Are you going to buy The Works of Jonathan Edwards (29 Vols.)?

Though I know who he is, I am not familiar with the specific content contained in The Works of Jonathan Edwards currently on prepub. Especially given it's price, I would love to know the reasons why people are choosing this as a collection to add to your resources. Equally, if people have passed on it, was it because of the price or other reasons?

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Rosie Perera

I'm ordering it because I recently read the wonderful biography of Jonathan Edwards by George Marsden. In it he mentioned a sermon of Edwards's which I really want to read, but it's not available anywhere online. It is in the complete Works of Edwards though. And I realized there are other writings of his that are not available anywhere else which I'm sure I'd find profitable to read.

You can see more about the series, and the individual volumes in it, at the publisher's website:

http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/SeriesPage.asp?Series=83

DominicM

Whilst I Love what I have read $900 is about 3* what I might be prepared to pay.

For me the price is too high, and this is likely based on the/your US preference for Hardcovers, where as we prefer softcover as they are cheaper, the pricing accorgingly is higher than we would pay for the physical book

I am sure it will sell. but for me that would blow my book budget for the next 2 years... so not for me

Donovan R. Palmer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311239#Comment_311239

Themelios currently has an article about Jonathan Edwards which I coincidentally read today! - http://thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/jonathan_edwards_a_missionary

EDIT: Posted wrong link.

Donovan R. Palmer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311241#Comment_311241

I am sure it will sell. but for me that would blow my book budget for the next 2 years... so not for me

$300-400 would be a bit more easy to swallow... but if it is $899 on prepub, what will it be at full price!?!

Ted Hans

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311244#Comment_311244

What i have not been able to determine is; how much material is included in the $900 offer on Pre-Pub. That is if one exclude the material found in

The Works of Jonathan Edwards (2 vols.)

Donovan R. Palmer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311244#Comment_311244

Here's a review from Themelios:

Jonathan Edwards. Catalogues of Books. Edited by Peter J. Thuesen. The Works of Jonathan Edwards 26. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008. 496 pp. £58.00/$95.00.

In the fall of 2008 the capstone was placed upon what is arguably one of the most significant publishing monuments of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. After more than fifty years, the critical letterpress edition of The Works of Jonathan Edwards finally came to a conclusion with the release of volume twenty-six of this august set. Begun in 1957 with the herculean efforts of Harvard University American literature professor Perry Miller, the Yale edition of Edwards’ Works saw the general editorship pass from Miller to John Smith and finally to Harry S. Stout. And that is not all. With the arrival of the twenty-first century, the writings enter a new phase with the Jonathan Edwards Center website at Yale University: http://edwards.yale.edu. Even though this critical edition of Edwards’ Works would be considered mammoth by almost anyone’s assessment, the letterpress edition will not contain all of Edwards’ writings. However, over the next few years, that lacuna will be filled with all the great Northampton pastor-theologian’s work getting posted at the JEC website.

This final volume of the letterpress edition of Edwards’ Works is comprised of his reading catalogue and account-book entrees, which open for the reader a window into Edwards’ book-lending habits. Edwards scholars have previously been able to gain access to these documents by traveling to Yale’s Beineke Library. Now his reading habits can be analyzed in a convenient format ably assisted by the helpful editorial introduction of Peter J. Thuesen. Readers could be forgiven for thinking that this might be the least interesting of all the volumes in the Yale Works. However, that initially plausible reaction would be quite wrong. For years scholars have debated back and forth about Edwards’ intellectual influences. Was he a disciple of John Locke or was he more beholden to French Cartesian Nicolas Malebranche? Was his first love natural science, philosophy, or the Bible? These are the very kinds of questions that may find solutions in this volume.

