Jonathan Edwards’s

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

PURITAN LITERATURE

“SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD”Jonathan Edwards

JONATHAN EDWARDS• Oct. 5, 1703, East Windsor, Conn. [U.S.]—died March

22, 1758, Princeton, N.J.),

• Greatest theologian and philosopher of British American Puritanism, stimulator of the religious revival known as the “Great Awakening,” and one of the forerunners of the age of Protestant missionary expansion in the 19th century

WHAT IS A SERMON?• Speech given from the pulpit in a house of worship

• Conveys the speaker’s message or POV

• A form of oratory (formal, public speaking)

• Elements of a Sermon:

• They are PERSUASIVE, inspiring listeners to take action.

• They address the NEEDS and CONCERNS of the audience

• They appeal to the EMOTIONS

• They include EXPRESSIVE and RHYTHMIC language

GREAT AWAKENING • Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qTzC7rPcaY

• Belief that life is hard work

• Devotion and self-discipline are important

• Omniscient god indifferent to human’s suffering

• Fearful, powerful God

• Divine intervention

SIMILARITIES IN VALUES

Puritanism & Edwards

• Work hard to achieve salvation

• God’s mercy given based on his “whims” as well….

• Pre-destination and the “elect”

• God’s mercy given based on people’s obedience of Divine Laws

DIFFERENCE IN VALUES

Puritanism Edwards

TERMS TO KNOW (USE YOUR EOCT PACKET)• Metaphor

• Simile

• Imagery

• Figurative Language

• Sermon

CLASS ACTIVITY • (See handout for further details)

• Write the word ANGER at the center of your paper. Write it big and in the font that anger should be written (in your opinion).

• As you LISTEN, simple doodle images you HEAR/SEE on your piece of paper, around the word “ANGER” at the center of your paper.

• After doodling, we are going to back through the text and find TEXTUAL EVIDENCE (quotes, cited using MLA), for each image and identify the figurative language/literary device of each image.

FOLLOW-UP DISCUSSION• How does Edwards try to convince his audience to repent and save themselves from

damnation?