Jonathan Edwards Center Benelux

In 2011 ETF Leuven established the Jonathan Edwards Center Benelux, in cooperation with the VU University Amsterdam, affiliated with the Jonathan Edwards Center of Yale University. There is a network of JEC affiliates in Australia, the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands), Brazil, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Poland, South Africa, the UK, USA-Midwest, and USA-West.

The Jonathan Edwards Center Benelux is headquartered at the ETF Leuven and serves as a research, education and publications hub for the study of Edwards and evangelical history and develops links with the international academic community.

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), pastor, revivalist, Christian philosopher, missionary, and president of Princeton University, is widely regarded as North America’s greatest theologian. He is the subject of intense scholarly interest because of his significance as an historical figure and the profound legacy he left on America’s religious, political and intellectual landscapes.

In recent years, a rapidly growing interest in Edwards as theologian has brought the man and his writings onto the world stage, pressing beyond the popular and more parochial image of Edwards primarily as American preacher and American historic figure. Increasingly, his writings are being consulted by religious leaders, pastors, and churches around the world, spurred by a growing recognition of the fervency and universality of the Edwards message and the acumen with which he appraised religious experience.

This interest in Edwards globally has been fueled in part by the work of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University, whose sole mission is to support inquiry into the life, writings, and legacy of Jonathan Edwards by providing resources that encourage critical appraisal of the historical importance and contemporary relevance of America’s premier theologian. The primary means to achieve this is with the Works of Jonathan Edwards Online, a digital learning environment for research, education and publication, that presents all of Edwards’s writings, along with helpful editorial materials that allow the reader to examine Edwards’s thought in incredibly powerful, useful ways. The Works of Jonathan Edwards Online 2.0 is accessible through the Center’s web site at: edwards.yale.edu.

Researchers

Senior Researchers

• Prof. Dr. Andreas J. Beck (Director; ETF Leuven)
• Prof. Dr. Wim van Vlastuin (Director; VU Amsterdam)
• Dr. Philip Fisk (ETF Leuven)
• Dr. John Lowe (Research fellow, VU Amsterdam)

Junior Researchers

• Song Kim (ETF Leuven)
• Michael Plato (VU Amsterdam)
• Schalk Strauss (VU Amsterdam)