Thuesen, echoing the ground-breaking work of Norman Fiering and other Edwards scholars, demonstrates that Edwards was not the lone intellectual prodigy living in a colonial wilderness that earlier generations of students of Edwards thought. Quite the contrary, Edwards was a member in good standing of what has been called the transatlantic republic of letters. While it is still quite true that Edwards was a brilliant thinker, he was no provincial. Despite the apparent geographical seclusion of the American colonies prior to the Revolutionary War, it is clear that Edwards kept his pulse on the intellectual currents of the mother country and indeed of much of Europe. Edwards was a bona fide citizen of the British Empire. Through regular and assiduous reading of newspapers, periodicals, other books, and correspondence with friends in the UK, Edwards was able to keep abreast of the latest intellectual trends of the day.

One thing is for certain. While Edwards read widely and truly was a renaissance man, it is clear that the center of his world was the Triune God of the Bible and his Word. It has been persuasively argued that Edwards was biblicistic and God-intoxicated. This volume is manifest evidence of that truth. This volume, along with some of its more recent companions in the Yale Works (the “Blank Bible” being one such example) clearly demonstrate that Edwards was a well-rounded reader, with interests in science, philosophy, geography, history, theology, biblical commentaries, languages, etiquette, and more. Thuesen ably assists us with navigating our way around the seemingly unintelligible lists. It is said that you can tell a lot about someone by looking over his or her library. This volume will enable the contemporary reader to do just that.

This volume is symbolic of an end of an era. For over fifty years Edwards scholars have waited (sometimes impatiently) for the next installment of the Yale Works. The wait is now over. But a new era of greater access to Edwards’ writings in this letterpress edition of his work and the JEC website has begun. One can hope that it will yield even greater understanding of the one who has been called America’s Augustine.

Jeffrey C. Waddington
Westminster Theological Seminary
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Themelios: Volume 34, No. 2, July 2009 (United Kingdom: The Gospel Coalition, 2009), 242-43.

Rosie Perera

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311251#Comment_311251

What i have not been able to determine is; how much material is included in the $900 offer on Pre-Pub. That is if one exclude the material found in

The Works of Jonathan Edwards (2 vols.)

The 26-volume work includes a ton of material that is not in the abridged 2-volume work. It's over 16,000 pages. The 2-volume version contains only about 1700 pages. Do you want to see specific lists of the Tables of Contents? Some examples of things more fully included in the 26-volume version are Edwards's "Miscellanies" ("the series of private theological notebooks that Jonathan Edwards kept from his late teens to the end of his life") -- I find only a few Miscellaneous Observations in the 2-volume edition. Also it looks like his typological writings are not included at all in the 2-volume resource. It would take more time for me to look through the contents of the entire series on Yale's website and compare it to the TOC of what I've got in Logos already.

It's probably a resource only for serious Edwards scholars, though, since 1700 pages worth of his most important writings is already quite a lot.

EDIT: Another example: the 2-volume set includes "nearly fifty sermons and dozens of theological treatises" whereas the 26-volume set includes 6 volumes (4000+ pages) of sermons and discourses, including previously unpublished manuscript sermons. Over 1000 sermons in all. See also: http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/digitallibrary/edwards.html, which describes the source material for the complete published works of Edwards.

Ted Hans

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311253#Comment_311253

Many thanks Donovan.

Ted Hans

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311259#Comment_311259

Thanks Rosie. Oh dear, i now get the feeling i will be ordering Edwards after all [:'(].

Donovan R. Palmer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311259#Comment_311259

If people are interested in additional reviews in journals, here are a couple more that you can look up if you have the Galaxie collections:

Notes on Scripture: The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 15 - Westminster Theological Journal Volume 60, 2 (Philadelphia: Westminster Theological Seminary, 1998), 352.

and

The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Volume 18: The “Miscellanies,” - Westminster Theological Journal Volume 63, 1 (Philadelphia: Westminster Theological Seminary, 2001), 202.

I don't have all the Themelios Journals or a few others offered on Logos which also might have other reviews. My problem is I run out of money because these prepubs sometimes come out too quickly! [:(]

Ted Hans

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311259#Comment_311259

Rosie can you help again. The 26-volume version on Pre-Pub does not contain all of Edwards writings, is this correct? If yes, i hope Yale offers the rest to Logos for publication in the future when they become available.

