Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Summary

Johnathan Edwards is trying to scare his churchgoers into believing what he has to say, by saying things like “There are in the souls of wicked men those hellish principles reigning, that would presently kindle and flame out into hell fire, if it were not for God's restraints.” No one is safe that means! The title of this sermon is Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. This first part of the sermon is him telling us what will happen to sinners in the hands of an angry God.

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”.

In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards argues eternal fate is completely controlled by God. The famous recorded sermon Edwards preaches is written with one intention in mind. Due to the Great Awakening occurring while Edwards was alive, he wanted to help people double down on their faith. The sermon tries to convince religious believers to keep their faith despite the battle of religion versus science. Edwards scares the audience by stating how God can easily discard or send sinners to hell. As well, in the sermon God is the only one who can keep someone from going to hell. According to Edwards, humans might stand a chance of not going to hell if they refrain from sinning. Edward’s

All actions, mundane or extraordinary, are seen as attributable to God. It is this repetition of alluding to God’s involvement in everyday life that typifies Puritan writing: “But it pleased God before they came half seas over, to smite this young man.”

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.

Within the eighteenth century, Christians were going through the Great Awakening, a wave of religious enthusiasm that swept through the colonies in an effort to make an impact on the religion within the areas. In the sermon written by Jonathon Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” he is trying to persuade nonbelievers into joining his religion in a way unused by many. To show nonbelievers the two altering sides of God based on what people believe and “they may imagine him to be so” (3), Jonathon Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” utilizes threatening tone, conveying repetition, and augmenting similes to express the fury and hopefulness of God.

During the colonial era, there were many religions seeking to spread to America. Strong leaders and philosophers were able to spread their ideas through powerful sermons that captured the emotions of the audience. Jonathan Edwards, a preacher, creates a compelling and persuasive tone and diction to express God's fury very distinctly. He uses metaphors and imagery to contrast the relationship between sinners and God to those who are religious. John Winthrop, on the other hand, spoke optimistically and reassured his audience during his voyage to Arabella to demonstrate his desire for unity and a godly society within Massachusetts Bay. Both men were able to captivate their audiences through persuasive diction, tone, and style to succeed in gaining their support and trust.

Edwards, Jonathan. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. In Literature of America, complied by Jan Anderson and Laurel Hicks, 19-25. Pensacola: A Beka Book, 2010.

On October 5, 1703, in East Windsor Connecticut, Timothy and Esther Edwards welcomed their new son, Jonathan Edwards, into the world. From a young age, Jonathan was provided with an excellent education from a highly qualified individual - his father was a minister and a college prepatory tutor. Jonathan Edwards was accepted at Yale college just before he turned thirteen. He was interested in a wide variety of studies including natural science, the mind, the scriptures, and theology. He graduated from Yale in four years as valedictorian and obtained his masters three years later. Unable to accept the “horrible doctrine” (Edwards), of predestination, Edwards finally found peace and accepted this controversial teaching in 1721. He went on to assistant pastor a large church in Northampton with his grandfather. The same year, he married Sarah Pierpont whose piety he had long admired (..). Two years later, when his grandfather passed away, Edwards became sole minister of the Northampton congregation. However, after many years of converting the lost and participation in the Great Awakening as a key preacher, his congregation began to weary of his intense sermons and his habit of calling out sinner by name from the pulpit. However, his most famous sermon was first delivered in Enfield, Connecticut on July 8th, 1741 and was entitled, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. Edwards’ use of rhetoric in this message has been admired

Edwards' creative choice of words that he uses describes the power of God and the terrible Hell awaiting sinners. These words easily infiltrate into the minds of his congregation and frighten them beyond belief. These choices of words and his use of such vivid images are mostly successful in their intent, to scare and put fear into his audience. Edwards held his audience locked up with his promises of eternal damnation if proper steps were not taken. The congregation felt the intense impact of his rhetorical strategies and lived on the fear of the power of God. In this way, he was able to keep his followers from sin and away from the fiery pits of Hell.

Edwards was now in charge of taking his grandfather’s place, being the minister of the largest and wealthiest churches in the entire colony. As a minister, he held to the complementarian outlook of marriage and gender roles, along with all the Reformers and Puritans of his time. He published his first sermon in 1731 entitled God Glorified in the Work of Redemption, by the Greatness of Man’s Dependence upon Him, In the Whole of It. In this sermon, it is clear that Edwards is blaming New England’s incorrect morals on their assumptions of religious and moral self-sufficiency. In the lecture, he discussed many topics. The emphasis being on “God’s absolute sovereignty in the work of salvation: that while it behooved God to create man pure and without sin, it was of his good pleasure and mere and arbitrary grace for him to grant any person the faith necessary to incline him or her toward holiness, and that God might deny this grace without any disparagement to any of his character.” This sermon was Edward’s first public attack on Arminianism. This brought up controversial thoughts, but also helped Edwards in becoming a key figure in the First Great Awakening of the 1730s and

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Well respected Puritan Minister, Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (1741) testifies about the consequences of unrepentant sinners. His intent was to suggest to the congregation the idea that non repentance will lead to punishments. He adopts a dramatic tone in order to address many issues to his viewers.

Puritan Test Question #4 Looking to help revive Puritanism, John Edwards became a traveling minuter giving intense, hellfire sermons. Through the powerful and relatable use of imagery, Edwards invoked fear and guilt from his audience in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”.

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a sermon delivered by the Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards during the Great Awakening, a period of religious revival. The sermon is intended to restore religious convictions of the Puritans, which he felt was weakening, for people in the congregation. Edwards’ purpose in the sermon is to impress upon his audience the urgency of redemption from sin in order to persuade sinners to repent and obtain salvation. Through the effective use of ethos and metaphors, Edwards hopes to awaken fear and inspire faith in the Puritan congregation.

“BAILEY: Now don’t make a ruckus. I’m not a troublemaker. I just want to earn my keep, make a little tobakky money, and get along. HENRY: “Get along”! Those words turn my stomach. Mister—whats’s your name? BAILEY: Bailey (A figure crosses the Village Square pompously. HENRY hears with animal keenness.) HENRY: Mr. Bailey, listen! What do you hear? BAILEY: Nothing— ’cept footsteps. HENRY: Footsteps of what? BAILEY: A man, I guess. HENRY: Where’s he walking? BAILEY: How would I know? HENRY: I know where he’s going. He’s going where he’s supposed to go. So he can be where he’s supposed to be, at the time he’s supposed to be there. Why? So he’ll be liked. My God, a whole country of us who only want to be liked. (Jutting his face squarely at BAILEY.) But to be liked, you must never disagree. And if you never disagree, it’s like only breathing in and never breathing out! A man can suffocate on courtesy. (He paces.) What if God wanted to be liked instead of loved? What if the Almighty delayed every decision until He was sure it would please the majority? Great whale might have offended some legislature, which God knew would rise up some day to speak endlessly of the Common Good! (Vehemently.) Common Good be damned! Give me something magnificently uncommon!”(Lawrence/Lee 13-14) “SAM: Lookee here, Henry. You gonna pay up your tax or ain’t ya? HENRY: you pay your tax, Sam? SAM: If I