How many people in the pews know that [ Jonathan Edwards] is both a founder of evangelicalism and, say, an idealist who denied that the material world exists?

The Reformed tradition at the beginning of the twenty-first century is different as a consequence of this - and different in nontrivial ways. Some may scoff at this, saying that such "developments" don't represent Reformed thought. But by what standard? Perhaps by the Westminster Confession. But this is only one Reformed confession, and it was only ever a subordinate standard.

God shows us in Christ what he would have to do if he were to punish us for our sins.

For instance, there are many mainstream Reformed theologians that deny the doctrine of "limited" atonement (the "L" in TULIP, the acrostic for the Five Points of Calvinism). These are not thinkers on the margins or troublemakers. They are leaders at the center of Reformed thinking like Bishop John Davenant.

For those who have only ever read about [John] Calvin, reading the man himself is an invigorating experience.

[Calvinistic tradition] has fashioned and shaped my thinking since I was a teenager.

[ Jonathan] Edwards is one of my heroes. I've learned much from him over the years.