Puritan Values In John Newton's Prayers Answered By Crosses

Erikson explains that to most English people of the 16th century, Puritans became an annoying sect of rebels. Overbearing and unrelenting, many detested the exaggeration of conventional values that the Puritans displayed. Feeling restricted by the formalities of the Church, Puritans quickly became deviant in the eyes of society. By moving to Massachusetts Bay, Puritans hoped to create their own ideas of what is “right” and “wrong”, much like any community attempting to set boundaries. However, problems arose when laws were to be mandated in a Biblical sense. God could not sit at a pulpit in a courtroom, so then how would a strictly religious group maintain itself? As Erikson states, “one of the surest ways to confirm an identity, for communities as well as individuals, is to find some way of measuring what one is not”. From this, they developed a keen sense of Devil distinction – that is, ways in which the Devil presented himself through the behaviors of individuals.

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a sermon written by Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), a theologian and philosopher in the British Colonies of America. He was raised as a puritan in Connecticut and grew up to be one of America’s most influential protestant revivalists of that time. He delivered many sermons, the most well-known being “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Edwards gave this sermon on July 8, 1741 in Northampton, Massachusetts. The main purpose of this sermon was to convey to the audience the reality of hell, the need to change their wicked lives, and, ultimately, that they should fear the wrath of God. Edwards does this to motivate the audience to live their lives as perfectly as they can in order to not anger God and to avoid Hell.

Religion had a powerful impact on Puritans lives. Many Puritan people had faith in a supreme being, God, and the teachings of his Divine Son, Jesus Christ. They’d assume that if you weren’t a good Christian they would suffer in hell, but if you were one would be saved by god. An example would be in the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” the speaker strongly describes about how being a bad Christian has its consequences and the good things that come of being a good Christian. “Many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.”(152)This explains how they had a strong feeling towards god’s ways. By being concerned about their religious life and being good Christians.

Puritans believe God has an influence on humans in our daily life. Edwards asserts, “His mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction” (81). This quote explains to us that God’s forgiveness holds us from, at any second, dropping down into the deep depths of hell. God observes our life and helps us every step of the way by pushing us as much as he can in the right direction. Edwards believes, “And yet it is nothing but His hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment” (81). Edwards for the second time says something relatively about God’s hand and how He is the one who holds us and keeps us out of the fiery pits. This quote shows us how God’s pleasure keeps us from falling into a

When the Puritan came to the New World after being rejected in England for their beliefs, they knew the demand of perfection in God’s eyes could never be fully accomplish. Humans could never live up to the standards that God set out. After settling in New England, the Puritan became well aware they needed to have law enforcement with religious obligations, and most importantly the sexual temptations. Knowing that human could never fully obey God’s word and always be tempted, the puritans enforced certain punishments for certain sexual crimes, including fornication, adultery, rape and buggery or sodomy.

One of the most central beliefs in Puritan faith is that human nature is evil. They constantly need to access themselves and make up for their sins. That is a point that is strongly emphasized throughout the sermon. In fact, even the first sentence brings this belief into light, claiming, “natural men…deserved the fiery pit.” He says that their wickedness is making them heavy like lead, weighing them down into hell. In his opinion they have done nothing to appease God’s anger and gain his grace, which is, in Puritan faith, the only way to be saved from the pits of hell. He describes God’s anger as “great waters

In Huswifery, by Edward Taylor, he says, “My words and actions, that their shine may fill/ my waves with glory and thee glorify.”(Taylor lines 15-16) He is saying that if God fills his life with his spirit and help him become the best he can be, then he will glorify and praise him. In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” it states in the first paragraph when talking about God's wrath, “Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth….”(Edwards 124) The author is writing about how God is all powerful and he can decide if you go to hell or heaven. In a life as a Puritan, literature was all about glorifying God and education. They did not believe in

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

The constant fear would be held above all’s heads and cause the mentally weak, to go insane. Puritans belief that God was the main controller meant that he would punish anyone who would do anything that was sinful. They would not help anyone who had fallen sick or had a misfortune, because they saw it as God’s will. God was more powerful than anyone on Earth, and would punish the damn more than any physical pain could. Children were the most susceptible to sinful nature because they were seen as promiscuous (Discovery Education).

In his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (1741), Jonathan Edwards claims that anyone who is not “born again” is a sinner and is waiting to be thrust down to hell in a state of endless misery and the only way to be saved from this is to become a Puritan. Edwards supports his claim of the Puritan religion being the only saving thing from damnation by explaining how hell is being prepared for those who are not “born again,” that any unconverted are in the hands of an angry God, and then concluding by saying to the people that they have the chance to be saved and live in a happy state, of they are “born again.” His purpose is to illustrate the woe that awaits for those who are not “born again” in order to persuade them to want to be

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’.

Jonathan Edwards states, “nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment..”(Edward 48). This quote examines that all human are originally sinned. In the early years of Americans, human nature is established upon religious beliefs which were puritanism and deism. Puritans believed in predestination which meant that god planned eternal damnation for some and eternal salvation for others. In the other hand, Deist believed in perfectibility of every individual through the use of reason and they always seeked to improve themselves therefore; they were not dependent on God. The major

The Church of England intended to separate from Catholicism and introduce reforms in a new Protestant religion. The Puritans however thought that the Church of England still held too many of the Catholic church’s beliefs. In the Puritan religion, there was an emphasis on sovereignty and righteousness. It was also believed that all humans were depraved sinners who were unable to deem themselves worthy to God. The Puritans did believe in a predestination of some sort where God chose who was worthy for salvation, and people who did not live accordingly to the Lord’s divine law were rightly punished. The Puritans believed that it was their goal to become a “New Jerusalem.” They believed that God and Satan were in everyday life and the center of their lives was religion. The

The world of Puritan New England, like the world of today, was filled with many evil influences. Many people were able to withstand temptation, but some fell victim to the dark side. Such offences against God, in thought, word, deed, desire or neglect, are what we define as sin (Gerber 14).

Puritan believers are taught to live a strict lifestyle and to adhere to the word of God. This is why the ramifications of sinful behavior are punished by God.