Response to Sinners

     Earlier today, I witnessed Pastor Jonathan Edwards preach the most frightening sermons ever. As a very religious Puritan, and not missing a day of church in my life, I felt really doomed and scared. After about five minutes into Pastor Edwards's sermon, I started to actually think that God wanted to crush me, and when I heard him say "The pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow." I was scared more than ever.  I worship my God and have given my life to him since I was just a little boy.  Hearing the terms "tormented in hell", "miserable creatures", and "furnace" really frightened me.  This also makes me wonder if Pastor Edwards has done something cruel and unholy, and he feels doomed, and now he's trying to take it out on me and my congregation.

     At the time of the sermon, I was scared.  I wanted to get out of the church.  I felt like I had been a failure at life by the way he was saying how we were going to be thrown into a "pit" or "furnace."  I felt like a sense of evilness was casted out in my soul, and I needed to get out of there.  I was so close to leaving, but instead when he said the part about how we, "deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked,..." I just stopped listening.  It was too much for me to handle.  Pastor Edwards's sermon got me confused about why God would do this to me, but now looking back at what happened earlier today, I know that the God I worship is a loving God and would never do this, especially according to the words in the Bible.  So I think that Pastor Edwards is just really scared, and was trying to make me and the rest of my congregation feel bad, and that he definitely is crazy.  Fortunately, I'm going to the other church on the other side of town town!