How Did Jonathan Edwards Influence Puritan Americans

A descendant of Puritan ministers and a strong influence among Puritan leaders, Jonathan Edwards, became involved when Puritanism was becoming fully exposed. The infamous Salem Witch Trials during 1692, an event where 20 people were put to their death and another 150 were imprisoned (Massachusetts Missionary Magazine). This event demonstrated the ardent Puritan zeal. Near the beginning of the century, New Englanders gained affluence that instilled material and spiritual contentment, which led to the Half-Way Covenant's introduction. Before its introduction, full church membership was only granted to those and their first generation descendants who could personally testify to a conversion experience. The Half-Way Covenant expanded those privileges

The effect was not solely local in Northampton, but also throughout the entire New England area (Edwards). His sermons were given with the intention that they would give a wakening to those who underestimated the stateliness of the holy God and become too content and comfortable with their individual, hard-working lives. He believed that a person could only qualified for church with a legitimate conversion. for church membership, which is essentially a grant by merit and not by relation and stretched rules. Other revivalist preachers, like Edwards, wanted to not only play on intellect, but invoke an emotional response to sway their listeners to persuade them of their sins, describing it as "the ruin of the soul; it is destructive in its nature" (Edwards). This vivid description demonstrates that he is making the appearance of sin as grotesque as possible to get an emotional response from his audience. The results he got were relatively good, but one location posed a challenge for him. Rumor had it that Enfield, Connecticut was impervious to the preachings of God being angry at sinners, so he travelled there to spread the word of God. At the peak of the Great Awakening, on July 8, 1741, he delivered a sermon that was so powerful it passed down for generations and became famous for its kind. The structure of the sermon followed the typical sermon structure comprising of three parts, which

His use of the phrase to describe sinners’ “feet sliding .. then they shall be left to fall as they are inclined by their weight” (Edwards). This sentence pronounces God’s anger at the unacceptable and unreasonable behavior of the Israelis. With his choice in words, he wanted to hit close to home to those listening and gain a personal connection even though he was speaking to many in his sermon. It begins by highlighting the four features of walking on the slippery slope that the aforementioned feet would be sliding on. Those four would be that the threat of destruction is always present, the destruction will be immediate, it is caused solely by the sinners themselves, and the reason why God has not destroyed them alreayd is because God is holding back his hand (Edwards). He makes it crystal clear that the recklessness of those that choose the slippery slope that is their lives will lead to an abysmal fate. This should incite fear and anxiety into the hearts of his listeners. Following these warnings about God’s wrath is his central theme that nothing keeps wicked men ouf of Hell but the mere pleasure of God (Edwards). This theme resonates throughout his sermon as he