Calvinistic Doctrines Reflected in Jonathan Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Authors

  • Dan Wang School of Foreign Studies, Beijing Information Science and Technology University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/ret.v3i1.1460

Abstract

Preached on July 8, 1741, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” remains Jonathan Edwards’s most famous written work and a classic of the Great Awakening of New England. The long-famed power of this sermon rests not only in his searing images of hellfire and the insecurity they elicit, but also in the Calvinistic thoughts Edwards imparts to his Enfield listeners. This paper mainly examines some basic doctrines of Calvinism Edward expresses in this sermon, such as God’s absolute sovereignty, original sin, human depravity, and divine election, etc.

Keywords:

Jonathan Edwards; Great Awakening; Calvinism

References

[1] Cady, Edwin H. “The Artistry of Jonathan Edwards.” The New England Quarterly 22.1 (Mar., 1949): 61-72.

[2] Carpenter, Frederic I. “The Radicalism of Jonathan Edwards.” The New England Quarterly 4.4 (Oct., 1931): 629-644.

[3] Edwards, Jonathan. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Myths in American Culture. Ed. Jin Li. Beijing: High Education Press, 2011. 30-43.

[4] Gallagher, Edward J. “‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’: Some Unfinished Business.” The New England Quarterly 73.2 (Jun., 2000): 202-221.

[5] Kight, Janice. Orthodoxies in Massachusetts: Rereading American Puritanism. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 1994.

[6] Schneider, Herbert W. The Puritan Mind. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1958.

[7] Wilson, Stephen A. “Jonathan Edwards’s Virtue: Diverse Sources, Multiple Meanings, and the Lessons of History for Ethics.” The Journal of Religious Ethics 31.2 (Summer, 2003): 201-228. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinism.

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Vol. 3 , Iss. 1 (January 2020)

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Review Article

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