Jonathan Edwards: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Established by Puritans in 1654 on the banks of the Connecticut River, Northampton enjoyed relative peace and prosperity thanks to good relations with the local Native American tribes and an abundance of fertile farmland. A dramatic trial regarding witchcraft in Northampton in 1656 anticipated similar events in Salem three decades later. While it was predominantly a farming community, Northampton experienced steady expansion to become a center for commerce by the eighteenth century, through a combination of such factors as road construction and the start of lead-mining operations. The people of Northampton, like most people living in New England during the 1730s, remained rooted in the traditional outlook of Puritanism even as concepts of the Enlightenment and increased regional prosperity threatened to undermine a previously steadfast devotion to God. They also retained a worldview that was distinctly English in nature, with a general acceptance of a well-defined hierarchal society in which the authority and influence of certain elites, such as members of the clergy, went largely unquestioned. Patriarchal figures dominated the colonial landscape, from individual households to church congregations. Anyone judged to be challenging or threatening the established order, particularly those of the lower classes, risked ostracism or a more severe form of punishment.

Conditions unique to the New England colonies also shaped and informed the outlook and religious beliefs of its inhabitants. Relations with Native Americans in New England, though they were reasonably calm by the time of Edwards's ministry, had been anything but during the 1670s and 1680s, particularly during King Philip's War of 1675–1678, which saw the destruction of many Massachusetts towns. The ever-present prospect of outbreaks of illness, particularly during the winter months, and poor harvests were other brutal realities that members of Edwards's church and those living throughout New England understood all too well. A measure of comfort and hope offered by Sunday services provided respite from day-to-day concerns.

Whatever Edwards's intentions or vision might have been, his message ultimately resonated well beyond the members of his Congregationalist Church. To those already steadfast in their faith, the sermon would simply reinforce their confidence in escaping eternal damnation. To many of the nonbelievers or those wrestling with doubts about God, the vivid images of hellfire and divine wrath that Edwards painted with his words made an indelible impression that resulted in conversions and recommitments to God.