During the 18th century, a wave of Pietistic influence came to the United States. During this time, many Christians in North American colonies felt that a personal religious experience held a great importance to the Christian lifestyle. The Great Awakening first appeared in the United States in 1734 in Northampton, Massachusetts. The Great Awakening was a schism between the teachings of Westminster, the Old Side, and the New Side. The outcome of this schism was the Great Awakening. Jonathan Edwards was the pastor in Northampton. He was a Calvinist that had previously been trained at Yale (288). He believed that it was important to have a personal experience of conversion for ones faith. He found that for several years, his sermons were average and he was not getting the response that he had hoped for, but in the year 1734, he saw a change in the response to his sermons. They were finally touching people. People were having emotional responses to his sermons and some were even having emotional outbursts. As this spread throughout New England, people were having extraordinary responses to sermons. Some were so over whelmed that they cried in repentance for their sings, some shouted with joy, and a few were so overwhelmed that they fainted (289). These dramatic reactions to the sermons caused enemies of the Great Awakening to criticize it and claim that they were undermining the importance of worship and that the leaders should place a greater emphasis on study and devotion.

In “Sinners in the Hands of God by Jonathan Edwards, he explains his beliefs on hell and human arrogance. Edwards explains that humans think that they will automatically be saved from damnation and escape hell without God. Edwards does not describe humans in a positive manor. He talks of their wickedness and how they are damned if they do not have God and how God is the only thing that holds them up from hell. Edwards places a large emphasis on the importance in believing in God and this is the one way to escape damnation. He mostly depicts God as angry and mentions the wrath and anger of God. Edwards uses descriptive language when describing the relationship between human and God. He describes God as being the only thing holding humans up. He says “there is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.” He explains God as using his pleasure as holding humans up which makes me think he is emphasizing his mercy and that he has the power over humans.