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What Is Truth?: The Creedalism of Edwards & Whitefield on Biblical Authority

George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards were two of the most consequential ministerial figures to serve the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. One can scarcely conceive of 18th-century America without considering the colossal impact of these two formidable theological minds. However, while Whitefield and Edwards shared the common attribute of being formidable preachers of enormous skill in the same century, they fulfilled markedly different ministries using distinct approaches and in distinct contexts. Whitefield was the quintessential popular celebrity evangelist of his day, preaching to crowds of tens of thousands of people as frequently as seven times a day and for accumulated durations of 40 to 60 hours per week. In contrast, Edwards was the intellectual pastor-theologian spending copious hours of disciplined thought and reflection in his pastoral study in Northampton. Consequently, their differing ministry roles and contexts naturally led to variations in their approach to treating the question of biblical authority. Edwards actively engaged in the scholarly discourse of his era concerning the nature of Scripture and its consequent implications for Scriptural authority through his ministry as a pastor-theologian. Conversely, Whitefield gave greater consideration to the proclamation of Scripture and decidedly less attention to a disciplined defense of the foundational theological underpinning of Scriptural authority through his extraordinarily active preaching ministry. Accordingly, while the bibliology of both men reflects broad alignment in their views of Scriptural authority, they took decidedly different approaches to their practical treatment of Scriptural authority in the context of their ministries. Further, their general agreement is supported by distinct perspectives and thought processes rooted in their ministry contexts and reflecting certain unique nuances shaping the basis of their convictions. A key area of distinction emerging from their corpora is the relative influence of confessional statements on each minister in their formulation, defense, and teaching of their doctrines of the authority of Scripture. Accordingly, this paper will employ the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion as theological lenses to evaluate the bibliology of both men. On a comparative basis, this paper will argue that Whitefield was more creedal in his understanding of biblical authority than Edwards.

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Recent Publications

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"To foster conservative Biblical scholarship by providing a medium for the oral exchange and written expression of thought and research in the general field of the theological disciplines as centered in the Scriptures." (Constitution, Article II.)

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