Jonathan Edwards Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

Alison Dawley
English 3 A
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God During the Colonial period, religion was a part of everyday life. Religion itself is what drove many to abandon all that they knew and go to the New World. The Colonies were undergoing great change from the 1730’s to the 1760’s, in what was known as the Great Awakening. This was a period of renewed religious fervor. During this time, writers and speakers had a huge impact on the developing and impressionable Colonies. Jonathan Edwards was one such man. In writing the sermon ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’, he gave fuel to the revivalist movement. He played a significant role in shaping the beliefs of the time.
Jonathan Edwards believed that one was to be responsible for his or her actions. While the Puritans believed in predestination, they also believed that nothing could redeem someone who had ‘strayed from the holy path’, even if they were destined for salvation. Because of this, constant vigilance was required. Edwards sought to frighten his congregation. He said, “Almost every natural man that hears of hell, flatters himself that he shall escape it.” In saying this, he kept the threat of hell at hand for all. Much of Puritan control stemmed from the

Over and over he described the fire of hell, the endless misery that awaited the sinner. He imagines them on the threshold of the abyss, while the flames “gather and flash about them.” He told the congregation that a “lake of burning brimstone” was extended under them. So fearsome were his words, that many of those who listened were moved to cry out in fear of their supposed damnation. This constant terror was what kept the Puritan Colonists set in their rigid and intolerant ways. Edwards gives the frightened audience a shred of hope to cling to; if they are faithful and observant, they can be saved. Not a guarantee, he tells them, but a chance. It is this chance that drove the Puritan