The Use Of Religion In Mary Rowlandson And Jonathan Edwards's Writings

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Because of their Puritanical beliefs, it is no surprise that the major theme that runs throughout Mary Rowlandson and Jonathan Edwards’s writings is religion. This aspect of religion is apparent in not only the constant mentions about God himself, but also in the heavy use of biblical scriptures. In their respective writings, Rowlandson and Edwards utilize scripture, but for different purposes; one uses it to convey that good and bad events happen solely because of God’s will, and the other uses it, in one instance, to illustrate how it brought him closer to God, and, in another instance, to justify his harsh claims about God’s powerful wrath. In her account, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Rowlandson …show more content…

For example, he quotes 1Timothy 1:17 and then declares “As I read the words, there came into my soul . . . a sense of the glory of the Divine Being; a new sense, quite different from anything I ever experienced before.” (313-314). This declaration shows that as he becomes more familiar with scripture, he is able to open his heart and grow more in love with God. Edwards later states how upset he is that he had not sought out a close relationship with God sooner because he deeply wishes he would have had more time to “grow in grace”(315); this statement comes after he quotes Psalms 119:28 “My soul breaketh for the longing it hath.” (315). It’s evident through the use of this verse how strongly he longs for a fuller and closer bond with God and Christ. Furthermore, he expresses that same sense of yearning when he states “I very often think . . . of being a little child, taking hold of Christ, to be led by him through the wilderness of this world.” (316) and follows it with the verse Matthew 18:3. Through quoting this verse, he once again reinforces how greatly affected by scripture his bond with God is, and how it leaves him seeking to be led even more by …show more content…

For example, he argues that “every unconverted man properly belongs to hell” (322). Right before he makes this claim, he quotes John 3:18, and right after, he quotes John 8:23. By bracketing his claim with direct quotes from the Bible, he provides evidence that defends his belief about where non-Christians are destined to end up. This pattern of justifying his arguments with biblical scriptures continues; for instance, when Edwards proclaims “All the kings of the earth, before God, are as grasshoppers . . . The wrath of the great King of kings, is as much more terrible than theirs, as his majesty is greater.” (328) he immediately quotes Luke 12:4-5. This provides validity to his claim that God’s wrath is infinitely more terrible than any earthly king. He goes on to expand on God’s powerful wrath and asserts that “Nothing shall be withheld, because it is so hard for you to bear.” (329); he follows this up by quoting Ezekiel 8:18. Through once again following up his claims with a reference, Edwards proves that his argument of a non-pitying, wrathful God is biblically

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