1. Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

2. Biography  Born in Connecticut in 1703  Entered Yale at 13  1729: grandfather dies  Edwards replaces him as preacher  Did 8 years of missionary work in virtual exile  Named president of college of New Jersey  Died in 1758 of a smallpox vaccine

3. Preaching  Credited with bringing about the first Great Awakening  People convert to his religion, become “awakened” to God  1734: seeing an average of 30 people convert a week  Preaching is not all positive  Held extremely stringent membership requirements  Publicly accussed prominent members of sinning  Dismissed from pulpit in 1750

4. Beliefs  Puritan, Deist, or Realist?  Believed in reason and learning (realist)  Believed in power of human will (deist)  Believed in lowliness of man compared to God and ultimate futility to achieve salvation (puritan)

5. His Writing  Heavy use of figures of speech  Similes, metaphors, personification, and symbols  Used scary/evil figures of speech and imagery to invoke fear in his audience  Very persuasive