The following review of _Encounters With God_ appeared in _Choice_ (Jun. 1999), published by the American Library Association. The reviewer was Bruce Stephens of Pennsylvania State University (Delaware County): "Winner of the Brewer Prize of hte American Society of Church History, this fresh approach to the theology of Jonathan Edwards avoids the narrow specialization of recent studies, yielding a sense of the whole rather than a glimpse of fragments. Twin themes of 'spiritual perception' and Edwards as Christian apologist open onto this larger vista. McClymond (St. Louis Univ.) argues that Edwards's genius was his capacity to delve into the fundamental principles of the inherited intellectual tradition of the Enlightenment and, through deft reinterpretation, to put it to work in the service of his own theology. This reworking of the Enlightenment tradition allowed Edwards to link idea and emotion, the cognitive and the affective, theology and spirituality. Setting major Edwards texts within their larger 18th-century context, McClymond reexamines Edwards's metaphysics in _The Mind_, his spirituality in the _Personal Narrative_ and _Diary_, his ethics in _End of Creation_, his view of history in _The History of Redemption_, and his apologetics in the _Miscellanies_. All of this in 112 well-honed pages, plus 46 pages of insightful notes and a judiciously selected bibliography. Recommended for a wide readership, from undergraduates to research specialists."

In Michael J. McClymond's book, Encounters with God: An Approach to the Theology of Jonathan Edwards, he seeks to synthesize all of Edwards' writing around 'spiritual perception' and 'apologetics,' or 'experiential manifestation' and 'integration.' Surveying Edwards's "reasoned" response to the Enlightenment obsession with reason (as opposed to faith), McClymond sees Edwards as "modern yet with a twist." In the Introduction, McClymond introduces a short historiography of Edwardsean scholarship. He also introduces a bit more, the 'spiritual perception' he sees in Edwards. 'Spritual perception' is the particular attention paid to defining and describing the subjective and objective realities of religious experience, for "Edwards contrasted with the later Romantics, who focused exclusively on the inner experience of religion." To this end, McClymond's comparison between Edwards and Schleiermacher provides a fascinating look into the nuances of religious experience perceived by both men. Furthermore, McClymond uses the introduction to stress the "apologetic orientations of Edwards's spiritual perception" and his "perceptually oriented notion of Christian apologetics." In other words, Edwards labored in his writings to 'teach' spiritual perception while all the while maintaining an 'apologetic' tone. As John Gerstner put it, Edwards was indeed a "rational biblical theologian." Chapter 1 is primarily concerned with defining further and offering examples of Edwards's sprirtual perception. McClymond 'exegetes' some of Edwards's writings, such as Religious Affections, and shows that "there is no dichotomy in Edwards between the spiritual sense of divine things and the philosophical, theological, and historical reflection that may be engendered by it" (p. 26). Chapter 2 shows the apologetic tone in Edwards's metaphysics. In contrast to the "anthropocentrism of the Enlightenment, his metaphysics were primarily theocentric in tone." For Edwards, the measuring stick for all reality is God. After discussing the 'theocentric motif' McClymond delves into Edwards's notions of "God and Being," "God and Knowing," and "God, Beauty, and Causality." Chapter 3 highlights Edwards's contemplation as spirituality and spirituality as contemplation. Expositing the Diary and Personal Narrative, McClymond paints Edwards as a contemplative, a Christian thinker. In contrast to the introspective contemplation of the Puritans, Edwards's "theocentric contemplation" provides a departure from the 'subjective' tradition of his forebearers. Chapter 4 is a look at the ethical strain in Edwards's corpus. Looking at End of Creation, McClymond concludes that, "it does not portray the inscrutable God of Calvinism, who eternally elects some merely for his own good pleasure and whose purposes and actions can be known only after the fact" (p. 58). This is the case because Edwards "anthropomorphizes God" by showing the Aristotelian notion of the "superior man" that is "not subject to the whims of popular approval yet does not ignore well-deserved and well-founded praise" (p. 61). In short, "the God of End of Creation resemebles an enlightened despot in the sense that God possesses unlimited power but uses it for the sake of others" (p. 61). Chapter 5, "Drama and Discernment in History of Redemption," looks at Edwards' view of the unfolding character of history and the "comprehensiveness of God's activity in history" (p. 69). Of course God's providential, paramount activity in history was the death of Christ whereby He secured salvation for His people. Additionally, an eschatological element is present within Edwards's view of history. Acting as a sort of 'contemplative prophet,' Edwards wondered if he would witness the Millennium, beginning in America after the Great Awakening, wherein Christ would reign on earth for 1,000 years. The sixth and final chapter looks at Edwards as Christian Apologist. McClymond charts the obfuscation of God that took place in the modern age and shows the "explicit" and "implicit" character of Edwards's apologetics. Before doing this, however, he looks at the apologetics of William Paley, Joseph Butler, and Frederich Schleiermacher. While these three thinkers took three different avenues in the defense of God, Edwards "is more encompassing than any of [them] yet shows affinities with all of them" (p. 84). The explicit nature of Edwards's apologetics rests with his arguing for the "credibility of Christianity, the existance of God, and the historical evidences for Christianity," just to name a few. The implicit nature of Edwards's apologetics is the subtle way in which he attempts to reinterpret the reigning genres and styles of writing in his own day. He attempted to use his critics' style to defeat them, turning it on its head. As McClymond puts it, "he "baptizes" every eighteenth-century idea and intellectual tradition he could lay hands on" (p. 101). In the Conclusion, "The Religious Outlook in Edwards," McClymond does another sort of historiography of Edwards' thought. In surveying Edwards' worldview, he concludes that "Edwards set for himself the prodigious task of rethinking the entire intellectual culture of his day and turning it to the advantage of God" (p. 112). In this sense, then, Edwards is indeed "modern yet with a twist." McClymond demonstrates his intricate knowledge not only of scholarship on Edwards, but the corpus of Edward's own writings. He articulates the main ideas in Edwards's writings and conveys them in a scholarly, yet readable fashion. He continually prompts the reader to turn the page. Encounters with God is a must for all students of not only American religious history, but American history in general. The quiet, yet profound Puritan from the eighteenth century speaks again!

