Sewall Vs Edwards

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The Puritans were people who moved to the New World in order to establish a community that united them through God and religion. Their envisioned goal was not quite reached, but many of their works are studied for their ideas and how they relate to government. Puritan writing style was heavily influenced by religion, mainly about God’s presence and his impact of works on people’s lives. While Sewall and Edward's had a similar way of writing, due to the heavy influence of God and his works, Sewall had a much more gentle and personal approach to writing while Edwards wrote in a harsher way that addressed a larger audience. The reasons behind their writings showed the differences between the two; Samuel Sewall wrote from experiences while Edwards …show more content…
Sewall portrayed God as an inspirational figure and guiding figure in his life whom he depends on. “The Lord bring light and comfort out of this dark and dreadful cloud, and grant that Christ’s being formed in my dear child may be the issue of these painful pangs!” (The American Puritan, 241). This quote demonstrates Sewall’s dependence of God, in this case, to help explain his child’s pains, and in general, to soothe the tough and agitating situations he faces throughout his life. Sewall portrays God as a comforting, healing figure in this quote.Sewall liked to think of God as someone he was very close to. This being said, when he wrote, he used a tender approach along with his own experiences. Edwards used him as a mechanism to instill fear in people. “His [God’s] wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy as nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; He is of purer eyes than to bear you in sight’ you are ten thousand times so abominable in His eyes as the most hateful and venomous serpent is in ours” (The American Experience, 2). This excerpt states that sinners are worthless to God and views them as the most wretched and repugnant thing he sees. Edward’s depiction of an unforgiving wrath of God towards sinners is unequivocally portrayed in this quote. Since Edwards believed each person each person was a sinner, he attempted to scare them by …show more content…
Sewall wrote about how God had affected him and his lifestyle.“Samuel Sewall…being sensible that as to the guilt contracted upon the opening of the late Commission of Oyer and Terminer at Salem, he is upon many accounts more concerned that any that he knows of, desires to take the blame and shame of it…and especially desiring prayers that God, who has unlimited authority, would pardon this and all his other sins, personal and relative” (The American Puritan 242). In this entry from Sewall’s diary, his guilt and regret from being a judge in the Salem witch trials he has taken part in. His desire for God’s forgiveness of his sins is established in the quote, demonstrating that God was a very prominent figure in Sewall’s life. Sewall wrote about personal experiences. In his diary, he writes about how God impacted his life and his aspiration for God to forgive his previous mistakes. Edwards wrote about they way God will affect the population as a whole without making a personal connection to God. Edwards writes, “If God should let you go, you would immediately sink…and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell…” (The American Experience, 1). In this excerpt, Edwards talks about what will happen to the entire population if they keep

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