Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 64:4 (Dec 2021)
Article: Unholy Hate: The Essence Of Human Evil In The Theology Of Jonathan Edwards
Author: Bruce W. Davidson

JETS 64:4 (December 2021) p. 643

Unholy Hate: The Essence Of Human Evil In The Theology Of Jonathan Edwards

Bruce W. Davidson*

* Bruce W. Davidson is a professor in the School of Humanities, Hokusei Gakuen University, Nishi 2-Chome, 3–1 Atsubetsu-ku, Sapporo, Japan 004–8631. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: In Jonathan Edwards’s theology, unholy hate is the essence of human depravity. Edwards followed the ideas of Augustine, Calvin, and the Puritans connecting sin to self-love. Hostility to God springs from God’s opposition to human self-idolatry and pride. This hostility is usually hidden from open expression as a result of self-deception and other factors such as an awareness of God’s distance. God’s common grace also moderates the expression of this enmity through psychological barriers created by religious beliefs and influences, such as the expectation of divine judgment. Prominent among sin’s effects is the corruption of human reason. Sin eviscerates the entirety of human life—damaging relationships, promoting deception, and sapping vitality. In contrast to some contemporary theological writers and religious popularizers, Edwards urges the necessity of confronting inborn evil as a powerful disease in each individual. Without that, God will be robbed of glory, and people will be deprived of salvation.

Key words: Jonathan Edwards, sin, evil, total depravity, common grace, self-love, moral virtue

Among many these days we encounter great zeal to eradicate evils such as racism from human societies. When perceiving an evil to be embodied in emblems of past injustice and oppression, such as statues of historical figures, many people cannot abide their continued existence. Yet we know from both the Bible and the sad chronicle of human history that evil cannot be so easily purged from the scene. It keeps bursting forth in new forms, wearing new faces. Ironically, moral evil can operate under the guise of striving against injustices and other evils. Therefore, a proper, biblical understanding of sin is indispensable. Even many evangelicals, however, appear to be deficient in this basic understanding. A 2020 Barna survey of Americans found that over two-thirds of evangelicals believe that people are basically good.1 The scripturally-grounded insights of Jonathan Edwards can contribute much to a better understanding of the nature of human evil.

This theologian does not mince words in depicting humanity’s moral condition. In one sermon he states it thus: “Enmity against God is the principle from whence all acts of sin flow.”2 As a result, evil actions demonstrate that peop...