Jonathan Edwards : The Great Awakening

In the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Edwards displays controversial viewpoints and ideas concerning heaven and hell. As Edwards speaks to the congregation he warns them of the misery and suffering they will face if they do not repent of certain sins. He also describes God as angry which probably struck fear into the hearts on many. To illustrate his own point that hell is unenviable without repentance Jonathan Edwards creates the idea of an angry God using intense similes, a harsh tone, and strong emotional appeal in “Sinners in the hand of an Angry God”.

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.

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

Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield had an indirect impact on the American Revolution due the Great Awakening. The Great Awakening was a revival of a person’s personal spirituality sparked by Whitefield and Edwards; which de-emphasized the church. The revolution preached similar messages regarding criticism and tensions of authority. Without these two men, the American Revolution would not have happened as early as it did, if it all.

Before the First Great Awakening, a revolution known as the Glorious Revolution of 1688, stopped the fighting between religious and political groups. The Glorious Revolution declared the Church of England the reigning church of the country. Now that all of the colonists were under the same religious rule, religion became a past time or a “go through the motions”

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.

From 1689 to 1754, new societies in North America required diversity in religion, laws restricting slaves, and class structure. The Glorious Revolution in England shifted power in the English colonies. Catholics were excluded from the freedom given to Protestants by the royal charters. Catholics were also removed from public office and lost power while Protestants gained rights when the Anglican Church eventually became Maryland’s official church. Previously, Protestant men were unable to vote and excluded from voting lists and now they had the rights to vote and be a part of the religious group. “Baptists, Anglicans, and others were now free to build their own church and worship as they wished.” (Fraser 96)

Jonathan Edwards, different views in world religion and in the act of worship created a conflict. A conflict that caused people to question their faith, practice, and participation in minister. His outburst against the norm practice of John Calvin’s “Calvinism” approach to religion “sparked what became known as the Great Awakening in the American colonies” (ushistory.org, 2016). How two men with a different approach to religion created change between the new and old

The American revolution had been a very secular issue. The Founding Fathers demonstrated their position by creating a separation of church and state in the first amendment of the Constitution. This lead to a series of religious revivals in the US between the 1790’s and the 1830’s. This are known today as the Second Great Awakening, this events altered fundamentally the character of American religion. At the beginning of the Revolution, there were three prominent religious denominations: Congregationalists (descendants of Puritan churches), Anglicans (Episcopalians) and the Quakers. By the end of 1800, Evangelical Methodism and Baptists were the fastest-growing religions in the nation.

Religion has been around since the discovery of America. Many European immigrants came to America to escape the traditions of the Church of England. The people wanted religious freedom. Most, however, tried to force their religious beliefs on the people who came to settle in their colonies creating a divide. It wasn’t until The Great Awakening, which started in the New England colonies, occurred that people rose up and revolted against the norms of religion and began to worship the way they wanted to. This divisive time period greatly impacted the American colonies by allowing true religious freedom to all the people.

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards used phrases and parallelism that could simply move his listener or reader. Edwards described his view of a vengeful God and the consequences of sin with such strong emotion and vividness that it was sure too shaken up most, if

Religion, a social construct formed in the minds of humans, constantly fluctuating to conform to the ideals of society. From the polytheistic system of the ancient Greeks to the overwhelmingly dominant monotheistic belief in God today, religion shapes the world as we know it. No matter if a person believes in one God, many gods, or no God, any form of religion even in a specific sect has experienced massive changes depending on the times. Come to Jonathan Edwards, a man born in 1703 who played a major part in the first awakening, in which millions of people along the eastern seaboard converted to Christianity. Starting in 1734 Edwards and his followers could do no wrong with many people wishing to convert, inquiring with his congregation. One of the most well-known events of the first great awakening was Jonathan Edward’s sermon “In the Hands of an Angry God” in which he preached a vengeful God and the horrors of hell that only God could prevent an inevitable fall into. This played greatly into Edwards own beliefs of Christian commitment where to be a true Christian, one must accept the over-arching sovereignty of God and of mankind’s precarious position over hell. () Eminently, it becomes obvious the reason for Edwards preaching of a vengeful God, as though invoking a form of fearful pathos, an appeal to the emotion of the audience, more individuals would become enraptured in the fear of God and therefore would be more likely to ask for forgiveness and convert to