Sinners in the Hands of a Hating God

In the beginning, the elohim created skies an earth.

Welcome back. 

Let me share Edward’s sermon that has the spider metaphor.  The sermon is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

The portion I share is a small part of a larger incendiary witness against our God of love.

The text upon which Edwards based his sermon is part of a sentence in Deuteronomy 32:35.

 

“Their foot shall slide in due time.”  Deuteronomy 32:35

The entire verse is part of Moses’ farewell poem.  The context is an affirmation that God will punish the enemies of God’s children.  Edwards did not have the benefit of modern Biblical scholarship at his disposal so he could read Deuteronomy within its historical context, and thus, read it better as a Christian, not so badly as a Puritan.

Incidentally, it is popular, even among some of my fundamentalist brothers who preach today (the sisters are not allowed), to rip out from a Biblical context those few words that vindicate their belief in a God not of love and to do it with a big smile on their faces.

Edwards’ sermon is grounded within a larger, older, reactionary, and Calvinistic pretext that preaches our God of love is sending everyone to hell. 

Indeed, everyone deserves hell that is, burning while alive forever within a concentration camp less humane than one which uses cyanide.  But our God of love has enough love to spare a few who are called the elect.

Why does God spare them?  Because he loves us?  Because he loves them?  Why…yes.  And that is the only reason. 

Below are Jonathan Edwards’ words from his sermon:

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours.

You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep.

And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship.

Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell.

Ponder that.  Blessings…