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Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God By Jonathan Edwards

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“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is sermon written by Jonathan Edwards, an American theologian, while preaching in a congregation in Enfield and Northampton. Like other works by the author, the sermon combines intense imagery of Hades with observations of the “contemporary” world and constant citation of the Bible. As the most famous of the scholar’s work, the sermon fits Edward’s style of preaching. It has been subject of study among history and theology scholars through providing insights to the period from 1730 to 1755 of the Great Awakening. This paper highlights the Puritan quotes and discusses similar ideologies in the sermon.

The purpose of the sermon was because of the Great Awakening. During this period, the church in Connecticut …show more content…

The sermon was designed to make the congregation aware that their conduct and actions on earth was more important than any other thing. It also seeks to add that particular punishments awaited the sinners in hell because they fail to adhere to proper religious virtues as provided by the Holy Scriptures. While Edward wished to influence the colonists’ actions, he considered it appropriate to discuss God’s anger with the high levels of sinning and overindulgence instead of continuing with the usual warnings about sinning. To achieve this objective of ensuring that his congregants were aware of their hazardous position in the world, he ensured that they knew that God had the ability to wipe them …show more content…

At one point in the sermon, he expresses this by saying that, “The only reason why sinners are not fallen already, and do not fall now, is only that God’s appointed time has not yet come. For when time comes,…then they shall be left to fall, as they are inclined by their own weight” (499). The said weight in this quote is not just for the presently committed sins, but the weight of the intrinsic dissoluteness, which all human beings are carrying. After stating this, Edwards poses a threat palpably by directing it to the people when he says, “God is a great deal angry with great numbers that are now on earth; yea, doubtless, with many that are now in this congregation”

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