Prayer Request

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3 ESV)

I have alienated some ministries by posting what I have written about politics being a divisive (Contrary to the spirit of John 17:21) topic to be preaching in this already politically and racially tense time. Especially considering America's brief history which is full of hatred, social inequality, and institutional injustice by design, I would personally avoid such topics and seek to concentrate more upon the infallible Word of God and the unity therein commanded much more so than espousing my opinions of other people while standing behind the sacred desk. Please forgive me, Almighty God, for the discord I have sown and the relationships I may have strained. Lord, please help me to keep my mind stayed on You instead of so much attention to politics, the opinions of people, and the other things of this world in Jesus’ holy name. Like John Lennon said, “all we are saying is give peace a chance.” We all must follow our own inspired convictions of just what promoting peace entails. I already know that I am an unconventional lunatic and therefore I have taken great pains to explicate this caveat.

Please pray for me that God's peace and wisdom will prevail in all of the relationships adversely affected by the impertinence of what I have published on my personal Facebook page. Please let forgiveness be found in Your church, Almighty God. In Jesus’ precious name I pray, loving and hoping in all things 1 Corinthians 13:7-8). Amen and amen.

© 2009 Brian L Hunter

www.anointedwritenow.com

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A Critical Analysis of "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" (1741) by Jonathan Edwards

Protestantism in the American Colonies had been steeped in Reformed Christian doctrine fueled by the systematic theology of Calvin. This era of heightened religious sensibility and evangelism, exposing such biblical realities as the equality of all men and Enlightenment principles of egalitarianism such as inalienable rights endowed by their Creator, helped formulate the democratic thinking that led to the American Revolution. Benjamin Franklin supported George Whitefield, perhaps the most famous of the evangelical preachers during this period in Colonial America, by printing his sermons in his Gazette. This sets the stage for Jonathan Edwards. Jonathan Edwards’ sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is perhaps the best literary example of the style of preaching taking place during the Great Awakening. With vivid imagery and illustrative language, Edwards very emotionally addresses his congregation directly and makes an appeal for them to repent of the sin that will surely bring the deserved wrath of an angry God to bare upon them. “What are we, that we should think to stand before Him, at whose rebuke the earth trembles, and before whom the rocks are thrown down?”

With such questions as this, Edwards causes his audience to contrast and consider themselves in comparison to the terribleness and omnipotent, absolute judgement of God. That God’s power is absolute and His wrath justified against sin is very evident throughout Edwards’ sermon. He also aptly interjects Scripture passages to further illustrate the unfortunate position of sinful man. “John 3:18.” He that believeth not is condemned already." So that every unconverted man properly belongs to hell; that is his place; from thence he is, John 8:23. "Ye are from beneath:" And thither he is bound; it is the place that justice, and God's word, and the sentence of his unchangeable law assign to him.” Making clear the distinction between saints and sinners, Edwards brings Puritan beliefs into conversation with the rationalist and deist creators of the Enlightenment.

Ethics become a central issue in the social context of evangelical revivalism as well as provincial politics. Ethics and the issue of morality are the ballroom within which the old and new schools of thought in Colonial America find themselves dancing towards a revolution of ideas. Edwards seems to be somewhat of a preacher with a Reformed theological ideology who expressed Calvinist soteriology in more modern language than his predecessors. Edwards wanted his audience to know with certainty that Hell is a real place to be shunned and that God was, is, and ever would be an omnipotent God whose wrath and judgment are to be feared above all else. With vivid imagery in scenes such as, “There are the black clouds of God's wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder; and were it not for the restraining hand of God, it would immediately burst forth upon you. The sovereign pleasure of God, for the present, stays his rough wind; otherwise it would come with fury, and your destruction would come like a whirlwind, and you would be like the chaff on the summer threshing floor.” The appeal Edwards makes in his conclusion is most compelling even today; for those currently out of Christ to come forth and surrender their lives and accept this momentary window of opportunity to avoid the tyranny of God’s wrath, damnation, and hellfire that is promised in Scripture. www.ministryofwritinghelps.com

Ungodly Obama Hatred Recognized

"You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34 ESV)

 
Not all "Obama Hatred," now an easily recognizable psycho-social category of discriminate unrest in America, is as politically inspired as slavery. No. Believe it or not, as ludicrous as the notion may seem in the year 2013, a long and recent history of white-supremacist dogma rooted in Lilliputian interpretations of the Bible reinforced by Hollywood wherein Moses, Jesus, and even God the Father have blond hair and blue eyes, rears its racist head in the vast majority of disparaging remarks about the 44th President of the United States.We have obviously ceased comparing apples to apples and opted instead to unleash historically documented evil in America the beautiful, the core of which can neither be ignored nor hidden from view.
 
© 2013 Brian L Hunter