy likewise require us to have a critical and sober assessment and judgment of the fruits of our lives and practices for what we embrace as Christian educators and what we model for future generations.
Thabiti Anyabwile .
describes well the key question one asks when confronted with the reality of EdwardsAo involvement with slavery.
Why did AmericaAos top thinker and religious scholar, who understood so much about God and His plan for salvation in the world, who influenced Reformed and Evangelical Christianity during his lifetime and for the years that came after, who helped bring about a significant movement of GodAos Spirit during revival, not stand up against what many consider the greatest evil of his time? While recognising the common household practices of his time in relation to owning other persons created in GodAos image as slaves for their labour, we lament the deep shadows of oppression that Edwards himself embraced by his decisions and actions, with lasting outcomes for those enslaved by his and othersAo hands.
Both Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, along with Edwards, were named as educational luminaries of the colonial period by Lawrence Cremin, and they also regrettably owned slaves.
This history requires us to name, critique, decry, lament, and learn from our forebears.
Therefore, an additional fourth basic invitation should be mentioned: .
Avoid the sins of Pazmiyo & O.
Esqueda.
Jonathan Edwards: His Holistic Theological Education A 205 our forebears.
Jonathan Edwards was a theologian of the heart.
He affirmed that our affections lead our practice as we aspire to bring GodAos glory in everything we do.
The pursuit of sanctification is intimately related to holy affections and practice.
As Christian educators, we would benefit from receiving his invitations, imitating his faith, and learn from his mistakes.
Competing interests The authors have no competing interests with this research article.
Author contributions and O.
are coauthors of this article.
Ethical considerations This article followed all ethical standards for research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
Funding information The authors did not receive funding for this article.
Data availability A thorough literature review informed this conceptual article.
Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and are the product of professional It does not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated institution, funder, agency, or that of the publisher.
The authors are responsible for this articleAos results, findings and content.
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