Which sermon, delivered by Jonathan Edwards, is credited with launching the era of fire-and-brimstone preaching in colonial America?

• A. Common Sense
• B. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
• C. The Great Catastrophe
• D. A Model of Christian Charity

Answer: (B)

The main idea being tested is how powerful, fear-filled preaching sparked revival in colonial America, a pattern clearly shown by Jonathan Edwards’ sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Delivered in 1741 to a Northampton audience, it uses stark, vivid imagery of God’s wrath and human peril to jolts listeners into self-examination and repentance. That intense focus on imminent judgment and fiery consequence is the hallmark of fire-and-brimstone rhetoric, and Edwards’ sermon became a defining example that helped ignite the Great Awakening’s revival movement across the colonies. The other items don’t fit this specific moment or style: one is a secular pamphlet from a later era, another is a Puritan message about communal virtue, and the remaining title isn’t associated with Edwards or this incendiary preaching approach.