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

2. The Great Awakening Edwards and his family were deeply involved in the First Great Awakening. –Religious revival –Redemption –Increased memberships in evangelical Protestant Churches First preached on July 8, 1741. The version we know was give n later in Enfield Connecticut. Became so popular, Edwards traveled around re-preaching the sermon.

3. What’s He Saying? Human sinfulness Uncertainty of existence God’s ultimate power over salvation The need for a Christian lifestyle Chance of redemption Importance of conversion (to the church and not so easy)

4. Why Is What Edwards Said So Important? Only God could induce conversion, therefore the Puritans did not know when they were converted, they could only hope. Edward’s reminded them they needed to live a more Christian life. Edwards reminded the Puritans that God was omnipotent and beyond human understanding. Human logic and respecting God’s choices could not go hand in hand.

5. And if that wasn’t enough…. If one chose to ignore the Christian tenets that God had outlined……. one would be deserving of God’s wrath. Which, appears to be pretty ugly, according to Edwards

6. Rhetorical Devices Abound Yes, Edwards motivated Puritans to revive their religious involvement, but he was also on the forefront of a new style of writing. Fierce imagery evoking images of God’s wrath There are 25 images throughout the sermon (not all of them are considered well done) These images created Edward’s voice -King Nebuchadnezzar- rise and fall and respect for God

7. Now For Some Disappointing News We, modern readers, may want to picture Edwards standing on his pulpit, screaming, spitting, sweating and pointing. Sadly (for entertainment purposes), he did none of this. Edwards tended to give sermons’ in a mono-tone voice. He did not believe he was “holier-than- thou”