Sinners in the hands of an angry god

By Blake Johnson, Ian Armstrong, & Alex Jenson

Jonathan Edwards

born in 1703He was admitted to Yale University when he was 13.After his grandfather died, he took the pulpit at age 26Because of his strong charisma and imagery, he was a

leader of the great awakeningScience, reason, and observation of the physical world

were very important to him

Jonathan Edwards (continued)

Although he was a convincing leader, he went too far and called out higher-ups in the church for not being committed to the faith.

In 1750, he was kicked out as pastor. After rejecting several job offers, he did 8 years of missionary work in massachusetts as voluntary exile.

3 months before is death in 1758, he was named president of the College of New Jersey

Historical backgroundSinners in the Hands of an Angry God is a sermon that was written in the 1700’s by

a pastor named Jonathan Edwards. The sermon was first preached at his own congression in Northampton

Massachusetts at an unknown date.The second time was preached on July 8th 1741 in Enfield Connecticut. Edward believed that the extensive imagery of hell would make people realize how

bad it would be to go to hell and believe more strongly.The First Great Awakening was a group of sermons dating from 1730-1755.Edward had many sermons just like this one. They are in the group of the Great

Awakening, They are made to put an emphasis that hell is a real place. Edwards was at the church in Enfield because the pastor at the church believed that

his followers did not realized the extent of how horrible Hell was. He wanted to make sure everyone knew what they would lose if you went to hell,

how horrifying hell was, and how dangerous sinning is.

The 10 “Considerations”1. God may cast wicked men into hell at any given moment.

2. The Wicked deserve to be cast into hell. Divine justice does not prevent God from destroying the Wicked at any moment.

3. The Wicked, at this moment, suffer under God's condemnation to Hell.

4. The Wicked, on earth - at this very moment - suffer the torments of Hell. The Wicked must not think, simply because they are not physically

in Hell, that God is not - at this very moment - as angry with them as He is with those miserable creatures He is now tormenting in hell, and

who - at this very moment - do feel and bear the fierceness of His wrath.

5. At any moment God shall permit him, Satan stands ready to fall upon the Wicked and seize them as his own.

6. If it were not for God's restraints, there are, in the souls of wicked men, hellish principles reigning which, presently, would kindle and flame

out into hellfire.

7. Simply because there are not visible means of death before them at any given moment, the Wicked should not feel secure.

8. Simply because it is natural to care for oneself or to think that others may care for them, men should not think themselves safe from God's

wrath.

9. All that wicked men may do to save themselves from Hell's pains shall afford them nothing if they continue to reject Christ.

10. God has never promised to save us from Hell, except for those contained in Christ through the covenant of Grace.

Literary elements

Questions1. What keeps sinners out of hell? 2. According to Edwards, how can sinners obtain salvation? 3. Why do you think Edwards points out that sinners “have no refuge, nothing

to take hold of”? 4. While reading, you recorded the author’s images, analyzed their use, and

reflected upon your reactions. Do any of Edwards’s images seem intended to evoke a similar response? Identify the author’s overall purpose.

Literary Elements continued5. Analyze How does Edwards appeal to those in his audience who believe they are not sinners, and not in danger of the fate he describes?

6. Would Edwards’ mode of persuasion be effective today? Why or why not?

7. Judging from his sermon, what underlying philosophical beliefs does Edwards hold? What underlying assumptions does he have about the nature of both humans and God?

Literary Elements III

8. Why do you think Edwards uses the image of God’s hands to describe God’s power? What makes this an effective image?

9. Interpret A metaphor is a form of figurative language that directly compares two unlike things without using comparison words such as like or as. Edwards compares his listeners’ powerlessness to a spider web stopping a plummeting rock. Explain what his listeners’ lack of power and the spider web have in common, and why this metaphor is effective.

Vocabulary: Words

Incensed: Prudence: Loathsome: Mitigation: Inconceivable:

Vocabulary: Definitions

(A) Unimaginable(B) Carefulness(C) Moderation(D) Angry(E) Offensive

Extended Vocabulary

1. Which word is an adjective, loathe or loathsome?

2. Explain the difference between mitigation and mitigate.

3. In the selection, incensed is a participle, or a verb used as an adjective. Write a sentence that uses incensed as a past-tense verb.

4. Describe a situation in which someone acts with prudence.

Summary of the Sermon

YOU ARE GOING TO HELL.

And there is NOTHING you can

do about it.

Citation

Elements of Literature. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2009. Elements of Literature, Fifth Course. Holt McDougal. Web. 2 Sept. 2015. <http://my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn=9780030958441>.

Libraries of The University of Nebraska, n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2015. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=etas