*SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD*

"It is no security to wicked men for one moment, that there are no visible means of death at hand. It is no security to a natural man, that he is now in health, and that he does not see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect in his circumstances. The manifold and continual experience of the world in all ages, shows this is no evidence, that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step will not be into another world. The unseen, unthought-of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at noon-day; the sharpest sight cannot discem them. God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world and sending them to hell, that there is nothing to make it appear, that God had need to be at the expense of a miracle, or go out of the ordinary course of his providence, to destroy any wicked man, at any moment. All the means that there are of sinners going out of the world, are so in God's hands, and so universally and absolutely subject to his power and determination, that it does not depend at all the less on the mere will of God, whether sinners shall at any moment go to hell, than if means were never made use of, or at all concerned in the case. " (Edwards)

Reflection: After reading this, I truly realized that it does not matter what kind of man you are, your fate is in the hands of God and he will decide what happens to you. Another thing is that, no matter what any man does in his life, God is the only person who has the person the power to send that man to hell. Throughout this whole narrative, it was stressed that the fate of anyone is in the hands of God, especially if that man is a sinner. When it comes down to it, Gods makes the overall decisions of whether or not a man changes or if he stays wicked, and consiquently, he is sent to hell. This narrative makes me look back at the things that I have done in my life and the decisions that I have made. When I think about everything that has taken place in my life I realize that everyone makes mistakes, but ultimatley God is the one who holds my fate in his hands, and he will decide whether or not I go to heaven or Hell.

Dear Diary,

After reading this narrative, it made me realize that many of the people who have moved into the New World have lost their guidance in the sense that they do not follow the same morals or live the way that they used to, and they do not feel that their are any consequences that follow. However, after reading Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, the narrative made me see that people will be punished for whatever actions that they decide to make. Considering that everyones fate is held in the hands of God, it has made me realize that the only true punishment can come from him.

Essential Question: How is community affected when the American dream may not be assessable to all? For the Puritans the American Dream is to receive God's grace while seeking salvation. The Puritans have hope to escape religious persecution and most of all to be granted God's Salvation and Grace. However, since the dream may not be assessable to all, it leads those in the community to believe that the person who can not achieve this dream has found disfavor with God.