Bert Ehrman's book "God's Problem" is a thought-provoking exploration of the problem of evil in the world. Ehrman asks the question of how an all-powerful and loving God can allow suffering and pain to exist in the world. The book is divided into several chapters, each examining a different aspect of the problem of evil. Ehrman begins by exploring the biblical accounts of suffering and how they have been interpreted throughout history. He then looks at various philosophical arguments for and against the existence of God in light of human suffering. He recounts the story of how, after spending many years as a faithful Christian, he lost his faith. As such, He could not believe that God would allow human suffering to occur without offering an explanation. …show more content…
It is impossible for him to believe in a God who is good, merciful, and just and who allows such terrible events to occur. Ehrman then explains the Old Testament and the classical view of suffering which is that sinners are in the hands of an angry God. He backs this up by using the example of Israel. He makes the point several times that the Israelites were God’s chosen people yet God punished them for disobeying. He uses the prophets' examples over and over. He explains how most of the prophecies are about how if Israel does not obey God, God will be against them. However, if they do he will be for them. Ehrman then walks through most of the Old Testament books and explains suffering stories throughout them. He also explains how God was a God of wrath throughout the Old Testament. He concludes from the Old Testament that suffering is God's punishment to Isreal for disobedience to
Invoking fear is Edwards most successful tactics in this piece. He depicts God as an angry being who will cast everyone into the pits of Hell whenever he pleases. One of the most powerful invocations is, “They are already under a sentence of condemnation to Hell. They do not only justly deserve to be cast down thither, but the sentences of the law of God.. is gone out against them, and stands against them; so that they are
Jonathan Edwards, in the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" presents his beliefs through the usage of repetition and imagery. He expresses his thoughts to persuade readers of the wrath of God. Edwards usage of words and his repetition allows the reader to undestand what he wants the congregation to grasp from the text. In the sermon Edward repeats the phrase " the wrath of God" he emphasizes on the wrath of Almighty God to make it known that no one has the power to resist God, a persons actions can dertermine their destiny which can either be hell or heaven. the purpose of his repetion was to terrify the potestants into obeying his demands and prevent them into commiting a sin and burning into the firey pot of
He is then relocated to Auschwitz, a concentration camp where Death's presence is everywhere. He is starved and forced to work. He loses everything, including his faith in God, during the process of being in the camp. His relationship with his God changes from a loving, trusting relationship to a relationship without trust and then ultimately to a hateful relationship.
Such a reversal demonstrates how the experience of the Holocaust has upset Eliezer’s entire concept of the universe, especially his belief in a benevolent, or even just, God.
The author's experiences during the holocaust weaken his faith in God and ultimately leads to an act of rebellion against Him. As a young child, the author had a strong desire to learn about God, His ways, and how He influences mankind. However, life in the camp begins to make the author question his faith. “Some of the
In the opening of the sermon an analogy is stated between the ability of a person to crush a worm with the ability of God to cast his enemies to hell (First Paragraph). This supports the main idea of how God is a superior being, able to freely decide people’s fate. The author’s persistent imagery of Gods abhorrence towards sinners is continually mentioned as a form of repetition, to cause a vivid depiction of Gods wrath in the audience’s perspective of him. This is illustrated when it’s stated how unconverted men walk over the pit of hell and how God has unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world (Paragraph 3). He also introduces a metaphor where he associates Gods wrath as a bent bow with an arrow aiming towards your heart; this again typifies Gods supremacy to take away sinners existence unless they convert (Paragraph 6).
Diction choices such as “hell”, “anger”, “wrath”, and “misery” are all signs of a threatening tone. These particular tone words, and others used throughout the text, force the audience to accept God’s judgment and modify their current lifestyles. The Implication of hell similarly bolsters the scare tactics in this message; thus forcing the congregation to keep their lives nevermore the same. Furthermore, Edwards employs a structural organization that makes it so the last paragraph of the essay serves the idea of a threatening tone as it states a final warning that “every one that is out of christ” is waiting for “wrath to come.” This final warning serves as an ominous statement that frightens the audience into taking Edwards’ message to heart.
And if God is God, why is He letting us suffer?” (1) The lifelong quest for answers to these questions shaped his theology
A picture is worth a thousand words. In “Sinners of an Angry God”, Jonathan Edwards captures an image of hell in the Puritan’s mind. Creating a sense of fear during the Great Awakening, Edwards urges the parishioners to accept God as their Savior and avoid sinful behavior. Edwards passionately tries to persuade the Puritans to realize their eternal danger of sin by using fiery diction that creates a fear of hell, and dramatizing human weakness through a primal human fear. Edwards begins his sermon with the use of imagery to create for the audience an image of hell as “someone’s foot sliding” and a “fiery oven”.
He goes through a chain of problems that make him question God and his deliberative role. Some problems he goes through that make him question God are when he witnesses the horrific events he experienced during the holocaust. "I did not fast first of all, to please my father who had forbidden me to do so. And then, there was no longer any reason for me to fast. I no longer accepted God's silence.
Elie Wiesel suspects that God is letting him go through such a situation. Wiesel begins losing faith in God. For example, Wiesel stated,”What are you, my God? I thought angrily. How do you compare to this stricken mass gathered to affirm to you their faith, their anger, their defiance?....
Analytical Response Paper – “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards Thesis: Jonathan Edwards, the sermon ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” states that God continuously saves us from our sins. Summary: Edwards starts the sermon describing a picture of hell, and how God continuously saves us from hell. Edwards wants to warn people of the reality of hell, and the fact the God constantly gives humankind chances instead of letting them burn in hell.
He thought God himself had made him and the others suffer this evil, the cruel place called the concentration camps and how he has to fight for his life to survive. He struggles, asking god the nature what he is doing and why he had come to save them from hell. Which comes to this quotation "I pray to the God within me for the strength to ask Him the real questions." (Elizer,5) His experiences had made him ask horrible and cruel questions to God if the powerful God is actually there with him or does God truly exists.
This interpretation of God becomes the reference point for the rest of the sermon. All of the commands and accusations in the sermon rely on Edwards' portrait of God as an angry, all-powerful being that has no obligation to have mercy upon his creations. By convincing his congregation of God's wrathful character, Edwards is then able to convince the congregation that they are in danger of damnation and severe punishment at the hand of this wrathful God. Edwards characterizes God as a being that "abhors" mortal men and "looks upon [them] as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire" (200). Edwards then uses scriptural references to support his claims about the nature of God.
Jonathan Edwards, a preacher, wrote the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". In the sermon, Edwards argues that everyone was out of God's favor and they needed to return to a righteous path. The tone of the sermon is indignant and authoritative. Jonathan Edwards uses imagery, logos, and pathos to encourage the unconverted audience to turn to God in order to escape his wrath. Elemental imagery is used in the sermon to inspire fear in the audience.