Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
by Pastor Walter Snyder

Q: In a college English class we read "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," a 1741
sermon by Jonathan Edwards. Have you read this? If you have, what you think of it? In so
many words, it terrified me. I suppose that is its purpose, but I would appreciate feedback
as to what a pastor's feelings and viewpoints on this sermon are.

A: Thousands of American Literature students have been sentenced to read "Sinners," to talk
about it, to make it the object of tests and term papers. When people speak of "hellfire and
damnation" or "fire and brimstone" preaching, "Sinners" is the type of sermon on their minds.
Originally targeting the population of a rather blase‚ Enfield, Connecticut, very few single works
approach this sermon's relentless assault on complacency and persistent sinning.

Edwards combines orderly, logical progression of thought with exceptional understanding of
psychology. Speaking straightforwardly to the head, he hammers heart and soul. At the beginning
of the sermon, he lays out ten major themes. Taken by themselves, they provide some warning; by
sermon's end, they turn the fires of hell into a blowtorch directed at his listeners.

Yet it's not the burning of hell which is the heart of the sermon but rather the burning wrath of
Deity provoked: "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: His wrath towards
you burns like fire; He looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; 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. You have offended Him infinitely
more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but His hand that holds you
from falling into the fire every moment."

Edward's masterful use of the English language is one reason why his works remain part of our
academic studies. His ability to create vivid images obviously wasn't lost on you. Yet the very
strengths of this sermon also become its weaknesses. In times such as ours, its message is taken
almost as a cartoonish parody blending the finesse of a cheap horror film with the rigid dogma of
"loveless" Puritanism. I fear that "Sinners," more than any other work of American religion, is
regularly included in textbooks not only for its power, but because by itself it can be used to
degrade, demean, and dismiss Christianity. If this is one of the few overtly religious entries by a
professed and passionate Christian in a literary anthology, then what view of Christianity do the
editors offer their readers?

This same preacher and scholar developed other masterful sermons, most of which bear little
resemblance to "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Often his works remind one of
passionate love poems. He adored nature and many of his sermons and writings contain scenes of
pastoral beauty and peace. He rhapsodized the forgiveness and grace of God. Yet these seldom
enter the anthologies. Only sincere seekers delve deeper into the world of Edwards; to most, he
remains a bitter, angry, frightening man.

Ultimately, I think that Edwards, while rightfully condemning sinful man, got too much wrong.
Even in his non-threatening works, his strict Calvinist view of God leaves man at the mercy of
divine capriciousness. With Edwards, no one can be certain of salvation. While this view is in
terrifyingly vivid display in "Sinners," it's an integral part of the rest of Edward's corpus as well.

Especially in this sermon, although the end calls sinners to Christ, Edwards never clearly and
completely comforts the fearful soul. He leaves you still the "loathsome insect" held in God's
hand above the flame. Christ's suffering, His "hell on earth," never becomes the instrument of
your deliverance. Your fate is left to the whim of a God still angry. You never hear that as a
believer, it is not the fearsome hand of an angry God clutching you. He never completes the task
of assuring you that you are held securely in the loving hands of Christ and of His Father (John
10:28-29): "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of
my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch
them out of the Father's hand."

Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from ~The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version~<TM>, © 2001 by Crossway Bibles.

Jonathan Edwards quote from "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God" is public domain.

Ask the Pastor, © 2004 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this disclaimer,
by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and redistribution. Translations
into other languages should similarly note the United States and any appropriate international
copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions concerning the property of others.

Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of
the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."