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This page gives a
brief background in the life of Edwards and why he did it.
First, a brief
background on Jonathan Edwards:
In
the 1700s' the
Reverend Jonathan Edwards was the pastor of a large Congregational
church in
The
spiritual,
emotional, and physical responses of the listeners and the lasting holy
transformation of their lives was awesome.
This
type of
response occured when Edwards' preached the sermon "Sinners in the
Hands
of an Angry God" in 1741. Edwards
was one of a number of well known preachers used during the First Great
Awakening in
It
is believed by
many scholars that Edwards was the greatest theologian and philosopher
in
American history. After only five weeks
as President of the
Why did Edwards preach the sermon?
Unlike
some earlier prominent Puritans,
Jonathan Edwards uses the “fire and brimstone” approach to confront his
congregations with what he feels to be the rage of God. The sermon,
“Sinners in
the Hands of an Angry God” was meant to make Edward’s listeners aware
of the
fact that their behavior and conduct on earth was far more important
than
anything else and that certain punishment in hell awaited those who did
not
adhere to proper religious values as expressed in the Bible. While he
clearly
wished to have an impact on the increasingly different behavior of the
colonists, Edwards considered it most effective to discuss God’s wrath
with
rampant sin rather than offer gentle protestations about sinful
behavior. To
achieve his end of making his congregants aware of their precarious
position on
earth (as they could be cast into hell at any time) he reminded them of
the
power of God and his capacity for doing away with sinners.
In
Edwards’ view, despite the fact that they
could be redeemed through Christian behavior and were not elected to
either
burn in hell or savor heaven from birth, human beings were still
pathetic
creatures, always at the mercy of God. He equates the relationship
between men
and God by reminding his listeners how it is, “easy to tread on and
crush a
worm that we see crawling on the earth” (Edwards 499) and how it is
much the
same for God when he views people. By equating human beings with worms
in
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Edwards is stressing the level
of God’s
mercy as well as inspiring his congregants to strive to be something
higher and
more worthy in the eyes of God. In general, through his sermon aimed at
changing the behavior or his congregation by reminding them that they
were
always at God’s mercy, Edwards is attempting to create better
individuals.
Although “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is certainly a
frightening
sermon, it appears that Edwards wished it to be so in hopes that he
could
inspire his people.
Edwards
believed that human beings had the
power to save themselves and that the idea of election was not valid.
Although
he suggests that all human beings are born with innate depravity, by
living a
good life, this can be overcome. There is a lack of the typology
present in
many other Puritan writings and instead of integrating this aspect,
Edwards
instead focuses on the present actions of individuals, rather than the
prophesy
or the lives of scriptural figures. One of the most prominent themes in
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is that of irresistible grace.
This idea
is based upon the notion that it is always up to God whether he wishes
to save
or condemn someone and that at any moment, one could be cast away into
hell, or
in other words, “There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men
into hell at
any moment” (Edwards 499).
To the Puritan Jonathan Edwards,
and along
the lines of irresistible grace, sinners are only kept on earth because
God is
not ready to take them yet. At one point in 'Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry
God" , Edwards expresses this by stating, “The only reason why they
[sinners] are not fallen already, and do not fall now, is only that
God’s
appointed time has not yet come. For it is said when that due time, or
appointed time comes…then they shall be left to fall, as they are
inclined by
their own weight” (Edwards 499). This “weight” they carry is not just
that of
their present sin, but of the innate depravity all humans are burdened
with.
After Edwards states this, he makes this “threat” more palpable by
directing it
toward individuals and 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”
(Edwards 500). Although one cannot help but think this is a “scare
tactic”
method of reforming a congregation and inspiring them to have a rebirth
in
their actions and behaviors, it is nonetheless a striking departure
from many
other Puritan texts and must have been a radical sermon at the time.