The Life of Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards uses analogies and imagery to persuade people into becoming a puritan back then in the 1800's. In the sermon "sinners in the hands of an angry God" there are many examples of analogies and imagery in the brimstone to describe sinners that give in to temptation and followeres that stay on the righteous path.

Edwards opens his sermon by expressing the idea that men are subject to the whims of God and that those who refuse to welcome God are held out of hell by nothing more than the simple pleasure and mercy of God’s hand. He appeals to the pathos of his listeners

To Stoddard, the idea of “fostering conversions was more important than discovering a perfect church order, and in that attitude he blazed the way for the most influential practice in American religious history: he was the first American to make periodic revivals a centerpiece of his ministry” . Every decade his congregation would experience an “awakening” in which many people were moved spiritually and often lead to conversion. Some of these revivals even made it past Northampton and into the neighboring communities, directly impacting young Edwards and his family, for Edwards’s father rejected the half-way covenant but endorsed revival. These disagreements divided his family and remained unresolved for decades .

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

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

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.

In the 1730's there were people breaking away from the church and abandoning the Christian lifestyle. Church leaders were aware of this problem and decided to turn to the young Jonathan Edwards to recapture the hearts and minds of those who have left the church. In his most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", Edwards uses a variety of techniques to frighten his congregation to return to Christ. One technique that stood out from the others was imagery. Four of the most powerful images that he uses was the hanging by a thread, being overwhelmed by water, an arrow ready to destroy, and the fiery pit.

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)

Jonathan Edwards was one of the sparks of the first Great Awakening. A Calvinist, he believed that mortal men and woman completely depended on the salvation of God (The Great Awakening). As a believer in the evangelical method, he would not simply preach in one place. He would travel from church to church, any that would welcome him, to spread his message. His sermons were not theatrical. He would not excessively gesture or feel a need to act along with his sermons. His sermons were filled with emotion that was evident through his voice.

To begin, Jonathan Edwards got his message across to the congregation by his use of tone. Edwards used repetition throughout his sermon to express

This way, we will believe that we will always stay with our loved ones that continue to live on. And if we did the good things we were meant to do, we would be given the right to permanently live in that infinite state. Just like that, we have a great thing to look up to and have no reason to fear it. However, the Puritans have come to believe that the good things you were meant to do won’t do you any good, because God’s will is random and unpredictable. It seems unfair to anybody, and makes death more scary than it should be. Without being able to tell if you will go to Heaven or Hell, people then and there would be scared because the outcome is unknown. They can only gamble with God, hoping that they get the better outcome. He gave them the idea that their God was angry with them and if they did not convert to Puritanism there would be no escaping hell or God's wrath. Throughout this long sermon there are numerous instances in which Edwards describes God as merciless or when he explains that death is coming and no matter what one does, hell is inevitable. Jonathan Edwards's most effective technique was by far his use of implanting fear into his audience's mind. Edwards says That the reason why they are not fallen already and do not fall now is only that God's appointed time is not

In addition to his most important and memorable sermon titled: "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", Edwards was also well known for his many books including, “The End For Which God Created the World” and “The Life of David Brainerd”. His book about the life of David Brainerd is said to have inspired thousands of missionaries throughout the 19th century. John Locke's “Essay and Concerning Human Understanding also influenced him greatly”.