What Are the Affections? The Heart of True Religion | Jonathan Edwards

Deep Dive into Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards - It May Be Inquired, What the Affections of the Mind Are?Jonathan Edwards defines the affections of the mind as the vigorous and sensible exercises of the soul's inclination and will. He explains that God equipped the human soul with two primary faculties. The first is the understanding, which allows a person to perceive, view, and judge the world. The second faculty is the inclination or will, frequently referred to as the heart, which determines how a person feels about what they perceive. Through this second faculty, the soul does not merely observe as an indifferent spectator, but either approves and likes something, or disapproves and rejects it.Edwards argues that the will and the affections are not distinct faculties; rather, affections are simply the more lively, vigorous, and sensible actions of the will. While every voluntary action involves the will, ordinary actions are not typically called affections unless they reach a high degree of intensity. For instance, a strong degree of liking is the affection of love, while a strong disliking is hatred. Similarly, a high inclination toward something absent is desire, and a strong pleasedness with something present is joy or delight.Because of the natural union between the soul and the body, these vigorous exercises of the will inevitably produce physical effects, particularly altering the movement of bodily fluids and animal spirits around the heart. However, Edwards clarifies that the mind alone is the true seat of the affections, and the body merely reflects these spiritual motions. Even a spirit without a body is fully capable of experiencing affections.Finally, Edwards categorizes affections into two main types: those that draw the soul toward something, such as love, joy, and hope, and those that oppose something, like hatred, fear, and grief. He also notes the existence of mixed affections, such as pity and zeal, which combine elements of both approval and opposition.Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologianYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReformedExplainerWorship Music: https://suno.com/playlist/3a498d0f-c90e-4981-8aa7-59834e7239f7https://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730