Question

how do the ideas presented in the sermon " Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" help to explain the trial of Martha Carrier

Answer 1

The sermon "Sinners in the Hands Of an Angry God" basically speaks about an angry god, ready to punish those who dissobbey him, those whoe don´t worship him, a God that even if you don´t feel it, or seems right, it´s coming for you if you don´t do as he says.

Thru the whole sermon the idea of Hell, and the conviction of it´s existence is reminded often, and how disobbeying God is pursuing a hell in life, explains easily how people were convinced by these words, and quickly take action on the witches of salem, which were merely woman that didn´t fit the curretn standards.

Answer 2

Martha Carrier was a woman from Andover, Massachusetts who was accused of being a witch. She denied all charges throughout her trial and conviction, but she was eventually found guilty and hanged.

This trial reveals the obsessive religious beliefs that were common in New England at the time. Many people at this time saw God not as a benevolent figure, but as a being that was ready to punish sinners harshly. Therefore, people were also keen to show how seriously they took the word of God and how little tolerance they had for anything that went against his word, such as supposed "witchcraft." Such strong and passionate religious beliefs can be seen in the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."