Morimoto seeks to recast Edwards theology of conversion, justification, sanctification, and glorification in a more ecumenical context than what he calls "textbook protestantism". In a way, this makes sense, in that Edwards is without a doubt the foremost American theologian yet to emerge. On the other hand, it's a little weird, in that Edwards himself did not interact much with Roman Catholicism. In fact, most of Edwards works are very much defined by the intellectual climate of 18th century New England, and the theological confrontation with New England "Arminianism".

Morimoto compares Edwards primarily to Roman orthodoxy as defined by Aquinas and the Council of Trent. In doing so, he shows that many of the differences stem from an inability or unwillingness of both protestants and the defenders of Roman orthodoxy to understand the terminology being used by the other side.

Morimoto also offers frequent comparisons between Edwards and the first generation of reformers (Luther, Calvin, Bucer, etc.). The examples he chooses suggests that Edwards formulations are more in line with historical protestantism than much of modern protestantism, and that the very things (such as his definition of faith) that have embarrassed some Edwards scholars like Perry Miller because they seemed to lean toward Roman doctrinal formulations are in fact the points at which Edwards most strongly echoes the early reformers.

Morimoto observes that recent Edwards scholarship has been more cognizant of this fact. From this, he suggests that the current Protestant and Roman understandings of salvation are closer than they have been at any time in the last three centuries.

Morimoto's thesis is an interesting one, and he supports it well from primary sources. If nothing else, this book should stimulate the thought of its readers and perhaps some interesting debate.

Morimoto analyses Edwards "catholic" soteriology and shows it to be consistent with the thinking of the great Reformers. The study highlights the compatibility between at least some reformation traditions and the doctrines of Trent on justification. He is successful in showing that much of the disagreement between Reformation teaching and Tridentine Catholicism are differences in the way words are used to describe a shared understanding. These differences became hardened into theological systems that until recently have seemed to both sides to be incompatible.

Anyone interested in ecumenism grounded in the common search for the truth will find this book very useful and enlightening.

What's most surprising about Yale's latest attempt at an Edwards Biography is how thoroughly Christian it is. Having extensively studied the 18th century Puritan, I've long been baffled by just how many of his biographers have attempted to make Edwards, to quote G. Marsden, "over in their own images" (p.2). In so doing, some of these books have made his Orthodox Christianity, which was truly the centerpiece of his life and thought, strangely and eerily quiet. Some biographers have tried to separate Edwards' religious convictions from his genius. Marsden doesn't. Any biographer who wishes to write honestly about Edwards must necessarily write much on Edwards' faith and his God. Marsden does. These things were truly the centerpiece of his life and so therefore should be the centerpiece of any book about his life.

Finally, an exciting biography that does justice to a great American thinker and a fascinating man. Marsden shows Edwards in all his brilliance, complexity, and originality. And Marsden also provides context: this book is a wonderful trip into the Colonial past.
Edwards is also shown to be a pivotal figure between two world-views, two ways of seeing humanity and God and history.
This is a wonderful book, great fun to read, and very thought-provoking.

Glenn Shirley does an excellent job of organizing Edward Jonathan Hoyt's (a.k.a. Buckskin Joe's) memoirs. The historical content along with the incredible adventures of this Wild West Showman leave you breathless and wanting more! Batman move over, PT Barnum eat your heart out. I absolutely loved the book. I am buying it for my friends! An easy read. Appropriate for children.

