-
Essay / Jonathan Edwards: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
During the Great Awakening, the primary focus of the world was religion, and the clergy were tasked with influencing the thinking and transformation of people through the word of God. The preacher's goal was to purify the thoughts and beliefs of the people in order to be saved from the wrath of God. Many people of different faiths, especially Christianity, have questioned whether hell really exists and have always wondered how a loving and merciful God, a God who is gracious to his followers and is willing to forgive them of their sins , could judge them and punish them with fire that burns eternally. Jonathan Edwards, the most famous preacher of the Great Awakening, answered this question about the reality of hell in an epic sermon he preached to a congregation. The Lord is merciful; however, “not only is he able to cast the wicked into hell, but he can do it very easily” (Edwards 430). Here Edwards recognizes the mercy of God but also of worn-out sinners who will not be available on the day of judgment. thus, in his day, to punish the sins of the people of Israel because they were condemned to hell for their illegal actions. Such a compelling analysis of “sinners” makes a sermon a masterpiece of yesterday and today. Gallagher asked many questions, including why it has become a classic of fire-and-brimstone preaching and what strategies put in place by Edwards, the self-conscious literary artist, can we detect" to understand the success of "Sinners in the hand of an angry God” ( Gallagher 203). “Sinners” was a perfect sermon during the Great Awakening because Jonathan Edwards, with his great eloquence and his powerful and frightening images of hell, succeeded in persuading the Enfield congregation to seek forgiveness and repentance. Gallagher in his analysis emphasized the auditory experience of the sermon and coined a term known as "recurring pulse" to indicate Edwards' oratorical power to change his congregation with his voice rather than impose on them laws (220). Gallagher suggested that critics of "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God" focus more on understanding Edwards' preaching style and his approach to poetry in order to encourage others to analyze his writings to support the American literature (221). Regardless of what critics of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” would say, the facts remain the same. There are people who still deny the existence of God, let alone His