Calvinists Speech - Sinners in the Hands of Angry God - Research Paper Example

Calvinism in "Sinners In the Hands of An Angry God" In 1741 in Northampton, Massachusetts, a Calvinist minister by the of Jonathan Edwards was known to have delivered, not once but several times, a fire-and-brimstone sermon entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” The speech was replete with hellish imagery and fiery exhortations for the listeners to mend their ways. Other than the immediately apparent call to repentance, the sermon also reveals several beliefs of the Reverend Edwards that bear closer scrutiny. Upon reading the sermon, one is at once struck by the severely daunting mental images crafted towards the singular end of striking fear and trepidation in the very hearts of the listeners. Edwards’ aim is clearly expressed at the beginning of the application: “The use of this awful subject may be for awakening unconverted persons in this congregation.” In the vernacular, it is “to scare the hell” out of them, if one will pardon the jest. One could only imagine with what booming voice and sharp inflection of speech the sermon had been delivered to the hapless faithful. The sermon aimed to pierce through the veil of indifference the drudgery of daily life tends to impose upon the lay folk, and impress upon them the need to prioritize the quest for salvation. The sermon was delivered in the midst of colonial New England, probably at the height of the Reformation movement. Given the time and place, the sermon must have been a resounding success, from the very fact that it had been repeated several times. During those instances, it must have been quite effective in obtaining the repentance of many “sinners” and their conversion into the folds of the Church. Had this sermon been delivered in the milieu of the 21st century, it, or its articulator, might not have survived even the first delivery. At the very least, the words would have been greeted by a summary exit of at least half of the faithful presently in church. The reason is the relatively more liberal and pragmatic views prevailing in these times. Commonly held principles of equality among men and a fraternal bond among men of all faiths negate the idea of a privileged few being born better than the rest because they were pre-ordained. The idea of some having been destined for heaven without having to lift a single finger, while all others are damned, smack of the brand of fascism Hitler propagated before and during the Second World War. In fact, Edwards’ comment about the “wicked Israelites” attributed to an entire nation the quality of being evil, symptomatic of the anti-Semitism and racism that permeated the “civilized” world until the early 20th century (and, in some isolated pockets of present society, still do). Furthermore, the idea of a wrathful God ever ready to throw all of worthless humanity into the bottomless pit, is entirely contradictory to the present theology of a loving, merciful, and benevolent Father. The sermon would therefore be labelled racist, prejudiced, bigoted and inflammatory – totally anathema and offensive to the popularly held sensibilities of our modern, global, society. In relation to the essential beliefs of Calvinism, Edwards’ sermon first appears to abide by them, but upon closer inspection does not appear to fit foursquare into the five points of Calvinism. For instance, while the sermon states that man’s salvation comes from God alone, consistent with Calvinism’s unconditional election, it nevertheless exorts the faithful to change their ways to attain salvation – a direct contradiction to the same tenet, which essentially teaches that the saved have been chosen by God from eternity, and not on the basis of their virtue, merit, or actions. If their actions should not determine whether they are saved or not, then what is the purpose of the call to “let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come”? If one were pre-ordained from the beginning of time to be eternally damned by no fault or action of his own, then contrary to the sermon, no amount of “awaking” and “flying” will earn him salvation. The principle of predestination to salvation does not square with the idea of conversion. Another point is that the sermon appears to fit the Calvinist doctrine of total depravity, where it states: “However you may have reformed your life in many things, and may have had religious affections, and may keep up a form of religion in your families and closets, and in the house of God, it is nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction.” On the other hand, earlier the sermon states: “All wicked mens pains and contrivance which they use to escape hell, while they continue to reject Christ, and so remain wicked men, do not secure them from hell one moment.” Here a conflict with Calvinism’s first point arises, because of man begins with total depravity, then his rejection or acceptable of Christ should not be material to his salvation, since rejection and acceptance are works of the will. Thus, if Edwards says rejecting Christ causes damnation, therefore accepting Christ should ensure damnation; and if accepting is a function of the will, then man is therefore not totally deprived from securing the way to salvation. Furthermore, if the choice is man’s then this violates to an extent the Calvinist doctrines of limited and substitutionary atonement, which states that Christ’s sacrifice was only for the sins of the elect, a limited few who were determined already at Calvary, and those not then chosen do not attain salvation no matter what they do. If one were among the elect, Christ had already paid his debt, and he is already saved; and if he were not among the elect, no amount of acceptance or rejection of Christ will include him in that privileged few. It is easy to point out these inconsistencies with the benefit of three centuries’ hindsight. Suffice it to say that as it now stands, this sermon is but a mere artefact of the past, with little relevance to the faithful of this day and age. Reference Edwards, Jonathan. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Northampton, Massachusetts, 1741. R. Port, ed. Northampton, Massachusetts, March 2001. Read More