Gratitude to God: Jonathan Edwards and the Opening of the Self

IF 1.1 0 RELIGION

Scientia et Fides Pub Date : 2021-08-29 DOI:10.12775/setf.2021.021

K. Strobel

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Abstract: The study of gratitude has become an increasingly important topic among psychologists to address the nature of human flourishing. Of more recent interest is how gratitude to God specifically functions within an account of human flourishing, with theologians seeking to provide a distinctively Christian account of the nature of gratitude. This article enters into the ongoing conversation by attending to Jonathan Edwards’s (1703-1758) theological anthropology and development of natural and supernatural gratitude. In particular, Edwards’s anthropology includes within it an account of how the self can, and should, enlarge to receive another in love. This “enlargement” is the creaturely mirror of God’s self-giving and is the supernatural response to the creature who has received God’s grace and been infused with divine love. As a supernatural response based on God’s action in the soul, this account of gratitude differs from its natural counterpart. On Edwards’s account, therefore, there is a need to develop studies that differentiate natural and supernatural gratitude. Furthermore, this article ends with a suggestion for a study that could pick up this task based on recent psychological studies that attend to how gratitude affects self-relation. On Edwards’s account of the enlargement of the self, as well as his notion of supernatural gratitude, there is meaningful research to be done on how these can help assess development in the formation of gratitude and human flourishing.

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感谢上帝:乔纳森·爱德华兹和自我的开放

摘要:感恩研究已成为心理学家研究人类繁荣本质的重要课题。最近的兴趣是对上帝的感激是如何在人类繁荣的描述中发挥作用的，神学家们试图提供一种独特的基督教感恩本质的描述。本文通过关注乔纳森·爱德华兹(1703-1758)的神学人类学以及自然和超自然感恩的发展，进入了正在进行的对话。特别地，爱德华兹的人类学包含了一个关于自我如何能够，并且应该，在爱中接受另一个人的解释。这种“扩大”是上帝自我给予的受造物的镜子，是对接受上帝恩典并被注入神圣之爱的受造物的超自然反应。作为一种超自然的反应，基于上帝在灵魂中的行动，这种对感恩的描述不同于自然的对应。因此，根据爱德华兹的说法，有必要开展区分自然感恩和超自然感恩的研究。此外，本文最后提出了一项研究建议，该研究可以根据最近关于感恩如何影响自我关系的心理学研究来完成这项任务。根据爱德华兹对自我扩展的解释，以及他对超自然感恩的概念，这些如何帮助评估感恩形成过程中的发展和人类繁荣的研究是有意义的。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Scientia et Fides RELIGION-

CiteScore

1.80

自引率

10.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： "Scientia et Fides" (SetF) is an open access online journal published twice a year. It is promoted by the Faculty of Theology of Nicolaus Copernicus University, in Torun, in collaboration with the Group of Research “Science, Reason and Faith” (CRYF), at the University of Navarra. The journal is characterised by the interdisciplinary approach, multiplicity of research perspectives and broad reflection on methodology as well as analysis of the latest publications on the relationship between science and faith. The tasks of the journal are perfectly expressed by the motto "Veritas in omnibus quaerenda est" ("to seek the truth in all things") from "De revolutionibus" by Nicolaus Copernicus. SetF aims to present rigorous research works regarding different aspects of the relationship between science and religion. For this reason, SetF articles are not confined to the methodology of a single discipline and may cover a wide range of topics, provided that the interdisciplinary dialogue between science and religion is undertaken. The journal accepts articles written in English, Spanish, Polish, French, Italian and German which will be evaluated by a peer-review process.