To think he was almost our vice president! On Tue, Aug 08, 2006 at 03:41:04PM -0400, Doug Henwood wrote: > > You think it might have something to do with the Protestant tradition > and the prominence it gives the badass God of the Old Testament? > Jonathan Edwards had strong views on this matter: > > <http://www.ccel.org/e/edwards/sermons/sinners.html> > > The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a > spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is > dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks > upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he > is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten > thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful > venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more > than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but > his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It > is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the > last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after > you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be > given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the > morning, but that God's hand has held you up. There is no other > reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat > here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful > wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing > else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment > drop down into hell.
-- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu
