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God’s Unconditional Love vs. God’s Unending Anger Essay

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Everyone must accept God as their savior or they will go to hell. This is a very familiar message that is preached by Christian religious leaders in places of worship around the world. As simple as this message may seem, the way it is delivered to the people makes all the difference in either turning them into believers, or scaring them away from religion altogether. John Winthrop and Jonathan Edwards were both religious leaders that lived centuries before the present time. They shared the same goal in persuading people into Christianity, yet differed greatly in the way they chose to develop their sermons. Winthrop, a Puritan who wrote based on new religious and social ideals, composed the famous sermon “A Model of Christian Charity.” …show more content…

Winthrop outlines three detailed reasons to reform in his sermon that include glorifying God, manifesting in the work of the spirit, and providing Christian fellowship and helping others (Winthrop 1). He provides thorough questions and answers to why and how people should live wholesome Christian lives that include lending money and forgiving (Winthrop 2). He provides not only simple ways to live a charitable life of honoring God, but detailed reasons why. This is effective because it is easy to understand for people and encourages them to want to live this lifestyle. In “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God,” Edwards only talks about God’s wrath, hell, and how all people are “damned from birth” (Edwards 1). These frightening subjects do not promote a Christian lifestyle change, only a rude awakening. Edwards even specifially states that his sermon is intende to be an “awakening for unconverted persons” (Edwards 1). This is less effective than Winthrop’s sermon because it may scare people into the Christian faith, but it gives little detail of living a changed Christian life. Also, Edwards approach is so extreme, it may have an opposite effect on some listeners and scare them out of Christianity due to the harsh way he describes God and his anger. Edwards provides a frightening awakening message that proves less potent than Winthrop’s positive description of becoming a Christian

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