The previous post identified a nice (albeit disturbing) excerpt from Edwards' sermon. One of the most striking images I take from it would be Edwards' moral clarity. It seems so powerful to me that he can articulate a position where there is little ambiguity or vagueness. Granted, the Great Awakening was convinced in its sincerity of wanting to reestablish the place of religion in the colonies. However, when Edwards dismisses those who refuse to accept the presence of divinity, it is striking how convinced he is:
They deserve to be cast into hell; so that divine justice never stands in the way, it makes no objection against God's using his power at any moment to destroy them. Yea, on the contrary, justice calls aloud for an infinite punishment of their sins.
Following such absolutism, Edwards continues with "The sword of divine justice is every moment brandished over their heads, and it is nothing but the hand of arbitrary mercy, and God's mere will, that holds it back." I suppose I am struck by the ability of any human being to hold so much conviction and dogmatic belief in the powers of divinity. Something that is so complex and intricate as the workings of the divine also seems to be something that lies outside any absolutes. Apparently, such intricacies did not apply to Edwards with such imagery.
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