Sunday, August 2, 2009

What is one of the most vivid images from the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," and how did it make you feel?

The
previous post identified a nice (albeit disturbing) excerpt from Edwards' sermon.  One of the
most striking images I take from it would be Edwards' moral clarity.  It seems so powerful to me
that he can articulate a position where there is little ambiguity or vagueness.  Granted, the
Great Awakening was convinced in its sincerity of wanting to reestablish the place of religion
in the colonies.  However, when Edwards dismisses those who refuse to accept the presence of
divinity, it is striking how convinced he is:

They
deserve to be cast into hell; so that divine justice never stands
in the way, it makes no objection against God's using his power at any moment to destroy
them.Yea, on the contrary, justice calls aloud for an infinite punishment of their
sins.

Following such absolutism, Edwards continues with
"The sword of divine justice is every moment brandished over their heads, and it is nothing
but the hand of arbitrary mercy, and God's mere will, that holds it back."  I suppose I am
struck by the ability of any human being to hold so much conviction and dogmatic belief in the
powers of divinity.  Something that is so complex and intricate as the workings of the divine
also seems to be something that lies outside any absolutes.  Apparently, such intricacies did
not apply to Edwards with such .

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