Ouch.

I thought blowing things way out of proportion was my specialty, but Jonathan Edwards seems to be doing a much better job. I understand the man was just trying to get his Puritan brothers and sisters to follow God in everything, and literally EVERYTHING, that they do, but come on! Did he really have to let people know that “...God holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider...” (Edwards, 122)? I don’t know about you, but that just makes me feel bad about myself. Edwards compares us sinners to dreadful things, such as spiders, to remind us that God’s power could literally squash us at any given moment. Nice. Even though all that does is offend me, the puritans really had their mascara running with that one. Edward’s words really reflect how puritans viewed themselves as valueless, weak creatures. Not only does Edwards make the insignificance of humans known, he doesn’t leave out the part where the unworthy must “... suffer [the] fierceness and wrath of Almighty God... you must suffer for all eternity” (Edwards, 124). Pretty dramatic, if you ask me. Jonathan Edwards’ words seem to be fairly common during the time of the puritans, reflecting how hard it must’ve been living in that time. It seems as though the puritans lived in constant worry, anxious that they would somehow mess up and get on Gods bad side, immediately reserving themselves a toasty seat in hell. Lovely.