After reading Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God in class yesterday, I felt like I just learned about a new aspect of Christianity because as you may guess, I’m not a Christian nor do I believe in any religion. Now if I were to think about what would happen if I lived in a Puritan neighborhood during that time period, I probably would accept it as if it was the truth all along. The reason for that is because although the Ten Commandments already told us the things we shouldn’t do and I already know what the seven deadly sins were, then why should we be surprised to hear about what would happen to us if we commit a sin. Naturally it occurs to me that God is very angry with man because he had already send a flood to kill us once so why wouldn’t it be common sense that he’ll condemn us to Hell if we commit a sin which he hates.
Now referring back to how I would’ve reacted, I would just be sitting on the bench listening and show the same expression as the group. If I don’t do that, then maybe they’ll think that hearing this revelation doesn’t surprise me at all and burn me at the stake for being a heretic for not caring about God. Although this sermon given by Jonathan Edwards might surprise many people in that Church and some might even run out of the Church screaming, I would just be absolutely calm on the inside because I know that was the truth all along. The reason is because if people could just repent for their sins after they had committed it, then what is the point of not committing any sins. That’s just my opinion because I agree with what he’s saying that if people actually didn’t commit sins their entire life, then they definitely deserve to go to Heaven while the others who couldn’t persevere should go to Hell which is where they belong in the sense that they anger God. If my parents who were with me at that time was surprised and decided to run out of the Church screaming, then I’ll just follow them in a normal pace but if they reacted like I did on the inside, then I would just accept it as I would for whatever reaction they might have. Basically, I would go with the crowd because I feel that Jonathan Edwards is a sensible but others might think he’s crazy and I don’t want to anger the crowd so I would conform.
If you were me at that time, what would you have done? Please leave a comment below about your thoughts!
I too would have believed that john edwards is telling the truth about God if I had lived during that time, but since I don't I dont believe what he says. I was taught at a Catholic school and was taught that God is merciful and loving.
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