Spiders, hedonism, revivals, and the mysteries of the trinity — Jonathan Edwards's mind was rich and his writings are prolific. Digestible overviews of his life and writings are always appreciated.

During the recent conversation between John Piper and Douglas Wilson, mention was made of moderator Joe Rigney's trip to New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho in March of 2010. Joe is Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian Worldview at Bethlehem College and Seminary where he teaches undergraduates in the Christian Worldview Program and courses on Jonathan Edwards at the seminary. It was on the trip to NSA that Joe delivered an introduction to Jonathan Edwards, his theology, his writings, and his life and legacy. A video of the lecture and ensuing Q&A session is online. Timestamps follow.

Lecture time-markers —

04:14 — 1. Edwards on the Trinity

14:06 — 2. Edwards on Creation

18:27 — 3. Edwards on God's End in Creation

32:06 — Conclusion

Q&A time-markers —

34:04 — Edwards on typology

37:56 — First recommended Edwards books to read

39:55 — Edwards on God's direct creation and the place of causality

43:00 — Edwards and the classical tradition (Aristotle, Augustine, etc)

45:27 — Dante, Locke, and Edwards's influences

47:02 — Edwards on spiders

49:14 — Edwards's faults and weaknesses

51:36 — The Great Awakening and how Edwards processed it

56:46 — The Enlightenment and its influence on Edwards

59:40 — Edwards's legacy

Joe has also written a series of blog posts on Jonathan Edwards:

• Three Points on Edwards's History of Redemption
• All of History is Redemptive History
• Five Purposes of God in the Work of Redemption
• Two Tensions in Edwards’s View of History
• What Is the River of History?
• Where Do We Find Jesus in the Old Testament?