Jonathan Edwards John Cotton Analysis

Despite having the same basic understanding of the world through Christianity and predominantly Calvinism, John Cotton and Jonathan Edwards both depict varied versions of what Luther regards as the spiritual and bodily natures that we, as Christians, exhibit. While John Cotton’s Christian Calling emphasizes our bodily nature as he focuses on the outward acts of faith such as expressing our faith in accordance to our obedience to the Lord’s will, Johnathan Edwards’ opposes this viewpoint in Religious Affections as he depicts a greater emphasis on our spiritual nature through thoroughly experiencing grace in our heart; Luther reconciles that our bodily nature expresses our spiritual nature. Cotton’s emphasizes that our bodily nature is a crucial …show more content…
Cotton encourages those seeking out a calling to seek out “the most homeliest and difficultest and most dangerous things his calling can lead and expose himself to,” (Cotton 71). This displays the importance of the bodily nature not only to exemplify obedience, but to persevere one 's faith. Cotton recognizes the importance of our spiritual nature and that the Lord is concerned about it and wants our faith and hope in Him, but Cotton simply depicts that it is evident that the best way to portray this spiritual nature is through our bodily nature and its willingness and responses to God’s calling. Cotton even declares that “faith with boldness resigns up his calling into the hands of God or man” (Cotton 73). This boldness that Cotton refers to is the spiritual faith that our bodily nature puts to work. Although Cotton uses the collision of the spiritual and bodily nature together to justify reverence to God, Edwards regards the two much differently as there is a greater emphasis on the work done within the heart as opposed to its visual …show more content…
However, this bodily nature differs from Cotton’s views. Edwards sees the bodily nature of faith expressing itself in ways similar to athletics: working outwardly in prayer or Bible preparation to make the heart stronger. The effectiveness of an athlete on game day is not possible without the preparation and practice previously put in. Similarly, these unseen acts such as prayer and reading the Bible are crucial in obtaining a persistent and strong heart that is able to vigorously seek the Lord. These are not the same kind of bodily functions that Cotton emphasizes because they are not just a reflection, but these act as preparation for satisfying and strengthening the spiritual nature that Edwards emphasizes so much. Edwards does not regard religion in a light that emphasizes work or actions; he refers to religion as a very spiritual experience that should be regarded with deep thought, vigourous work in one 's heart, and persistence in studying the Word in hopes of strengthening a spiritual bond with God. Although Cotton and Edwards differ greatly, Luther reconciles both of their ideas through the theory that outward works (our bodily nature) simply reflect the important values of the heart (our spiritual