Thursday, September 17, 2009

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" Questions

1.a. The average person thinks that themselves and nature keep them alive, while Edwards says that it is solely God.
  b. The rock falling through the web represents the sinner's wickedness and how their sin is so heavy that if God were to drop them, they would swiftly fall into hell. The rock breaking the web is like the sinner's wickedness destroying their life and detaching them from what keeps them from falling into hell. Edwards shows them how fragile that web is and that it can collapse at any given time and that their wickedness just increases the weight of the rock. The chaff represents the sinner, being merely nothing, having no significance, and being unwanted. It is easily blown away by the wind, in this case being God.

2.a. the sun, the earth, the air
   b. Edwards uses thundering storm clouds and wind to represent God's anger. Both elements of nature are strong, wrathful, and unstoppable, commanding and altering the world around them.

3.a. Their heart must undergo a great change by the power of God and be born again, dead to sin and newly alive in God.
   b. A bow and arrow are personified and is said to be full of wrath, anger, and justice. It is a scary comparison because it is telling us that God is ready to bring about that justice and send all sinners to hell at any given whim.

4.a. He starts by saying that sinners are mere bugs and tells of how angry and hateful God is at them and then proceeds to say that there is no good reason why they're alive now.
   b. It would be useful in frightening people because it shows them that the only reason they're alive is purely because God hasn't "dropped" them yet and that they can be cast into hell at any time.

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