The Effects of Fear on Humans

Jonathan Edwards the Man of Fear

Jonathan Edwards, one of America’s greatest intellectuals and a Puritan preacher, was a man with a great ability to motivate people because he effectively used the fear tactic to his advantage. Edwards uses fear because of the effects that it has on his listeners. Edwards uses this to his advantage to allow him to persuade them to join the church and become “reborn”. Fear is the best motivational tactic for Edwards to use in his situation.

Fear is one of the best motivational strategies that can be employed by a public speaker because fear has the ability to scare people into doing things that they wouldn’t normally do. A man with the fear of getting into a car accident will buy car insurance. The same principle applies to Edwards and his preaching. Edwards realized that people, who were afraid of the future, or apprehensive, would join the church and become “reborn”, so he decided to tell them that, “The God that holds you over the pit of hell”, will drop them if they don’t join the church (Edwards 48).

Edwards used fear in his sermons to make the people believe that there God was angry at them for not being “reborn” and that by not being “reborn” God would unleash his wrath upon them. Edwards realized that the numbers of Puritan members were falling so to offset that, he had to cause fear in the lives of the peoples.  Edwards says that, “natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell”, and they anger God by not being “reborn” (Edwards 46).

There are many possible tones that Edwards could have used for his motivational speeches, but the vast majority of them would not have worked to his advantage like fear did. If Edwards were to use a nice, welcoming tone to the people, they would feel comfortable where they are and would have no incentive to be “reborn”. By saying that, “God is dreadfully provoked, His anger is great toward them”, people become afraid that they will go to hell for not becoming “reborn” (Edwards 46).

As a very powerful Puritan preacher, Jonathan Edwards had the ability to speak to the peoples and convince them of his beliefs. His motivational tactic, however, was his use of fear. Edwards uses fear because he is very good at using it and it is a great motivational tactic. With fear, Edwards was effectively able to scare his listeners into joining the church. Other tactics would have been possible, but Edwards was skilled at using the fear tactic and it worked out good for him.

Works Cited

Edwards, Jonathan. “from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Encounters and Foundations to 1800.                  United States of America: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2005. 44 – 48. Textbook.