Book Review: Heaven on Earth by Stephen J. Nichols

Date August 30, 2006 Posted by Roger Overton

It’s easy for some people to become “so heavily minded
they’re of no earthly good,” while others are more likely to be too earthly
minded to be of no heavenly good. Scripture points us to a middle path, a way
to live between the two worlds. Stehpen J. Nichols sheds light on this path
through a collection of sermons by Jonathan Edwards in Heaven on Earth.

Through seven brief chapters Dr. Nichols explores a handful
of Jonathan Edwards’s sermons in an effort to explain what it means to live on
earth with a vision of heaven. It includes themes of pilgrimage, citizenship,
just action, waiting, and true happiness found in God’s purposes for mankind.
The book also includes an introduction on how to read Edwards’ sermons, and an
appendix containing an abridged version of the sermon “Heaven Is a World of
Love.”

This is a book that gets better as it goes, which
makes its short length disappointing. I especially found the final two chapters
to be insightful and though-provoking. Readers unfamiliar with Jonathan Edwards
will learn much about his life as application of what he taught. While not an
academically sophisticated work, Heaven on Earth will challenge every
reader to make practical use of the theological truths it describes.

Related posts:

  1. Book Review: Spiritual Birthline by Stephen E. Smallman
  2. Free Jonathan Edwards
  3. Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions
  4. Book Review: Further Up & Further In by Bruce Edwards
  5. Book Review: Beyond the Shadowlands by Wayne Martindale
  6. Book Review: Rick Warren and the Purpose that Drives Him by Richard Abanes

Category Posted in Book Reviews, Main Page, Roger's Posts

3 Responses to “Book Review: Heaven on Earth by Stephen J. Nichols”

  1. Anonymous said:

    September 2nd, 2006 at 9:26 pm

    Roger,
    I have to teach “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” to my juniors, and though last year I did a decent job of presenting Edwards' plea to the unregenerate in his congregation, and the Puritan outlook on general, I'm looking to improve my game this year.
    Do you think this book can be helpful? Would it be more useful as a resourse to deepen my own understanding/appreciation of this foundational American thinker, or is there any material between those covers that might help supplement my lesson more directly?
    Jeff Coulter
    P.S.— caught you on Apol.com. With Snyder, you gotta drive through and make your points, and not let him wax so philosophical. He forgets he's the host and that he's there to set you up for your delivery. You were too polite. But an enjoyable show. Keep up the good work.

  2. Anonymous said:

    September 4th, 2006 at 2:57 pm

    Hey Mr. Coulter!
    If you're specifically only looking at “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, I'm not sure this would be the book to turn to. Though I haven't read it, A God Entranced Vision of All Things edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor would probably help you more with understanding Edwards and his vision (Nichols has a biographical chapter in that book).
    Thanks for the encouragement regarding the radio show!

  3. Anonymous said:

    September 17th, 2006 at 2:24 am

    Thanks for the reply. High school lit. classes are surveys, so we can't hang out very long w/ Edwards. Sinners is the sole representative sample of his corpus (though I have to admit our lit. book is not antagonistic to it, as my university professor was: what a rant we got that night!). We must move on to Ben Franklin's Deism.
    But I am aware of my ignorance of Edwards' larger work, and the Great Awakening in general, so I'll note the Piper & Taylor title. Thank-you.

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