Jonathan Edwards : Early Colonial Theologist And Religious Revivalist

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.

Jonathan Edwards, a famous preacher in pre-colonial times, composed a sermon that was driven to alert and inject neo Puritanical fear into an eighteenth century congregation. This Bible based and serious audience sought after religious instruction and enlightenment. Through the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards offers a very harsh interpretation to humankind. Edwards utilizes various rhetorical techniques to evoke an emotional response in his audience and to persuade the members of his congregation that their wicked actions will awaken a very ruthless and merciless God.

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

On July 8th 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in Enfield, Connecticut. Edwards states to his listeners that God does not lack in power, and that people have yet not fallen to destruction because his mercy. God is so forgiving that he gives his people an opportunity to repent and change their ways before it was too late. Edwards urges that the possibility of damnation is immanent. Also that it urgently requires the considerations of the sinner before time runs out. He does not only preach about the ways that make God so omnipotent, but the ways that he is more superior to us. In his sermon, Edwards uses strong, powerful, and influential words to clearly point out his message that we must amend

Later on, Professor Lambert mentioned a revival in Freehold, New Jersey that occurred at a similar time as the Northampton revival. Once again, the revival was never referenced by newspapers during the revival; however, this awakening became well-known among evangelicals in 1736, when Jonathan Edwards heard about it from a man named William Tennent. Although these two revivals were never mentioned during the actual event, Lambert ironically noted, “ By 1739, however, Northampton and Freehold had become linked in the minds of evangelicals as sites in a great and general awakening, in large measure because the Faithful Narrative, first to memorialize the event, had quickly emerged as a model for revival accounts elsewhere.” Jonathan Edwards’s ingenious Faithful Narrative on the Northampton awakening became a template for other evangelicals to copy for their individual town’s revival.

George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards were both two extreme zealous preachers and very different from each other but had a similar message. George Whitefield was an English Minster, evangelist, and preacher. Whitefield’s purpose was to encourage people to repent their sins and transmute their sinful ways and become preserved to Christ. As for Jonathan Edwards he was a Puritan, preacher and philosopher. Edwards’ concept was to fixate on the experience in religion; he wanted people to understand the distinction between what Edward called a 'merely notional understanding ' of something and 'being in some way inclined ' with reverence. He wanted people to understand the nature and experience of religion. Both Whitefield and Edwards were important figures in Christianity; they could also be seen as entertainers of that time.

Jonathan Edwards was a Puritan minister who sparked the era of the Great Awakening with his most famous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. The Great Awakening was an era in the 18th

Jonathan Edwards, a Congregationalist minister in western Massachusetts, who was shocked at the dissipating religious spirit, believing that people were giving up to sinful pleasures. He worked against the secularization of the Enlightenment and focus on pushing the emotional side of religion by expressing the wonderful nature of Heaven and the horror of Hell, helping to renew intensity behind religion. This idea of Heaven and Hell was stated in his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, intended to scare people into looking for salvation, with descriptions of people being held over a fire in Hell. This is expressive of the change of social norms in Puritan New England, where going to the Minister’s house as opposed to the Tavern was acceptable. This also shows the more individualized ideals people had, for they were presented with the option of achieving their own salvation and take responsibility for their lives, having the option of maintaining a personal connection with God. (ch 3 txtbk)

It reflects on the Puritans’’ ideals and beliefs. Such as, they believed in salvation and that the fate of individual soul was predetermined by God. Also, that salvation was a private choice among God and the 'Elect'. Elects or Saints were the ones who were saved and the ones who weren't were 'wicked’.

The preaches would publicly advocate, during the First Great Awakening, was that God has already decided who will live in eternal salvation (heaven). Jonathan Edwards was a huge influence in the new religious revival (The Great Awakening) by becoming a founding and central figure. He believed that the American people were losing interest in religion because they prioritize other

One of the many famous revivalists, Jonathan Edwards is credited with sparking the Great Awakening in the colonies through his famous sermons such as Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God and leading one of the very first revivals in Massachusetts. Edwards’ use of vivid descriptions of Hell successfully reinstated the colonists’ need for salvation and assured good works and dependence on God’s grace would help earn it. Edwards played a critical role in the Great Awakening in which he was able to spread the ideals of the Awakening like wildfire and help the colonists bring religion back into their lives.

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

The most famous preacher leading the revivals was George Whitefield, whose primary message was that people were saved through God’s grace. He traveled and preached to thousands of people who eventually became “saved” by God’s grace.