To imagine the words from "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" being passionately delivered by Edwards in a small New England church is downright terrifying. In reading the sermon, I could almost hear the pin-drop silence of the congregation, feel the sweat under their collars, feel the stiffening of their backs as if axles had been driven through their spines, and most of all share the panic of hell as Edwards hurls his words into the chests of the churchgoers like hurricane winds.

Unfortunately, it is the rhetoric of fear and in response, people get a little crazy.

"Sinners" is like the common man's Inferno. However, Dante's version of hell pales into a candle against Edwards description of the fires awaiting them in the pit of hell. Edwards makes hell palpable, as if you can feel the fire singing your skin. It is graphic violence, as bad as any video game today. While Dante's description of hell was composed as a work of art, Edwards description has no allowances for mythology or poetry. His purpose in this sermon is a singular focus on generating fear.

The power of reiteration in Edwards's speech cannot be underestimated. Time and again he covers the same point of entering hell. Were the subject matter not being delivered so fervently, the repetition almost becomes laughable, as we wonder how many ways can he describe our entrance into hell. His use of the word "wrath" occurs many times in the text, and his imagery of dangling over the fire is repeated using different metaphors. In one instance you are dangling from a frayed string, in the next you are in God's palm, you are in front of the floodgates, you are a rock falling through a spider-web, you are abhorred, you are hated by God more than the vilest serpent or insect, and he will at any moment gladly tread your face, trample your body, and paint himself in your blood before your new career of suffering forevermore commences!

The sermon grows sickly uncomfortable when Edwards begins to point his finger at the audience, assuring them that many in the congregation will suffer the miserable fate of hell. He uses the word "they" throughout the sermon in referring to the damned, but suddenly the detached "they" sits among the pews. Again, the written sermon nearly emits the discomfort felt in the church, the cracks of stiff pews when nervous legs shift in their seats.

This type of sermon is dangerous talk because the concentration on evil and hate creates paranoia and sows ideas of hatred among the people. Jonathon Edwards dismissal from his church is a credit to the Puritan religion, since his goal was to alienate, not unify the people. His ideas, so rich in hate and disdain, could have easily infected the congregation and spread, and it seems that the Salem Witch hunts must have had this type of mentality steering the people toward injustice through fear and paranoia.

Powerful.

There are several posts here that promote Christian Universalism teachings although they do not come out confess to the fact.

CU's believe that ultimately every person that ever lived will be saved an hence logically there cannot be a Hell. This is a gross neglect of what the bible actually teaches. CU was nearly dead until it resurfaced in the 1700's. It has been largely discounted by mainstream Christianity throughout the centuries for a reason: it breaks every law of proper biblical hermenuetics and excegesis.

The CU's here promote sites such as "What the Hell is Hell".

An excellent site that compares both the CU viewpoint and historical Christian teaching is "CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS &
RESEARCH MINISTRY. A search on that name will link to the website.

Hell is a very important topic with far reaching implications on how we live and I encourage you to research the various views with an un-biased mind and an open bible.

Good Luck.