reflection - 6

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" has many similarities to "The Crucible". Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, talks of How we are held by the hands of God suspended over the pit of Hell. His entire point to the sermon is that we have no control, God is in control, and that we need to live our lives here on Earth for God. He believes in a direct correlation between our actions and thoughts here on Earth and where we will end up; Heaven or Hell. He states that many of the people in the Church will not be going to Heaven. He is basically calling them fakers. But not just fakers, but more so, lazy. He says that even if people are reading their Bibles and praying every day, they still may not go to Heaven. He does not believe that it has to do with just our actions here on Earth that get us to Heaven, but the motives of our Hearts. He points out that if we are just going through the motions of our faith, we may be surprised to find where we will be spending the rest of eternity. John Proctor also shares some similar views of salvation as Jonathan Edwards does. In the closing section of the book, John Proctor is faced with an extremely tough decision. He must either confess to witchcraft, which is a lie, and his life will be spared, or he must deny whichcraft, which is the truth, and and his life will be spared. John Proctor is a very upright man. He wants to admit to witchcraft, so that he can continue to live, but he knows that if he admits to witchcraft, he is lying. He does not want to have to go back home to his boys as a liar. He knows that he could never raise them to tell the truth if the only reason he was there with them was because he lied to spare his own life. He also knows that if he lies and admits to witchcraft, then he is also condemning his fellow neighbors and friends and then he puts them in the position to either lie or die. John Proctor eventually admits to witchcraft, but shortly after, he changes his mind. He tells them that it is a lie and that he never had anything to do with witchcraft. He told the truth. He told the truth because he, like Jonathan Edwards, believes there is a strong correlation between our actions and our salvation. John Proctor knew that he would already get judged harshly because of the lechery that he commited, and did not want to have another thing to have to be held accountable for in the life to come. He realized that he would rather suffer here in this earthly life tahn have to spend eternity in Hell. Jonathan Edwards and John Proctor hold true to their values, and actually share many similar values about life, death, and eternity.

Edward, Jonathan. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts. New York, NY: Penguin, 2003. Print.