"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

Fear is commonly used as a scare tactic, from when your little and your parents say the cops will come an get you if your bad, to now when our own school threatens us with I.S.S. when we know they don't even enforce it in the first place. Jonathan Edwards uses this tactic in his sermon “Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God” given in his Puritan Church.

"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”

Although Edwards is talking about the sinners, in a Puritan community it would be sinful to not pray once a day. If you forgot to pray one day, and you went to church and heard this; wouldn't you be terrified of God? Once you're in this terrified state I think there are two options: either kick it into overdrive to make up for your mistake, or lose all hope completely.

Although I don't go to church as regularly as I should, I am a Confirmed Catholic, and I do believe in God. My pastor from my old parish's Sunday sermons were often light, funny, often times could be related to my life, and really taught the scripture even further. I remember at my Confirmation, in his sermon he talked about Macaroni 'N Cheese, and I absolutely love Macaroni 'N Cheese. He spoke about how a healthy life has many different ingredients in it, family, friends, God, and a how a little Macaroni 'N Cheese never hurt. (I have really taken the Macaroni 'N Cheese part seriously, I have it incredibly often, Kraft Toy Story is probably my favorite kind, its almost like a vice.) I never felt threatened by my pastor nor do I think anyone should be.

No matter how good of a pastor he was, he couldn't change my views on many of the things the Catholic Church frowns upon. I am pro choice and same sex marriage, and I don't believe in Hell or Purgatory. My mother is divorced which isn't ideal in the Church, and therefore it's tough to throw my full support and heart and soul behind something that doesn't accept the most important person in my life.

Everyday, I walk by a Catholic grade school, and on it's sign it reads “ALL ARE WELCOME. CATHOLICS COME HOME.” and it gives me hope, and reminds me of my faith, although I rarely attend. I certainly wouldn't make it as a Puritan and I would probably fear for my life, literally, with almost every move. Also, I certainly couldn't handle Jonathan Edwards. I cannot judge those who/what I don't understand, but I do think scaring followers the way he did, didn't help the moral of the church community.