Preview

Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1121 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Analysis
Damned or not Damned! A unique look at “Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God”
You are nothing but a mouse before the eyes of an almighty being who is extremely ticked off! Have you ever wondered if your life has upset the Lord? Well the sermon of Jonathan Edwards,“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” will answer that and surprise even you. The Puritans beliefs of direct connections to real life and God, exploring their lives for God’s workings, the plain style, whether you’re a chosen or not, and their self reliance, are blindingly clear in the sermon of Edwards. first off, In Edwards moving speech he clearly covers the basis of God is real life and many Puritans would say that real life is absolutely nothing with out God. The Puritans believed that God has done all things. And that you had to look for it and find him such as on page 77 of “elements of literature, fifth course, literature of the United States” “-Science, reason, and observation of the physical world confirmed Edwards deeply spiritual vision of a universe filled with the presence of God-” The writer of the Sermon was Jonathan Edwards, a man who constantly observed his life and looked for God. As you can see in the
…show more content…
Elect or not meant you are one of the chosen few to go to Heaven. Yes the Puritan believed that God only choose a few people to go to Heaven, and to show it off you had to have an Epiphany and know it right then and there! Such as on Page 77 Elements of Literature, excerprt on Jonathan Edwards “-After receiving grace you were reborn as a member of the community of saint and you behaved like a saint.-” Jonathan the writer of the ever famous ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” believed and so did many Puritan that you showed off your ‘newness’ by acting like a saint. Also you knew when it happened to you but many did not feel that! And thus many wondered after Edwards sermon whether they were worthy or

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In the excerpt Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards, he demonstrates many different Puritan ideas. Edward feels just as the thoughts that are changing later on were based upon. He believes God as a deity who longs for his people to lead great, generous lives. Rather than talk gently about sinful behavior, Edwards considered it most effective to discuss God’s wrath. Rather than believing in the idea of predestination, he believed people had the power to save themselves by living a good life. His relationship with God was very strong, which encouraged him to to create better individuals by writing his sermons. The purpose is to aware of people of their behavior and conduct here on earth is for more significant more essential…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Puritans believe that God created a plan for each person before they were born that decided if that person were destined to go to heaven or if they were destined to go to hell. This meant that God decided who would enter heaven. Those people were called the “Elect” or “Saints”. The way people noticed if one was part of the “elect” was how they carried themselves through their day to day actions. Also, If a person were married to a minister or something of the sort, that person could also be considered to be one of the “elect”. Puritans thought that only those who were destined for hell would die from diseases and terrible causes because they were not worthy. They believed that doing “good works” would not get you into heaven and that your own faith would not grant you rites into the “Pearly Gates” (The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, 9). Today, most people find that absurd. The Puritan belief was very cut throat and straight forward. Colonists who did not believe in god were punished severely. Men were also the only ones who were allowed power in the Puritan belief. This was different for Rowlandson because she did a lot of preaching to her town’s people, which was considered crazy for those…

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Puritans’ were a 16th and 17th centery form of the English Protastant. When comeing to Massachetes, the Purtains made a law stateing that if one did not keep holy the Sabbath they could and would be punishished by the General Court (Vowell 102). They took the bible very seriously. As difernt well know Purtains speak throught the novel they talk in a biblish form. For example “Cotton says, ‘If God be the gardener, who shall pluck up what he sets down?’” (Vowell 3). Almost as if it was coming straight out of the bibleitself. Mr. Underhill even ask himself “Should not Christians have more mercy and comapsion?” while Ms. Vowell answers “ Nope. The bible offers reason enough” (Vowell 194).…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God” approaches the audience with a call to action. Jonathan does not soften his blows of aggression towards those listening to his sermon. Edwards’ use of imagery and syntax add to the emotional effect of the sermon. “The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string.” This metaphor is directed to those that sin, and is used as a more blunt approach to those who do bad, than Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”. Plato approaches the topic of ignorance with ease and softness, using an epic metaphor to compare humans finding self-knowledge to those in a cave. Edwards uses many similes as well, but with a more aggressive impact. “And the fiery…

