Jonathan Edwards on Beauty (The Essential Edwards Collection)

Beauty is hard to describe, but easy to identify. It resides in expected and unexpected places in our world. Beauty is present in our world in a variety of forms. Yet while the average person might think about the reality of beauty from time to time, few people would think about the source of beauty. Where does beauty come from? Why is it here?Several hundred years ago Jonathan Edwards did some thinking of his own on this difficult subject. This volume explores his meditation on the subject and lays out a Christian framework for understanding and experiencing the beauty God has planted in His world.Edwards found in the study of beauty the person of God. Where Edwards saw beautiful images and acts, he saw a representation, a small picture, of a reality too great to comprehend, a God too majestic to adequately adore. He sets in motion a path of glory that begins with the Lord, moves to creation, continues to the incarnation of Christ, moves to the church, and ascends to the glory of heaven, where the Holy Trinity dwells.Easily accessible and readable, you do not need to be a scholar to enjoy these insights about Jonathan Edwards and his writings. Review "When it comes to Jonathan Edwards's writing, where does an average reader (like me!) begin?  Right here with The Essential Edwards Collection. Strachan and Sweeney provide a doorway into the life and teaching of one of church's wisest theologians. The authors have included notes of personal application to help us apply the life and teaching of Edwards to our own lives. I've read no better introduction to Jonathan Edwards." - C.J. Mahaney, President, Sovereign Grace Ministries"A great resource! Edwards continues to speak, and this series of books is an excellent means to hear Jonathan Edwards again live and clear. Pure gold; be wise and invest in it!" - Josh Moody, Senior Pastor, College Church, Wheaton, Illinois"These primers on Jonathan Edward's life and thought - his passion for God - provide an excellent glimpse into a life lived unto God.  And they help the rest of us slake our thirst for the majesty of our Savior.  We owe a great debt to Owen Strachan and Douglas Sweeney for making Edwards and his vision of God so accessible to the rest of us thirsty pilgrims." - Thabiti Anyabwile, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands"Everyone says Jonathan Edwards is important. Quite frankly, however, his writing style is pretty dense by contemporary standards, so few pastors and other Christian leaders have invested much time reading him. This new series tackles the problem. Here is the kernel of much of Edwards's thought in eminently accessible form." - D.A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School"In The Essential Edwards Collection, Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney point with knowledge and excitement to clear and searching sections that illuminate God's truth and search our hearts. In this collection, Edwards is introduced to a new generation of readers. His concerns are made our concerns. This is a worthy effort and I pray that God will bless it." - Mark Dever, Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC."This series is a fantastic introduction to the heart, mind, and ministry of the greatest theologian America has ever produced." - Mark Driscoll, Pastor of Mars Hill Church, President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network."Let Strachan and Sweeney serve as your guides through the voluminous writings of America's greatest theologian.  They have been shaped by his godly counsel and moved by his passion for Christ.  By God's grace, Edwards can do the same for you. Start your journey with The Essential Edwards Collection. - Collin Hansen, Author of Young, Restless, Reformed"Owen Strachan and Douglas Sweeney have done us all a great service by remixing and reloading the teaching of Jonathan Edwards for a new generation.  They do more than introduce us to his wr