13 August 2008

Tom Schafer

As I listened to John Gerstner's 24 lectures on Jonathan Edwards four years ago, he mentioned one name more than any other, repeatedly drawing attention to the person he considered the definitive Edwards scholar of the twentieth century. That man, Thomas A. Schafer, died last week.

One indicator of Schafer's love for Edwards and helpfulness to the rest of us: many of JE's manuscripts were undated, particularly pre-1733 sermons. Schafer took it upon himself to meticulously examine the water marks, handwriting, and paper quality of the manuscripts to diagnose their date.

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