Jonathan Edwards Beliefs Essay

Jonathan Edward’s and the Puritans have unequally different spiritual beliefs. Jonathan Edwards’s beliefs focused on seeking salvation to avoid hell. Jonathan Edward’s spiritual attitude differs greatly from those of Puritan works, such as from writers Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson, who believe one must be elected by God to go to Heaven. Their different beliefs are what lead them to have different spiritual attitudes. Puritan works are all didactic; they are all meant to teach a lesson. In Anne Bradstreet’s poem, “Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of our House,” she expresses the idea of weaned affections. Bradstreet wrote, “I blest his name that gave and took” (122). Bradstreet was upset about her house burning and losing everything, but she also believed that everything she had was because of God, and it all belonged to him anyways. Bradstreet ends her poem with, “My hope and treasure lies above” (123) meaning that her faith is in God, and she believes that she has a home in heaven. The lesson in Bradstreet’s poem is the idea of weaned affections; she realizes she should not become too attached to physical things. Puritans believed that only chosen people went to heaven; these people were known as the elect. They believed that God picked who would go to heaven
and who would not. They believed that humans were sinful. Puritans believed that even by good actions and being a good person, you were only accepted into heaven if God chose for you to be, but even though they believed that only the elected people went to heaven, they still worked hard to be good people. Puritans also believed that misfortune is a test of faith and that it also shows God’s will. They believed that having much misfortune was a sign that they were one of the elect. Mary Rowlandson’s, “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” was a great example of misfortune. Mary Rowlandson was kidnapped by the Indians, but she saw everything that happened to her as a blessing from God. She lost her child after carrying her around for nine days. Rowlandson kept a bible with her while she was held hostage by the Indians and always read from it. Rowlandson experienced a great deal of misfortune and loss, but she still relied on God. She believed that because of her misfortune she was one of the elect. Jonathan Edward’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” was much different than the Puritan doctrines.
Edwards is saying in this sermon that all sinners are going to hell and he expresses multiple times about how angry God is at sinners and people who do not believe. Edwards uses the example of an insect being held over a fire. He says how God hold sinners over hell and just decides when to drop these sinners. “He looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire” (215), says Edwards in his sermon. Edwards is trying to express to the congregation their imminent danger, but he is telling people this because he wants them to look for
salvation. Edwards is trying to encourage people to look for salvation. He is doing this by telling them they are all going to hell if they do not seek salvation, and also that they do not know how much time they have left to achieve salvation. According to Belden Lane, Edwards expresses the idea of “New Sense.” The New Sense is the sense that is used to know or believe in God even though he cannot be found with any of our other senses. “Edwards insisted that it is the impassioned mind, the loving mind, the mind made open to all of its senses that thinks most clearly” (Belden). The spiritual attitude is different in Edwards’ sermon than it is in Puritan doctrines because they have completely different spiritual views. Edwards’ sermon focuses on how sinners go to hell. Puritan beliefs such as those of Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson’s are different. Puritans believe that everyone is born a sinner but that does not mean they are going to go to hell. Bradstreet and Rowlandson also believed that the people that who into heaven are elected and no matter how hard you try, if you are not elected to go, you will not go to heaven, but Edwards believes that by being saved you can go to heaven. Edwards was trying to lead people to salvation; whereas, Bradstreet and Rowlandson were teaching the lesson to rely on God and not to rely on physical objects.