Thanks

Mark Barnes

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311272#Comment_311272

The 26-volume version on Pre-Pub does not contain all of Edwards writings, is this correct?

The 26 volume pre-pub contains all of Edwards' writings that are going to be made available in print. A handful of other writings will be made available online at a later date. When you try and include everything from sermons to jottings to published papers, it's probably impossible to be certain you have everything. But I doubt Logos will update the collection unless Yale published a new volume, and I can't see them doing that.

Mark Barnes

Though I know who he is, I am not familiar with the specific content contained in The Works of Jonathan Edwards currently on prepub. Especially given it's price, I would love to know the reasons why people are choosing this as a collection to add to your resources. Equally, if people have passed on it, was it because of the price or other reasons?

I've placed an order, though whether I actually purchase will depend on whether I have $900 at the appropriate time. I've ordered because I've never read anything by Edwards without thinking that he was a man who knew God, knew his bible, and knew how to communicate that to others. Edwards' influence is growing, and because his learning was so vast, I'm sure he'll have well-though through opinions on almost anything. The Yale set contains an enormous amount and variety of material, much of it never designed for publication (I think 7 volumes of private papers). It contains therefore insights into Edwards' thinking and development, as well as deeply personal writings. The introductory essays will also be valuable, I believe. All that said, it's probably not a set for most. If you're not a real Edwards' enthusiast, I'd stick with the two-volume set. I'd also stick with the two-volume set if you're not a scholar. Edwards himself was a formidable scholar, and the more accessible of his works has already been distilled into the two-volume set.

Greg

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311328#Comment_311328

Just FYI to everyone, but all 26 volumes, plus an additional 47 or so unpublished volumes, are all available online, for free, through the Yale press website here: http://edwards.yale.edu/research/browse.

I love buying books in Logos, and I've asked for this set before, but there is no way I can justify the price when all the content is available free!

Rosie, what sermon are you looking for?

Matthew C Jones

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311328#Comment_311328

I've placed an order, though whether I actually purchase will depend on whether I have $900 at the appropriate time.

ditto. Much depends upon when Logos releases it. If it happens when a bunch of other expenses do, I may have to bypass the Pre-Pub price. And if the regular price is higher I doubt I will every get it. I am betting Zondervan will have another Bundle coming out after New Year's.

Forgetting price, I would love to have the big collection on Edwards.

Rosie Perera

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311330#Comment_311330

Rosie, what sermon are you looking for?

It was two, actually: "A Spiritual Understanding of Divine Things Denied to the Unregenerate" and "The Pleasantness of Religion" -- both referred to on p. 96 of George Marsden's Jonathan Edwards: A Life.

Thanks for that link. I see they are both online; I hadn't been able to find them before (maybe I only looked in the 2-volume set which I have, which doesn't contain either of them). What are you trying to do, dissuade me from buying the collection? [:)]

Donovan R. Palmer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311328#Comment_311328

Edwards himself was a formidable scholar, and the more accessible of his works has already been distilled into the two-volume set.

I'm not a scholar nor the son of a scholar (grin), but have a number of scholarly resources which I get much enjoyment from. Having read a number of reviews over the past day or so, I think I would really enjoy this resource on Logos. Slowly but truly I have been acquiring on prepub or specials some of the 'works collections' by various theologians. This would be without doubt, the most expensive of the lot by a factor of at least double (compare to the Calvin 500 collection). So, that being said, 'accessible' in this case is also an issue of economics. My book budget isn't large enough for this to come up to the top of the priority list for a long, long time, even if I saved up for it... though one day I hope I don't regret having not picked it up on 'prepub'. Anyhow, I think I will be sticking to the free resources online and maybe one day I can pick up the smaller collection.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I have learned some new things about Jonathan Edwards through this process!

