Jonathan Edwards, War, and the Bible

James P. Byrd reminds us of the militaristic context in which Jonthan Edwards lived. Edwards himself was fully aware of the rivalry between Catholic France and Protestant England, and he saw the battles waged between these two powers on American soil as part of a larger cosmic struggle. What is sometimes forgotten, however, is that Edwards brought meaning to this setting by probing Scripture for what it had to say about war. Edwards preached a number of sermons on war during his lifetime, and from Scripture he found support for just wars and for the duty of citizens to serve in battle. By exploring Edwards’ engagement with both the Old and New Testaments on war in his context, Byrd offers another angle on how Scripture shaped Edwards’ life and thought, just as the issues of his day affected his reading of Scripture.