After reading "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," the major features I saw were related to wrath of God, hell, and evil. I saw the sermons main focus being projected towards people that did not take Gods word or the commandments into consideration when living their lifestyle, these people would be sentenced to the wrath of God which resulted in God sending them into hell. I had a hard time grasping this concept because I don’t see as God sending one to hell as being angry or having a wrath as the text supposed. I see one being descended into hell by God as a punishment for not following Gods word not out of anger as I cant see one being as holy and calm as God becoming angry. The text states in the beginning “Surly thou didst set them in slippery places thou castedst them down into destruction” I …show more content…
People of this nature were considered wicked and evil, people of this nature committed sin without any doubt of their own afterlife security. The statement “ So that every uncovered man properly belongs to Hell; that is his place, from thence he is.” And also verse 9 on page 173 gave evidence that one that denies God will be sentences to hell as he will deny them in heaven. A verse that really stood out to me was “There are black clouds of God’s wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder; and were it not for the restraining hand of God it would immediately burst forth upon you.” When reading this verse the thought of what comes around goes around came into my head as I felt that if you sin it will come back to bite you in some shape or form. The sermon took place on July 8, 1741 during the Great Awakening, I got the sense that during this time the main focus was religion and getting people saved into the church as a member of Christ, I felt that was the thinking the preacher was attempting to get a crossed In the
Foreboding and dreadful describe the tone of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. Edwards makes the tone very clear by saying “The God that holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire” (154). He tries to convey the wrath of god that will come upon them if they do not devoted themselves to Christ by saying “Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon souls, all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God.” (154).
1) Jonathan Edwards delivered this sermon during the first Great Awakening, a time of religious revival in Europe and America. During the Great Awakening, Christianity shifted its focus from ceremonies and rituals, and began to realign itself with introspection to foster a deep sense of morality and redemption. Edwards was a key preacher and minister that delivered many sermons preaching about revival and reformed theology. 2) Edwards sermon was directed towards non believers and those who have turned away from the light of God, and in his words “sinners.”
The Bible was a large part of the lives of these people. With that, as many religious leaders before and after him, Edwards's source of inspiration and guidance was the Bible. He often used parts or sections of biblical verse rather than complete text because too much information might diminish the importance of his primary intent. An example of how he preached to the people can be seen in Edwards's sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." In this sermon he addressed the issues of man as a sinner, God's hate of sinners - wrath of God. Throughout the sermon he addressed the damnation of man, the process of salvation and redemption. He hammered at his congregation using guilt and fear for their souls. It is a moving and powerful sermon that would have put fear in my head if I was in attedance during this time. This sermon, delivered in 1741, persuaded his congregation to join him in his Christian beliefs. In the sermon he portrays God as an all powerful and all knowing being. He depicts Him with the ability to both crush and save a soul.
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is an eye-opening sermon to many and an even greater eye opener to the unbelieving. Not only is it seen as controversial for the time, but many people disagreed with it. The entire sermon seemed to be based on one or two verses from the Bible, and many thought they were not used in the proper context. There were many emotions during the sermon that need to be explored further.
...e wrath of God be seen as a primitive or obscene concept? Is the very notion of hell an insult? If so, it is clear that the God one worships is not a holy God: thus, He is not a God at all. If we despise the justice of God, a person is not a Christian. One stands in a position which is every bit as dangerous as the one which Edwards so graphically described. “If we hate the wrath of God, it is because we hate God Himself. We may protest vehemently against these charges but our vehemence only confirms our hostility toward God” (Sproul “God In The Hands Of Angry Sinners”). But a God of love who has no wrath is no God. One who does not love God in this present world is considered a loser, as he has lost all peace, comfort, strength, and even hope. A person’s greatest detriment in the hereafter is found in the loss of the sight of Christ and the beholding of His glories.
...cape her judgment nor argument with her edicts will sway her. Hell is an absolute, and all the more forbidding because of it. Though the violence depicted in these myths varies, the overall story remains unchanged. Disobeying the laws and strictures set forth by the government and religious doctrines will exact a hefty price, perhaps eternally.
The old serpent is gaping for them; hell opens its mouth wide to receive them; and if God should permit it, they would be hastily swallowed up and lost.” Edwards lets them know how it is easy for God to cast sinners into hell. They literally are “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” being held over the entrance to hell The only thing keeping God’s hand from letting them fall into hell is God’s grace and mere pleasure. Also, he tells them they all deserve to go to hell.
He speaks with some allusions and phrases that show the audience that he is well educated in the subject that he is speaking on. He says that, "Who knows the power of God 's anger" (Edwards 43)? This is an allusion from Psalm 90:11 in the bible and he just assumes that his readers are aware of what he is referring to when he says this. Since Edwards was a respected preacher of that time the sermon meant more to the people because of his qualifications and his experience ("Using" 14). Also throughout his sermon he refers to a happening of that time which was known as the great awakening. When speaking of this Edwards stated "Many are daily coming from the east, west, north, and south; many that were lately in the same condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them" (Edwards 44). He told them about the others who have already came and been converted to Christianity and hopes that showing them the others that have came they would also change their ways and be converted. Also, this being the time of the great awakening he wants the unconverted of his congregation to become a part of it and referencing to this event helps contribute to their
One of the first punishments we observe comes from the fifth circle of Dante’s hell, the wrathful and the sullen, as the author expresses his thoughts of the fitting consequence with each sin. This portion of the text begins in the seventh canto and in it the punishment of those who lived in wrath are discussed, when Dante and Virgil first enter the circle they see a marsh containing people who endlessly beat upon each other the idea being that because they lived their lives in wrath they will live out their eternity with pure hatred for any soul they may encounter. Also addressed in this circle is the punishment for those who lived their life in a sullen manner, ignoring the goodness that the world around them contained. “‘Sullen were we in the air made sweet by the sun; in the glory or his shinning our hearts poured a bitter smoke. Sullen we begun; sullen we lie forever i...
It is only after the development of Plato’s hell does the Christian Hell change. This is because the hell does not invoke the same amount of fear that the hell of Plato does – one of punishment. The New Testament’s version of Hell follows the Platonist theory. This Hell is a punishment for the souls of the corrupt who did not adhere to God’s teachings. This punishment is severe for the sinner – far more so than what Plato’s version of hell dictated.
"God hath promised the hypocrites, men and women, and the rejecters of Faith, the fire of Hell; therein shall they dwell; sufficient is it for them: for them is the curse of God, and an enduring punishment." (9:68)
He gives reason to fear and respect the law of God, lest eternal punishment be your only promise in the afterlife. These punishments are as relevant as can be, so he offers a very vivid picture of hell. The men that he puts in hell give it a realistic twist, enhancing the fear that is felt upon reading this work.
“How stern the power of Almighty God who crushes sinners with such righteous blows(Canto XXIV lines 109-110)!” In Dante’s Inferno, Dante Alighieri describes a trip through Hell, visiting the various sinners and circles of Hell. Dante also uses many experiences and beliefs from his real life to enrich his views of Hell and his idea of Divine Punishment. Dante’s perception of Divine Justice includes sinners whom he places in Hell for committing crimes without regret, they are placed lower in Hell according to the severity of their sins. Dante is not always just in his placement of sinners, his personal grudges and archaic Catholic beliefs get in the way of true Divine Justice.