Selection Test: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Name: ____________________
Date: ____________________
Directions: Identify the letter of the choice that best answers the question.
1. In the selection from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, what is the
author’s main intention?
a. To persuade his listeners to form a new church
b. To inform his listeners of the life of Jesus Christ
c. To tell his listeners of God’s love and mercy
d. To frighten his listeners into seeking salvation
2. What does Edwards think is true of the members of his congregation in
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?
a. They are all sinners.
b. They are all worthy of salvation.
c. They are all church supporters.
d. They are all saved
3. What is the main message of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?
a. Salvation is gained through Christ.
b. Salvation is gained through prayer.
c. No one has any hope of salvation.
d. Salvation is gained through good deeds.
4. Based on context, what does the word duration mean in this passage from
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?
When you look forward, you shall see a long forever, a boundless duration
before you, which will swallow up your thoughts and amaze your soul…
a. Memory
b. Strange sight
c. Landscape
d. Time period
5. Based on context, what does the word gulf mean in this passage from Sinners
in the Hands of an Angry God?
Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards
with great weight and pressure towards Hell; and if God should let you go,
you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the
bottomless gulf…
a. Body of water
b. Deep pit
c. Ocean shore
d. Body of water
6. What images does Edwards use in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God to
draw a picture of the anger of God?
a. Floods and fire
b. Bows and arrows
c. Spiders and blood
d. Heat and cold
7. After persuading his listeners of their sinfulness during most of the selection
from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, how does Edward’s attitude
change at the end of the sermon?
a. He becomes humorous
b. He becomes angrier
c. He becomes sorrowful
d. He becomes hopeful
8. Based on context, what is the meaning of the word mourn in this passage
from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?
To see so many rejoicing and singing for joy of heart, while you have cause to
mourn for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of spirit!
a. Repent
b. Pray
c. Grieve
d. Celebrate
9. What is the basic way in which Edwards tried to move his listeners in Sinners
in the Hands of an Angry God?
a. With stories of salvation
b. With cries for them to flee
c. With images of hell
d. With descriptions of spiders
10. In which sentence is the meaning of the word omnipotent expressed?
a. Edwards described frightening images of hell to listeners.
b. Edward’s sermon urged listeners to be saved in Christ.
c. Edward’s listeners were filled with the fear of God’s anger.
d. Edwards preached to listeners about God’s all-powerful character.
11. Which sentence below contains a correlative conjunction?
a. The almighty can condemn you, but He also offers you salvation.
b. Either turn to God today, or suffer the fires of Hell when you die.
c. God holds you up for now, and He could release you at any moment.
d. The wicked and the unrepentant-both face the judgment of God.
12. Which of the following words is most nearly opposite in meaning to
prudence?
a. Forgiveness
b. Disobedience
c. Carelessness
d. Faith
Essay: Choose and answer one of the following essay prompts. Your essay must be at
least three paragraphs long.
13. In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards refers several times to the
hand of God. What do you think he means by this image, and how might it
have affected his listeners? Write a brief essay using at least two details from
the sermon to support your opinion.
14. Why do you think Edwards uses so many different images of hell, suffering,
and eternity, and uses them repeatedly, in his sermons? Write a brief essay to
give your ideas about what you think he might have been trying to do by
using imagery. Use at least two examples from Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry God to support your position.
15. The people who heard Edwards give the sermon Sinners in the Hands of an
Angry God lived in a small community. Almost everyone attended the same
church. Given those facts, write a brief essay to explain how you think this
sermon affected people’s lives and the community as a whole.