"The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked... He is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours." — Jonathan Edwards, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," 1741
Compared with seventeenth-century Puritan preaching by figures such as John Winthrop or John Cotton, Edwards's sermon was distinctive in its:
- A
Endorsement of Anglican episcopal church governance
- B
Rejection of original sin in favor of innate human goodness
- C
Preference for Latin liturgy over vernacular English
- Dcheck_circle
Heightened emotional and sensory imagery aimed at producing immediate personal conversion
Explanation
Edwards retained Calvinist doctrines on sin and depravity but innovated by using vivid sensory imagery to provoke immediate emotional conversion. He did not reject original sin, did not preach in Latin (a Catholic, not Puritan, practice), and rejected, not endorsed, Anglican episcopal governance.