Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is widely regarded as America's greatest philosopher-
theologian. In the last half century there has been a resurgence of interest in Edwards' work
from historians, theologians and philosophers, aided by the publication of the Yale edition of
Edwards' Works. Edwards' thinking on sin has long been a mystery to scholars trying to fit his
thought into the traditional categories of Reformed theology. What this study shows is that
Edwards' theory of sin was an original contribution to philosophical theology, which can only …

The opening chapter deals with the logical (as opposed to temporal) order of God's decrees.
As Crisp reads him, Edwards wants to forge a middle path between the'supralapsarian'view
that the decrees of election and reprobation are prior to the decree of the fall and the
opposing'infralapsarian'view. Edwards's position seems to be that God decrees eledion
antecedent to good works and the fall, but decrees reprobation consequent to sin and the
fall. So the decree of election is logically prior to the decree of reprobation, with the decree of …