The American preacher Jonathan Edwards actively calls on the restitution of the Puritan way of life. Like many preachers before him, Edwards finds his inspiration in the Bible. His sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is an emotional appeal to turn back to the traditional for the pioneer’s strict postulates of the religion.
As one of the most important theologians of the Great Awakening, Edwards directs his sermon to the audience which forgets about God and worships the other gods. Edwards tries to persuade people to turn back to the Puritan way of life. The sermon reflects the spite of the preacher. Using rhetorical techniques and imagery, Edwards makes his tone sharper.
The picture of God’s anger makes Edwards’ sermon quite convincing. He says that any time God can lose patience and wipe all the people off the face of the earth. This vivid and detailed example should set people’s thinking. One of the major arguments of the sermon is an image of hell as a punishment for those who live in sin. According to Christianity, sinners will be in agony in hell. Edwards emphasizes the realness of hell and Satan. People have to understand that hell is a terrible place and to save this impression for the rest of their lives. However, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God reminds us about the mercy of God and the value of repentance.
Two different tones of Edwards’ sermon show his apprehension of the decline of morality and, at the same time, a hope that people can turn back. Preacher’s confidence in a providential punishment is a typically Christian point of view. However, Edwards goes deeper. As an advocate of the Puritan way of life, he rejects all the relaxation of restrictions. He blames people and says about their guilt. According to Edwards, people deserve to burn in hell. Those who don’t follow Christ will not receive forgiveness. Nevertheless, Edwards hopes that the audience understands his appeal. They have an extraordinary opportunity to repent and feel God’s mercy.
The fear of God’s punishment is an important postulate of Christianity. Edwards uses this image to persuade wickers of the contrition’s significance. This practice is widely used by the Puritans who emphasize an obligatoriness of the Bible’s laws. Edwards reminds of the pioneers who had a peaceful and full of divine grace life. With the final appeal, Edwards gives hope for the people out of Christ.
Religion was a big part of the Puritan’s life. The Bible was a source of inspiration for Edwards. Trying to warn the sinners against God’s punishment, the preacher uses the Bible image of hell and at the same time reminds people about God’s mercy. Such fear-love relationships are a perfect argument to convince people and to convert to Christianity. Edwards’ technique of vivid images and metaphors makes the work bright and persuasive. His dogma that only God can save everyone from the hell is typical for all Christian preachers. Based on the traditional Christian postulates, Edwards’ sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is an example of the good preacher’s work that can persuade people to turn back to the sinless life within Christianity.