Rationalism In Colonial America

“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.

The Puritans arrived in the New World in the hopes of “purifying” the Church of England. They practiced certain principles that they believed in and that centered around the idea of God. The main purpose of their journey to New England was to set an example to others how the Church should be, and so their motive for settlement was solely related to religion. The Puritans positively influenced the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660s because they were a “city upon a hill” that served as an example to other parts of the world as a result of their strong belief in God.

In the 1630's and the 1640's, the Puritans traveled to the colonies to detach from their opinion of a convoluted Church of England. They set up towns and started new lives that were all based on their idea of a pure religion. The Puritan's definition of a pure religion did not include many of the ideas of the Church of England. They built the colonies and made a system based upon the idea that God was the most important aspect of life. Puritan ideas and values influenced the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660’s by spreading their beliefs into every facet of daily life. Politically their ideas regarding what was considered sinful behavior and how power was separated among the

In colonial America, two religions dominated its cultural history, the Puritans and the Quakers. Puritanism was born from the creation of a religion that seeks to fuse and at the same time, reform, the Catholic and

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'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.

Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of

In the works of Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” uses numerous persuasive techniques and biblical allusions. Edwards’ sermon lectures Puritans, people who strictly pursue to live by the bible, on how they are straying from the path of the bible. During his sermon, the Puritans were terrified of what he had said ,because every little sin each Puritan had committed they thought they were going to go to Hell. Edwards’ play on words, as well as his use of persuasive techniques, and biblical allusion convinced the Puritans that they were severely in trouble of going to Hell.

There have been three major influential movements in American history—Puritanism, Rationalism, and Romanticism. Each occurring during generally different time periods, they produced a number of different types of literature reflecting their beliefs at the time. The Puritans, being some of the first settlers in modern day America, relied heavily on beliefs they brought with them from the Church of England. Rather than simply being followers of their prior Church, Puritans believed in the Church as less of a structured organization and more of a spiritual journey or community. In these beliefs, the Puritans sought to bring religion, spirituality, and the Bible into mainstream thought. The Puritans had a number of other important beliefs

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’.

During the 1600’s, puritans emigrated from England and made settlements in the New England regions along the Massachusetts Bay. The puritans did not primarily have much interest in economic development but rather wanted to create a pure Christian society that evolved around the community and family aspects of life. Puritans made a system based on economic ideas of life. Colonist from the Chesapeake region was more concerned about the economics, rather than religious purposes. By creating a government pertaining a great deal of religion, puritan ideas and values Puritan ideas and values influenced the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660s.

b. Thesis – Jonathan Edwards’s sermon portrayed Puritans as sinners of their religion through the use of rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos, and logos.

The Puritans believed that God instituted society and expected to see Christian principles prevail within (173). The goal of the Puritans was not to be legalistic but to please the God who sent His Son to save them from their sins. As a result, they sought to establish laws that aligned with Christian principles. One Puritan, Thomas Cartwright, even said that “the commonwealth must be made to agree with the church [that is Christian principles].” Laws were not instituted to force action of the citizens but sought to ensure that the citizens of the colony followed the commands of God laid out in the Bible. While this motivation to obey the Word of God in all portions does substantiate the claim towards legalism, a deeper study of the term legalism shows that the Puritans were not legalistic.

During the colonial period, American Literature was mostly influenced by the Puritans and faith and religion in general. Around this time, Rationalists were also prominent in literature. A more notable rationalist author was Benjamin Franklin. While there is some Native American literature from the colonial period, there’s not nearly as much as there is Puritan literature since it was mainly spread by word-of-mouth instead of recorded and archived. While some of these groups of people might have been more influential than others, they all had an impact on the development of American literature during the colonial period.