February 27, 2025. A Supreme Desire to Please Him: The Spirituality of Adoniram Judson by Evan D. Burns (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2016). I finished reading this book on the spirituality of Adoniram Judson and found it to be an excellent work. I thoroughly enjoyed this study and added this publication to my personal list of Top Ten Books on Ann and/or Adoniram Judson.
From the organization of the book, it is obvious this is a well-written doctoral dissertation by E. D. Burns. The simple and straightforward outline is refreshing and told the reader what to expect next. It was thrilling to read footnotes that were sometimes longer than the topic they referenced. Dr. Burns fleshed out Judson’s “disinterested benevolence” in a worthy fashion without making AJ into a second century martyr or a twentieth-century Mother Theresa.
I had been curious about the influence of Madame Guyon on AJ but had not taken the time to do the research on my own. Burns helped fill that gap and I now hope to find her book that Burns recommend, “A Short and Easy Method of Prayer.” Burns does not demean or belittle AJ’s interest in Catholic spirituality or even devotional Buddhism which I find helpful in my ecumenical and international life. I highly recommend this book researched and written by a missionary in northern Thailand. Thank you, Dr. Burns.