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Madeline Meyers

Mrs. Storer

English 3H B3

9/4/19

Fear of the Lord

Throughout history, religion has been used as a tool to scare people into obedience. In

Johnathan Edward’s sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” he explains his belief that

God is constantly upset with mankind. Edwards aims to instill fear among the congregation so

that they will obey God, however his attempts to instill feelings of unwantedness and

helplessness and use of scare tactics and render his argument ineffective.

Edwards causes the congregation to feel unwanted by God in his attempt to encourage

obedience. He explains what he believes to be God’s opinion of mankind as, “ten thousand times

so abominable in his eyes, as the most hateful and venomous serpent is in ours” (Edwards 98).

He compares humans to vile creatures. No one wants to be in a place where they are made to feel

unwelcome, yet Edwards not only makes the people feel unwelcome, but also revolting. He

repeats this sentiment by stating that, “The God who holds you over the pit of hell...abhors

you...he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else” (Edwards 98). He further explains God’s

view of humans as insignificant creatures who are disgusting and easily disposed of. He pushes

upon them the belief that just by being born human, God will hate them. Edwards’ hope is that

his sermon will cause obedience, but instead, he stirs feelings of self-loathing. If these people are

repeatedly told that the leader of their religion is one that does not welcome them, there is every

reason for them to leave and follow one that does. Not only does he make them feel unwanted,

but also makes it clear that nothing they do can change this.
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Edwards makes the congregation’s demise appear inevitable. He informs them that they

have, “nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of

your own, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you” (Edwards 99). Here he affirms

that if God decides to direct his wrath at someone, there is nothing they can do to stop it,

therefore, causing them to feel helpless. His goal is to inspire fear in has to make them obedient

to God, but by making it seem as if there is nothing they can do to avoid a fiery demise, he

unintentionally encourages them to live a life of sin because their downfall is inescapable. He

reinforces this helplessness when he tells the people that, “all your righteousness, would have no

more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider’s web would have to stop a

falling rock” (Edwards 98). He informs them that no matter how righteous they may be, it will

have no effect on God’s decision of whether or not to keep them out of hell. If their behavior has

no bearing on their fate, there is no reason for them to remain obedient to God. He provides no

reason to obey God and takes their motivation to be obedient.

Edwards seeks to scare people into obeying God in a way that actually causes an inverse

reaction. He informs the congregation, “You are thus in the hands of an angry God; it is nothing

but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting

destruction” (Edwards 98). Here he attempts to frighten them into subservience. Edwards makes

it clear that God is upset, possibly by no fault of their own. This conviction distances the people

from God, because it causes them to live in fear that any action they take will upset him, thus

leading to their eternal damnation. Edwards again employs fear tactics when he demands the

congregation should, “consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a

wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath that you are held over” (Edwards 98). He

explains his belief that God will not hesitate to throw them into the pits of hell. This once again
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creates fear in the people he is preaching to and instills the belief that this God is perpetually

upset by them. If the congregation somehow manages to do as Edwards suggests and avoid hell,

they are still sentenced to spend eternity with a God who has been portrayed as a terrifying

omniscient creature. Therefore, the fear of spending eternity with him is just as scary as an

eternity in hell, thus causing no desire to live a virtuous life on earth if the result in the afterlife

will carry no reward. The fear of God Edwards instills among the members of the Church simply

scares them away from God.

Edwards uses fear as a tool scare the people into living a holy life, which in turn is

proven unsuccessful. By instilling feelings of unwantedness, inevitable demise, and fear,

Edward’s attempt at scaring his congregation into obedience is made ineffective. To engage

religious people into desiring a faith-filled life, preachers today take a more conservative route

by showing them the rewards they could receive as opposed to the punishments they would

endure.
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Works Cited

Edwards, Jonathan. “from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Glencoe American

Literature, by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm et al., Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009, pp. 97-99.