Summary: An Aspiring Society

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.

Patricia Bonomi’s Under the Cope of Heaven: Religion, Society, and Politics in Colonial America was not only well written, but also a very interesting read. She kept the writing style easy to comprehend, but not excessively simple while keeping a good grasp on the subject at hand. Bonomi gives us her view on not only religious argumentation, but also the religious events that kindled the flames of the American Revolution. She discredits the past historiography of the eighteenth century, in which there was a theorized religious decline, placing a rationalist century between the seventeenth century ruled by Puritans and the eighteenth century that revolved around Revivalists, which wouldn’t make sense. While Bonomi relies on many local studies

The half century between 1810 and 1860 may seem like a brief period of time, but these fifty years were packed full of changes and innovations. Some of these drastic modifications include but are not limited to; professions becoming an expanding market (chapter 8 notes), the focus on becoming self-sustaining, as evidenced by the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 and the American System, developed by Henry Clay (chapter 9 notes). The clashing of politics and morality also came into the news (chapter 10 notes), as well as the desire for westward expansion (chapter 11 notes). With individuals spreading out across the continental United States, a Second Great Awakening occurred in order to revitalize the church (chapter 12 notes), as new territories were

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

Throughout Edwards’ sermon, he used an amount of metaphorical imagery to persuade his listeners to confess their

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.

Edwards misused many texts and took a verse out of context. He used it to prove what context denied : God will not restore his people. He applied the imagery of fire to frighten unidentified listeners into repentance. He invoked God’s temporary negative corporate sanctions to scare men regarding permanent negative personal sanctions and invoked God’s wrath against public corporate apostasy top justify preaching against invisible personal

In his book, The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition, William J. Rorabaugh makes the argument that early American society was a place where alcohol flowed freely through every level of society. Americans in the late eighteenth century and into the nineteenth century partook in so widely it was one of the defining characteristics of the culture of the early United States. Using data collected from censuses, surveys, and reports from those who traveled across the country in its early years, Rorabaugh concludes that the drinking in the United States found no barriers with age, sex, race, class, or location. But his assumptions and conclusion are not proved strongly enough by hard evidence and data to be considered a reliable narrative of the early America.

The antebellum period was full of social reform movements based on the urge to eradicate evil and improve human conditions in society. Despite the attempt to deal with a wide variety of reforms to provide positive changes to society these reform movements were met with varying degrees of success. This essay will focus on five of the major social reform movements of that era discussing their accomplishments, failures and impacts on America as a whole. They are the reforms of abolition, women’s suffrage, temperance, institutional and educational reforms. The reform movements of the 1830’s and 1840’s were largely due to humanitarian reasons because of a period of Enlightenment in the previous century which emphasized rational over

When alcohol is integrated into a society, it is consumed in organized situations that adhere to community norms. Situations such as "family meals…weddings, funerals, ordinations, church raisings, court days, militia training days, corn husking, and haying all required ample amounts of alcohol" (Blocker 4). Alcohol was frequently brewed at home, making it a noncommercial, wholesome drink. The consumption also did not lead to a growing temperance movement because it was difficult to see the drunkards outside where they could be problem. At this point in American history, the drunkards were distributed in isolated farms instead of concentrated streets in cities and towns (Ezell 69 pg 169 of american temperance book). Alcohol was consumed among both women and men, children and adults, and in family or community environments, so it was not seen as an importunate issue within the colonies.

One of the major themes Mitchell plays with in his novel is the concept of a utopian society, and what it is comprised of. In each story, there is a setup for a ‘perfect’ society, but humanity, or humanity’s spirit got in the way. Each story represents how the interpretation of things can shape a society, depending on how literal they take the events. In the story “Sloosha’s Crossin’ an’ Everythin’ After”, the tales are in place to develop the role of each character. Zachry fights his inner demons, just as Truman Napes does with Old Georgie. Zachry chooses to protect and befriend Meronym, even though it goes against his initial judgement. Meronym fights for the overall good of the people just as the crow does in “Prescient yarnie”. She goes out and lives with the villagers to gather information, and saves Zachry’s sister. She is making diplomatic decisions to take on the risk of changing the course of things by helping her. The function of Zachry and Meronym are to be foils of each other, even the story is told from the biased perspective of Zachry. Meronym is focused on long term goals, and the redevelopment of society, while Zachry is very much focused on the present time, and the folklore that affects his day to day life.

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.

George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards were both two extreme zealous preachers and very different from each other but had a similar message. George Whitefield was an English Minster, evangelist, and preacher. Whitefield’s purpose was to encourage people to repent their sins and transmute their sinful ways and become preserved to Christ. As for Jonathan Edwards he was a Puritan, preacher and philosopher. Edwards’ concept was to fixate on the experience in religion; he wanted people to understand the distinction between what Edward called a 'merely notional understanding ' of something and 'being in some way inclined ' with reverence. He wanted people to understand the nature and experience of religion. Both Whitefield and Edwards were important figures in Christianity; they could also be seen as entertainers of that time.

George Whitefield was a great preacher and religious leader in the Great Awakening. Everyone in the colonies loved to hear him preach of love and forgiveness because he had a different style of preaching. This led to new missionary work in the colonies in converting Indians and Africans to Christianity. Religious leaders were alarmed by Whitefield appearance because he was young

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