Edwards Personal Narrative

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is widely recognized as one of America’s most profound Theologians. Some might even consider him the master of Puritan revival, since he was the leader of the Great Awakening. During his time he was a devout Calvinist who had the power of single-handedly keeping the Puritan faith strong for over twenty-five years, by using vivid imagery to provoke his audience. Edward's dialect was exquisitely influential and yet wielded with class and ease. This essay argues that Edwards was a prestigious theologian in his time that helped shape modern religious culture.

His use of imagery to influence was, Paragraph 4 “O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in; it is a great furnace of the wrath, a wide and bottomless pit full of fire of wrath , that you are held over in the hands of that God.” Edwards is getting an emotional(pathos) reaction from society itself and his congregation that he is talking down to, because of their sinful ways it has now gotten them in the hands of God over a pit of fire and nothing can be done except that he won't let you fall because of his patience is being held within. Persuading them with fear of being thrown into fire to get them to change not only for living a righteous life but for God, so he won't have to leave you and hell also for you and your change of heart

After his first graduation, Edwards went on to continue his studies in theology and prepare for a life in ministry. Equally as successful with Edwards’s educational climb was his anointment in his pastoral call. Though he often questioned the sovereignty doctrine of God from an early age, his search for meaning and truth came about during his personal testimony of conversion when, at the age of seventeen he read 1 Timothy 1:17. It was then when he finally connected with the one and only true God that his life changed for the duration. It was this pivotal moment that marked his conversion and led to what would become the fervent, heart-felt preaching style that characterized his sermons and brought conviction to the hearts of the parishioners who heard him.

Jonathan Edwards Sermon “ Sinners in the Hands of an angry god” contributed into the Great Awakening, showing that Hell was real, and whoever defied god was put down. Edwards used dark imagery to get his our heads, the meaning that everyone is predestined and anyone can be sent to hell. Edwards says in his sermon that “ God's enemies are easily broken into pieces, they are a heap of light chaff before the whirlwind”(2). Edwards hoped that the imagery and language of his sermon would awaken audiences to the horrific reality that he believed awaited them, should they continue life without their devotion to Christ? This made many people horrified and help start the great Awakening, making Christians more aware of the power of Christ, and increase their devotion to Christ.

Jonathan Edwards's sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is moving and powerful. His effectiveness as an eighteenth century New England religious leader is rooted in his expansive knowledge of the Bible and human nature, as well as a genuine desire to "awaken" and save as many souls as possible. This sermon, delivered in 1741, exhibits Edwards's skillful use of these tools to persuade his congregation to join him in his Christian beliefs.

Jonathan Edwards, a negative and realistic man, focused on how God is a judgemental god and sinners will be put to a painful death, they should be fearful. He says in the first few lines of his speech, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, “So that, thus it is that natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit.” (Edwards, Pg. 23) Edwards implies that everyone deserves to be in hell and he goes on to say that God is an angry God and that no one had done anything to try to ease His anger. Edwards also played a large role in the Great Awakening. He wanted people to experience Christianity in an intense and emotional way. In his speech, he said, “O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: It is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell.” (Edwards, Pg. 26) Edward’s speech was opportunity knocking at everyone’s doors. He influenced people to want to be saved in a way that made many fearful of what could happen to them if they weren’t saved or a child of God. Edwards believed that God set the world in motion, but was not active in everyone’s life. Edwards believed that God created the world and

Figurative language is another important factor for the story. In the story, he talked about wickedness in a person’s body. “Your wickedness makes you as it were as heavy as lead.” This will make you think that the amount of wickedness in one’s body is equivalent to the weight of lead. This might persuade people to go be “reborn” since they would want to get rid of most of that wickedness. Another example is the comparison of a person to a spider. “The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider.” Edwards use this to say that we’re no different than spiders in God’s eyes. We could be squished or dropped to our doom in a mater of seconds. Edwards also compared God’s wrath to the great waters. “The wrath of God is like great waters that are damned for the present, they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given, and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and

Jonathan Edwards was one of the sparks of the first Great Awakening. A Calvinist, he believed that mortal men and woman completely depended on the salvation of God (The Great Awakening). As a believer in the evangelical method, he would not simply preach in one place. He would travel from church to church, any that would welcome him, to spread his message. His sermons were not theatrical. He would not excessively gesture or feel a need to act along with his sermons. His sermons were filled with emotion that was evident through his voice.

Jonathan Edwards sought to return religion to its Calvinistic roots, and reawaken the fear of God in the hearts of sinners. His emotionally charged sermons evoked terrifying images of the utter corruption of human nature and the terrors awaiting the unrepentant in hell. Edwards was a powerful speaker and attracted a large following. His goal was not only to frighten

Jonathan Edwards was one of the most famed evangelical preachers in the Age of the Great Awakening. He is best known for his most impactful sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Edwards preached with fury and conviction of the All Great our God. He preached for the wanderers; those lost in their spiritual belief. Edwards uses a wide variety of figurative language and rhetorical techniques to urge unregenerate Christians to sanctify their lives and walk devoutly before God, using fear. During this time of recognition, renewal and self-reliance in one’s connection with God, Edwards’ sermon did nothing but illustrate the exact conception of the age of the Great Awakening.

The most important shift that Edwards created was served to be towards the ending of his sermon, he introduces Christ, “And now you have an extra ordinary opportunity, a day wherein

Edwards was now in charge of taking his grandfather’s place, being the minister of the largest and wealthiest churches in the entire colony. As a minister, he held to the complementarian outlook of marriage and gender roles, along with all the Reformers and Puritans of his time. He published his first sermon in 1731 entitled God Glorified in the Work of Redemption, by the Greatness of Man’s Dependence upon Him, In the Whole of It. In this sermon, it is clear that Edwards is blaming New England’s incorrect morals on their assumptions of religious and moral self-sufficiency. In the lecture, he discussed many topics. The emphasis being on “God’s absolute sovereignty in the work of salvation: that while it behooved God to create man pure and without sin, it was of his good pleasure and mere and arbitrary grace for him to grant any person the faith necessary to incline him or her toward holiness, and that God might deny this grace without any disparagement to any of his character.” This sermon was Edward’s first public attack on Arminianism. This brought up controversial thoughts, but also helped Edwards in becoming a key figure in the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and

For example, when preached to his own congregation in Northampton, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” achieved “limited effect;” however, the same sermon preached in Enfield incited such “shrieks and cries” and “wail[ing]” that Edwards could “never finish[] the sermon.” Because Edwards frequently travelled and challenged authority, he was able to impact many by introducing them to new ideas and style. His preaching style, which differed slightly from many contemporary revivalists, was a passionate yet deliberate method of relating complex concepts to the common people. For instance, he used “fire and brimstone” language in “Sinners…,” stating that “the wrath of Almighty God [was] undoubtedly hanging over a great part of [his] congregation.” When giving these messages, however, “he made no attempt by the elegance of his style or the beauty of his pictures to gratify the taste and fascinate the imagination,” instead relying on an “overwhelming weight of argument” to properly convey his message. This combination of intensity with logical progression brought religious fervor to everywhere he traveled. Edwards’ style and radical methods and ideas gave him unprecedented influence that largely contributed to the period known as the Great Awakening.

Upon reading about John Edwards and the downfall of his presidential campaign, several things resonated within our group ranging from Edwards’s shocking characterization in Chapter Seven to the scandal that ruined his campaign in Chapter Nine.

“It would have to come from her, he felt, the desire to be found. He believed he wanted to find her. He believed that once he did--once he could fix things--he would be able to tell Norah the truth”(144).