Today one may hear a professing christian say that they "love Jesus'. Yet, Jesus said that our love for Him would be evident in the way we treat our neighbors. Even our enemies. This book will challenge every child of God to examine the way he or she lives in light of the great commandment, as well as Paul's teaching on 1 Cor 13. For, this book is a collection of sermons on the thirteenth chapter of Paul's letter to the Corinthians, often called the "love chapter". After reading this book, the reader may not go about flippintly using the word "love". For, in Edwards' sermons the reader learns the true meaning of the word often translated "charity" or "love". Especially to be savoured is the final sermon called "Heaven, a world of love".

When you hear an orchestra play, how much is dictated by the score, and how much depends on the conductor?

Norman Del Mar's outstanding series of books about conducting reveals the many decisions a conductor makes about tempo, phrasing, tone color, attack and orchestral balance. After earlier books about Beethoven, Berlioz, and Brahms, CONDUCTING ELGAR explores the music of this Late Romantic composer, whose Enigma Variations and Cello Concerto are among the most popular works in the repertory.

Elgar's scores are known for their elaborate instructions, but, in many matters, there is wide latitude for interpretation, as Elgar's own recordings show. Drawing on decades of experience as one of Britain's leading conductors, Del Mar offers a page by page--often bar by bar--discussion of 14 Elgar scores, including The Dream of Gerontius.

Del Mar explains, for example, why parts of the opening Allegro of the Violin Concerto, marked "quarter note = 100" in the score, require tempos as slow as 80 and as fast as 112. He suggests ways of using rubato to give proper shape to such famous Elgar melodies as the great long tune of the First Symphony's Adagio and "Nimrod" of the Enigma Variations. He is equally good with Elgar's choral writing, devoting a full nine pages to a description of how to handle the complex counterpoint and other challenges of the "Praise to the Holiest" choruses in Gerontius.

This book will be very useful to conductors and musicians, but listeners will enjoy it too. It is clearly and gracefully written, and anyone with a knowledge of basic musical terms will have little trouble understanding it. In greater detail than any other author I know, Del Mar tells how musicians turn notes into music.

Edward Weston gave more that 500 of his favorite works to the Huntington Library. Note books and other written material complete a major collection. This book is a major attempt to organize and say something meaningful about a prolific, private genius. I haven't read it all but I've already learned a lot and I've studied Weston for 40 years. The reproductions and their display as 8X10 contact prints is one of the most astonishing feats of printing I've ever seen, especially the nudes of Charis Wilson and the incredible sand dunes at Oceano. There are many photos that I have never seen, many I have seen and some I've held in my hand. This gives me the perspective to say that this book is worth buying just for the prints. You'll think as I have that you missed something until now, especially if all you've seen is book prints. This is as close you'll come to the real thing in print. I've sat buried in this book for half an hour, afraid to breath.

Is that this is out-of-print and I am the first reviewer of it.

Written by a Libertarian stalwart, the late Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Kwitny, it contains detailed history of US foreign commitments, especially in the early 1980s.

That even from a laissez-faire perspective American foreign policy is both misguided and criminal did not sit well with our corporatist media.

If you read and memorize the history in this book you will automatically gain 25 IQ points in any discussion of world events. Astound your friends, who will nickname you "commie," "creepy" and "that person who thinks too much."

It is hard to give anything lower than 5 stars to our great theologian, Jonathan Edwards. A quick read of this book takes me a few months to complete. However, the time is definietly well spent. Edwards powerfully showed how the work of redemption was carried on through the time from the fall to the end of the world. It is truly amazing how edwards cover the redemptive history with a strong link on the destruction of Jerusalem, the time of constantine, reformation, the rise of anti-christ, etc. You must not miss this book if you want to have a good perspective of biblical history. Don't settle for anything less.

Jonathan Edwards was without a doubt the greatest theologian America ever produced. That he was also without a doubt the greatest philosopher colonial America ever produced shows what theology was once upon a time in America. Obsessed with returning American churches to its more devout Calvinist roots, Edwards began the Great Awakening in America, only to find himself cast out of his own pulpit for daring to challenge the social order of his church. Edwards deeply investigated the concept of free will, reconciling it as no other theologian had with the doctrines of predestination and divine omnipotence. But Edwards was also a figure of the Enlightenment, and applied Locke's rationalist doctrine of the senses to his preaching style, creating almost singlehandedly the fire-and-brimstone approach used to this day to terrify poor sinners into repentance. Perry Miller, the twentieth century's most dominant American intellectual historian, here explicates the life of Jonathan Edwards as no one has before or since: on the merit of his ideas. Miller was an atheist who spent his life studying American religious movements; this was one of his finest works. Not to be missed by anyone interested in the history of American religion or philosophy.