A Careful and Strict Inquiry into the Modern Prevailing Notions of the Freedom of the Will is one of the most formidable works ever written on human freedom, moral responsibility, and divine sovereignty. In this newly presented edition, Jonathan Edwards' enduring masterpiece is rendered into clear modern English and accompanied by extensive commentary from S. C. Sayles, allowing contemporary readers to engage Edwards' argument without losing its depth, rigor, or force.
Originally published in 1754, Edwards' work confronts the claim-still dominant in modern theology and philosophy-that moral responsibility requires a libertarian freedom of the will, understood as self-determining and undetermined by prior causes. With relentless precision, Edwards dismantles this assumption. He argues instead that moral agency, praise and blame, virtue and vice, reward and punishment, are only intelligible where acts of the will arise necessarily from motive, inclination, and character.
Far from denying human freedom, Edwards redefines it. True liberty, he insists, is not freedom from determination, but freedom from coercion-the ability to act according to one's will. The will itself, however, is always determined by what appears most agreeable at the moment of choice. This moral necessity, Edwards argues, does not undermine responsibility; it grounds it. To sever choice from motive is not to elevate freedom, but to render moral judgment meaningless.
This edition is not an abridgement, paraphrase, or reinterpretation. It is a faithful modern-language translation of Edwards' complete text, preserving the structure, logic, and argumentative weight of the original while removing the linguistic barriers of eighteenth-century prose. Edwards is allowed to speak in full, uninterrupted.
Following each section, S. C. Sayles provides clearly marked commentary and analysis. These essays guide the reader through Edwards' reasoning, clarify technical distinctions (such as moral vs. natural necessity), expose common modern misreadings, and situate the argument within both historical and contemporary debates-without softening Edwards' conclusions or domesticating his claims.
This volume is especially valuable for readers who have heard Edwards invoked but never truly read him, for pastors and theologians wrestling with questions of grace, sin, and responsibility, and for philosophers concerned with free will, determinism, and moral accountability. It is equally suited for individual study, classroom use, and serious theological reflection.
More than two centuries after its publication, Edwards' argument remains unsettling precisely because it refuses easy answers. It forces the reader to choose between intuitive comfort and conceptual coherence. This edition invites that encounter honestly.
This is not a book for those seeking reassurance.
It is a book for those seeking truth.
