“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” I provided a handout that explains the formal structure of a puritan sermon in this week’s module. You will need the handout to complete this Writing Workshop.
Note the information regarding the delivery: the words were considered divinely inspired, but the person delivering the message is a flawed human being. Therefore, ministers delivered these sermons in a monotone so as not to “get in the way” of God’s message. In Blackboard I have also included a video clip of someone giving some background on the sermon and delivering the sermon. If the link does not work, copy and paste it into your browser.
You should listen to the background information and at least a few minutes of the actual sermon so you get a feel for the delivery. Then respond to this prompt:
In what ways are you surprised by the content and delivery of the sermon? If you were a member of Edwards’ congregation, how would you react? If Edwards was to travel to 2016, what do you think would surprise him about current religious messages? How would you explain the differences between his approach and modern approaches to religious messages (consider cultural and societal influences and changes between his time and ours). This is a pretty broad discussion question. Have some fun with it.
