Jonathon Edwards Life And Beliefs

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

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.

One of the most influential writers and new light preachers was Jonathan Edwards. Edwards was born into an Orthodox family on October 5th, 1703, in the city of East Windsor, Connecticut. As a child, Jonathan Edwards had constant exposure to the teachings of the Bible and Christian theology, as well as having the opportunity to learn a variety of languages such as Greek and Latin (University). Throughout his childhood, Edwards received an adequate and excellent education from his father and ten sisters, so that he could be prepared to attend college and earn his undergraduate and graduate degrees in philosophy and theology. Furthermore, when Edwards was only eleven years old, he wrote his first piece of scientific literature titled “Flying Spider,” in which he accurately portrayed scientific observation and marvelous literary skills

He made several trips to America to preach. Whitefield was most famous for his stentorian voice and his passion while preaching. He was said to have helped begin the Great Awakening mainly in the southern colonies. He was not the only one to contribute. Jonathan Edwards is a key person in the Great Awakening, even being thought to be the first preacher of it (Ppt). He is most famous for his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” (p. 100). His sermon was intended to frighten the colonists so intensively that they would come to salvation, even going as far to say, “The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or other loathsome insect over the fire abhors you… his wrath towards you burns like a fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire.” (Jonathan Edwards). Edwards is thought to have started the revivals in Massachusetts, giving other preachers the chance to follow in the other

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

On July 8, 1741, in Enfield Connecticut, the speech Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, was delivered. The sermon was given by British Colonial Christian theologian Jonathan Edwards. His goal and purpose was to teach and warn people of the dangers of sins and the horrors of the afterlife. The speech was given at his own congregation in Northampton, Massachusetts to an unknown effect. Edwards had started The Great Awakening from his preaching. He was also a descendant of four generations of Puritan ministers and the most renowned and influential of Puritan Leaders. Edward began his sermon by saying "In this verse is threatened the Vengeance of God on the wicked unbelieving Israelites, that were God's visible People, and lived under Means of Grace: and that, notwithstanding all" He also states "Gods wonderful Works that he had wrought towards that People, yet remained, as is expressed."(ver. 28. Void of Counsels)

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)

Over time people felt that religion was dying, and not many people really had one or practiced one, people felt that they needed to revive religion and this was known as the Great Awakening. This Great Awakening started with the fundamentals of religion, and tried to bring people back to christianity. John Edwards was like the leader, he was the head preacher and explained that good salvation game from God and not from doing good. During this Great Awakening, there was another preacher who soon came along, his name was George Whitefield. George Whitefield brought emotion out of people, he was a great speaker, but

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.

Jonathan Edwards, call by many the greatest theologian of the great awakening, was born on October 5, 1703.(Keesee Sidwell 77) Born to Timothy Edwards and Estar Stoddard, he was their only son. He received a quality education from both his father and elder sisters. At the age of 13 he began studying at Yale college and soon read John Locke's essay concerning human understanding which left an imprint on his life I was very formative for him. He continued through his education and at the age of 19 began preaching and a Presbyterian Church in New York City. After eight months there, he returned home to work as a tutor at Yale. Then, in 1727 he became an ordained minister in North Hampton. The same year, he got married to a woman named Sarah Pierpont with whom he had 11 children.

By the year of 1735, the revival that began with Edwards’ church had expanded. The revival had gone from the grounds of Northampton to New Jersey. With the expansion of the revival, the numbers of doubters grew. There were many people throughout New England who doubted Edwards’ sincerity of God’s Words, and felt that he was leading his flock of believers (new and old) to ultimate damnation. These doubts got so great that some