Jonathon Edwards: from "Sinners in the Hands of ..." - Discuss

Question 1

two sides

Answer 1

• 1. some felt they were being scared from the church and felt doomed, completely without hope
• 2. other left convinced that the church was the way to avoid the doom of God’s wrath, and so Edwards was scaring them back to church

Question 2

questions for discussion

Answer 2

• when criticized for the use of the scare tactics he employed in his sermons, Edwards replied that he was trying to save people’s souls. He said, “ Would it not be acceptable to fright someone out of a house on fire?”
• • Do you think the use of Edwards’s scare tactics are justified, considering his goal? Why or why not?
• • Do you believe that Edwards’ sermon resulted in improving the morality of his congregation? Why or why not?

Question 3

if you were writing that Jonathon Edwards’ strong preaching would help people come back to God and the church by waking up some that thought they didn’t need help, what lines from “Sinners” would you use to support your thesis

Answer 3

• “…God is a great deal more angry with…many…in this congregation, who it may be are at ease”

Question 4

“However you may have reformed your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of God, is it nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction…”

This excerpt from Edwards’ sermon shows his belief that

Answer 4

• it is God’s pleasure, not your religious affections, that keep you from destruction

Question 5

“However you may have reformed your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of God, is it nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction…”

This excerpt from Edwards’ sermon shows his belief that

Answer 5

• only those who are “born again” are not in danger of God’s great wrath

Question 6

Even though Edwards seems to focus on the wrath of God and a fiery hell, what lines would you cite if you were making the point that Edwards’ does hold out hope for the sinners

Answer 6

• par 11: now you have an extraordinary opportunity…Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open
• par 11: many that were…in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state…

Question 7

some say Edwards contradicts himself in his sermon - giving no hope, yet implying some kind of hope for his sinful congregation. what excerpts form his sermon would show this contradiction?

Answer 7

• p8, 11: nothing that you can do to induce God to spare you/Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide