"Sinners" Critical Questions

Name_______________________________________________Date___________________Period_____Critical Questions for ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’:

Part I: Getting Started - Initial Impressions
1. What was stirring, striking, or memorable to you in reading this sermon?



Part II: “O sinner, consider the fearful danger you are in!”
1. What images or analogies does Jonathan Edwards use to evoke the situation of the unconverted? (What does it mean to be unconverted?)



2. What are the most prominent themes communicated by these images?


3. How are listeners meant to feel?



4. Come up with another image (not included in the text) that conveys a predicament similar to the plight of the sinner that Edwards speaks of.



5. Consider the imagery of suspension that occurs throughout the sermon. What images are used? Are they effective? Why or why not?



Part IV: Thinking about how the sermon works
1. How does this sermon work? What makes/made it effective?




2. What are Edwards’ sources of authority or credibility? How does he elicit a response from his listeners?