    • 257 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    When first reading Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” shocked readers how it started right in about the wrath of God and Hell. His diction and images create a tone of alarming immediacy – act now for your own good.…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I found "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" written by Jonathan Edwards as a terrible misconception. From the things I've learned through my own faith and Theology classes I've taken God is nothing like the god that Edwards portrays. Edwards's god is one of destruction and hatred. Where as the true God is full of love and compassion for his children. This sermon suggests that God is ready at any moment to condemn man to Hell. In Theology however we learned that God does not choose to send anyone to Hell, rather it is our sin that condemn us to this destiny. Edwards fills his sermon with scripture in an attempt to solidify his beliefs. However upon closer examination these quotes are bits and pieces of the complete text. These instances…

    • 245 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Damned Women: an Analysis

    • 1820 Words
    • 8 Pages

    order to understand how and why the Puritan society these rvomen the way they do. In the first chapter, an investigation of how Puritan theology functioned as a lived religion is introduced.…

    • 1820 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Puritanism had helped people live fulfilling lives, working hard and studying instead of wasting time with recreations (Document F). The point of view of this text is from a dead man’s will, this is relevant because it illustrates that Puritanism is everything to the colonists, even in death. New England’s economy was affected by this because Puritanism created a great focus on education and work ethic, essentially creating an army of skilled hard workers. One might expect that economics and greed would overtake religious values. However, this was not the case. Puritans believed that you must never forget the original purpose of the colonies, to set a good example, and they recognized that New England was a “plantation of Religion, not a Plantation of Trade” as John Higginson put it (Document G). This shows that Puritans influenced New England economy by working to be successful, while never forgetting the second aspect of religion along the way. Another reason that Puritans would never forget their religion when working is the concept of the Elect. Puritans believed that people were predestined to go to heaven and thus if you were one of those elect, then you would exhibit good behavior during your life (OI). For this reason, Puritans always strived to show these good qualities, never letting economic success get the better of them. New England’s economics…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine being told how to make a moral and not an immoral life decision. In recent discussions regarding learning forms, a controversial issue has been whether it is better for people to learn through fear or through positive example. On the one hand, some argue that learning through fear teaches discipline. On the other hand, however, others argue that learning by positive example teaches nothing and is shortly forgotten. It appears that it is better to frighten the learner into making the right choice than to show them how it is done. Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” and Benjamin Franklin’s, “Autobiography,” portray how to succeed in the world in two completely different ways. Edwards speaks through…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An Angry God's Sinners

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the text Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards uses a real sermon that he wrote a long time ago. He uses a very angry and scary approach to get his point across. He basically scares the reader by saying that if you’ve ever sinned you will go straight to hell.…

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jonathan Edwards's sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” delivers the dogma that only the mercy of God can save one from being condemned to Hell. Edwards appealed to his followers’ fear as a way of guiding his flock towards what he saw as the correct principles of Christian faith; the intensely terrifying metaphors of the sermon were his trademark.…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As once a founding father of the United States, Benjamin Franklin once stated, “do not fear mistakes. You will know failure. Continue to reach out.” Though this quote might have been years later than 1741 during the time of the Great Awakening. Jonathan Edwards gave the inspiring speech “Sinners in The Hands of an Angry God” to puritans who left the church and left Edwards feeling that puritanism was in danger. He uses fear as a tactic to get the unfaithful puritans to rededicate their lives to God and gives them hope to repent for the mistakes they have made. Edwards uses frightful imagery, and violent then hopeful metaphors to get puritans who strayed away from strict religion to come back and have a second chance at a pure life.…

    • 930 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Determining whether the God you praise and worship is choleric because of your presence by the sins you’ve created is a never ending battle in the 17th-18th centuries. Upon the Burning of Our House is a poem, with nine stanzas, written by Anne Bradstreet explaining her understanding and able to live and learn from sin with God. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is a work, written as a sermon, by Jonathan Edwards who preaches to all the non-Puritan sinners, that if they don’t convert and take blame for their sins, God’s anger toward them will be unbearable and force them to the pits of hell. Analyzing Bradstreet’s and Edwards’ works, a reader can distinguish the personality of the two writers and the different views of God that people acquire.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    phillip wheatly

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages

    What do Puritan sermons reveal about the pressure of colonial life? – it was hard…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is sermon that deals with the concept of wrath. Edwards states that at any moment men will be sent down to hell and they should be living in peril because, “As he that walks in slippery places is every moment is liable to fall” (Edwards 430). The only reason why they are not in hell yet is because, “God’s appointed time is not come” (Edwards 430). It is God’s judgement that casts men into hell at any moment. These statements instill a sense of fear into the audience. Edwards…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays