Friday, September 4, 2009

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God...

Whew. What a sermon. Here are the questions I originally posed...

1. What is the sermon's purpose?
2. How does it evoke its purpose? What tactics does it employ?
3. Why do you think the Puritans valued this sermon? What did it offer them?

Here are other questions that arose for me as I listened today...

1. What repeated words or images stand out to you? What motifs?
2. What kind of a god does Edwards' sermon describe?
3. Based on the body of information we have about religion in Puritan times from Edward and Miller, what, do you think, connected culture anxiety and religion in this time period?

What questions or thoughts did it inspire for you? Explore connections between your reading and this sermon, between both texts and our guiding question. You may answer one or several of these questions, or pose your own.

Remember, this is an online conversation, not a piece of paper you're handing in. Challenge one another's thinking by responding directly to your classmates, i.e. "Bob, I see what you're saying, but have you considered..." Challenge each others' thinking in a polite, tactful way. Ask good questions. Don't just post and walk away...