Jonathan Edwards and the Church

"Rhys Bezzant's work is truly pioneering, sensitive, and encompassing, unique in over a century of scholarship on Edwards, being the first systematic study devoted to Edwards's ecclesiology-and not just the 'Qualifications Controversy'. It is distinctive in its 'reading' across Edwards's publications for ecclesiological meaning, demonstrating that Edwards's interest in the nature of the church was not merely episodic or a distraction, but of central and sustained interest." --Kenneth P. Minkema, Jonathan Edwards Center, Yale University"It's sad but true: among the hundreds of books on Edwards, nary a one has been published on his view of the Christian church, a doctrine Edwards preached and wrote about throughout his pastoral ministry (despite what you may have heard from other leading scholars). We have needed Rhys Bezzant's book for a very long time. It is far and away the best, most systematic and comprehensive work on the subject ever written." --Douglas A. Sweeney, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School"Jonathan Edwards's revivalist sensibilities are considered to be at the heart of modern evangelicalism's push for emotional and personal experiences of God, often at the cost of a high view of the Church. In this well-sourced book Rhys Bezzant conclusively shows Edwards holding together traditional ecclesial confessionalism inside a new modern framework constructed around the individual. This is a must read for any fan or critic of Jonathan Edwards." --The Rev. Michael Keller, Pastor, Reformed University Fellowship of New York