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Rating: 
Summary: Something of a disappointment
Review: There are several positive aspects to this book. It gives a good presentation of the doctrine of illumination as being a wholly supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. It discusses Edwards's view of the Trinity, which is truly thought provoking, if speculative. It introduces the reader to Plantinga's theory of warrant and Coady's work on testimony, both of which can help Christians maintain their bearings in the midst of the prevailing postmodernism of our culture. On the negative side, the book started life as Nichols's Ph.D. dissertation, and though presumably reworked somewhat for the popular reader, it still retains the polemic and strained tone of an academic work. I much prefer it when an author is motivated by passion than by the need to demonstrate his case in lawyer-like fashion. (See Calvin's "The Bondage and Liberation of the Will"--translated into English for the first time just eight years ago--for an example of passionate writing!) I also thought Nichols did a poor job of explaining difficult, nuanced concepts such as the internum testimonium Spiritus Sancti, though this may have been because his original audience consisted of seminary professors who didn't require an explanation from the ground up. If you read everything on Edwards that you can get your hands on, you will probably want to read this. Otherwise, I would suggest you pass on this one.
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