Looks interesting, especially the aspect on how Whitfield influenced him.
Edwards is one of those figures that experienced and impacted so much that it almost seems impossible. From his academic career as a very young man (Yale, Princeton), to his famous sermon, his well-known church, heritage, family life, relationships with the likes of Whitfield and Wesley, his David Brainard work, The Great Awakening, etc…. Wow!
However one feels about his theology, one can not help but be amazed by his life.

I like these first and second themes of Edwards thinking very much (and I’m not dismissive of the third). It’s really beneficial to look at the big picture of God’s work and words in the scriptures and ask “What does he hope to accomplish through all of this work?” That question, I think, as much or more than any other, has helped me begin again to structure my life in a better way.

How congruent with Eastern Orthodox doctrines of God and Hell and Salvation and Punishment is Edwards’s “Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God”? I.e., would his preaching/teaching in this sermon be considered orthodox, acceptable, a novelty, or heretical? What do the hierarchs at St. Seraphim say about it?

Ignore my comment re: Edwards and Eastern Orthodoxy. I mistakenly thought I was responding to Rod Dreher’s column on Beliefnet!!

Edwards became convinced that the most effective form of preaching to awaken sinners from their sin was to describe hell in concrete images and to impress upon his listeners that such a fate was theirs if they did not find their way to God’s grace.
I find that, in some ways, this concept is one of the great dividing lines between liberals and conservatives (I use those labels rather broadly, and perhaps as caricatures themselves. My apologies). On one hand, there are those who not only believe that Hell is a reality, but that we must save people from being condemned to it by any means necessary. On the other, there are those who are so focused on the means that they may not end up opposing Hell (in the eschatological sense) at all if to do so entails means that are considered exclusive.
But, as I’ve already indicated, I’m aware that those categories are pretty broad, and do not reflect the nuance of actual positions. Liberals often, in point of fact, are perfectly willing to use very strident means to oppose injustice (Hell on earth, perhaps?). And there are studies that indicate that many conservatives do not become anything like as involved in evangelism as one might expect.
Clearly, this deserves deeper discussion.

Looking at Jonathan Edwards’ sermon ” Sinners in the hands of an angry God” one cannot help notice the creative, thought provoking word pictures that Edwards uses to depict God’s wrath and justice. He does a fantastic job of helping one understand these certain attributes of God. But my problem with this is that God is not just wrath, justice, and judgment. The God of the Bible is wholly love, and wholly jealous; He is wholly merciful and wholly just.
the fire and brimstone message of Jonathan Edwards sparked the Great Awakening but it slowly evolved in to a dividing line which is causing a schism in today?s church between the “liberal” Christian and the “Conservative” Christian. What is God? is the constant question that runs through my mind and I feel that both sides of the schism are answering this question incorrectly. The “Conservative” seems to answer this question with the same principles that Jonathan Edwards taught on, which is that of justice and wrath. Then the “Liberal” in opposition says that God is only love and mercy. A Christian must understand that God is all those attributes. When one preaches about the God of the bible he or she must bring all these traits into play. Speak of God’s justice but also tell of his love.
I would love to talk more about this because I feel that this is a very weak point in Christianity.

hmmm…I think the most famous sermon in American History is, “I have a dream.”

I’d love to have heard what he preached about before he tried to be impressive. What really inspired him about God before he started packaging it.