Ted Hans

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311325#Comment_311325

The 26-volume version on Pre-Pub does not contain all of Edwards writings, is this correct?

The 26 volume pre-pub contains all of Edwards' writings that are going to be made available in print. A handful of other writings will be made available online at a later date. When you try and include everything from sermons to jottings to published papers, it's probably impossible to be certain you have everything. But I doubt Logos will update the collection unless Yale published a new volume, and I can't see them doing that.

Thanks Mark, very informative.

Jerry Fourroux

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311412#Comment_311412

You could spend $2500 on the Christmas Sale and get a credit that would purchase the Edwards works.

Just saying![:D]

Donovan R. Palmer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311498#Comment_311498

The old adage of having to spend money to make money comes to mind!

BillS

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311241#Comment_311241

For me the price is too high,

Any more, I'm priced out of everything but CP.

Simon Pleasants

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311498#Comment_311498

You could spend $2500 on the Christmas Sale and get a credit that would purchase the Edwards works.

Nice strategy, but unfortunately it won't work! The fine print states that Logos credit cannot be currently used to purchase prepubs. So you'd need to spend $5,870 this month and then wait until they come off prepub (assuming that they will sell for the retail price)!

I think I'm going to have to pass on them at this price and content myself with the two-volume set.

Mike Childs

Would love to have it, but not at $900. If I had $900 to spend on Logos resources, there are other books I would buy first.

Mike S.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311893#Comment_311893

Would love to have it, but not at $900. If I had $900 to spend on Logos resources, there are other books I would buy first.

Oh so true. This would be an eventual purchase at $300, not $900.

Buying it at $900 only tells Logos how to price this genre of collection in the future as well. Not something I want to encourage even for a "must-have" resource like this that's already available online freely and the 1600+ page two volume work is 80% of the most valuable reference material.

On another level, I'm interested in what those people who are going to buy this do not get off pre-pub. I'm guessing they buy just about everything that comes off the pre-pub bus that is in the "academic" interest and have libraries that have cost well over $20,000. Am I wrong?

Alexander

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311498#Comment_311498

I wish I could afford the set! To bad, at this point, I cannot justify the cost.

Mike Aubrey

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311899#Comment_311899

Buying it at $900 only tells Logos how to price this genre of collection in the future as well. Not something I want to encourage even for a "must-have" resource...

Pricing doesn't work like that.

Mark Barnes

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311899#Comment_311899

On another level, I'm interested in what those people who are going to buy this do not get off pre-pub. I'm guessing they buy just about everything that comes off the pre-pub bus that is in the "academic" interest and have libraries that have cost well over $20,000.

Not in my case. I just sorted the pre-pub section of the store by price in descending order to see which of the 'expensive' sets I have orders in for. Out of the 60 most expensive pre-pubs being offered, I have orders in for "only" 14 of them (including Jonathan Edwards). And probably, some of them I'll cancel before delivery.

George

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311498#Comment_311498

I could also buy a Bugatti Veiron.

If I had the money, that is. [:)]

Both the Bugatti and Edwards are too expensive for me.

Dave Moser

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311933#Comment_311933

Buying it at $900 only tells Logos how to price this genre of collection in the future as well. Not something I want to encourage even for a "must-have" resource...

Pricing doesn't work like that.

Agreed. Yale University Press set the price, not Logos.

On a side note, seeing this pre-pub on the Logos site got me to buy a used copy of volume 11 (Edwards was a master of typology) in print.

Donovan R. Palmer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/311992#Comment_311992

I might eventually try to pick up the smaller set if it goes on a special or sale. It will probably meet most of my practical needs as I don't expect to focus exclusively on Jonathan Edwards for the foreseeable future and I'd spend $900 on a number of other resources right now that I would use more frequently. I still have a couple of commentary sets and journal collections on my radar! [8-|]

Ben

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/312045#Comment_312045

Not purchasing, because not interested.

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