Final answer:
The popularity of 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' indicates that colonists were interested in Jonathan Edwards's religious ideas during the Great Awakening, as they sought a more personal and emotional engagement with religion.
Step-by-step explanation:
The popularity of 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' among the colonists suggests that they were interested in Jonathan Edwards's ideas about religion.
This sermon epitomized the intense evangelical fervor of the Great Awakening, a religious movement in the 18th century, which emphasized a personal and emotional connection to religion. Citizens of the colonies were drawn to the vivid descriptions of hell and the urgent call to salvation that Edwards preached.
The reaction to his sermons was profound and emotional, with occurrences of weeping, shouting, and fainting amongst the audience. The colonists were experiencing a time of religious fever where church attendance and conversions surged, indicating a widespread engagement with religious ideas rather than a focus on Edwards's literary or oratorical abilities.
Moreover, in the context of the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment, colonists were becoming more questioning of institutional authority and valued personal improvement, potentially making the impassioned and individual-centered message of Edwards's sermon resonate with the spirit of the times.