Fear vs. Love

          During the Great Awakening many preachers used different methods to captivate their audience and get their message across. Jonathon Edwards for example uses fear to enforce submission to God throughout the congregation. In his infamous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", Edwards instills fear in his congregation by describing an angered God that looks upon us with contempt. He then says "The God that holds you over the pit of hell... abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked" (Edwards, 50-51). Edwards approach to the congregation does not capture the essence of who God really is. The word love alone is mentioned 551 times in the bible and the most used bible verse states that "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever shall believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). This loving fatherly image of God is not portrayed in Edwards sermon but rather an all-powerful master that looks upon us with disgust. Furthermore throughout the new testament Jesus teaches the masses that God is love and we should pursue a relationship with Him.    
        However Edwards rejects this idea and insists that God is spiteful towards us. This can cause the congregation to seek salvation just for the reason of avoiding hell rather than pursuing a relationship with God because of his love and mercy for us.  When children are taught under fear and abiding by strict rules (which was how most puritans lived in this time) they tend to be rebellious or find the closest they can get to breaking the rules without actually breaking them. When children are taught under love they genuinely want to obey and bring joy to their parents, and if they make a mistake they are more likely to repent and learn from it. This parallels the way people are taught about God, which is why knowing God as a loving father creates more genuine relationship with Him rather than living in fear that God will smite you any second.
         This all comes into play when we live out our lives. When we see God as the loving father He is , we are likely to follow his will for our lives. Instead of constantly needing a reminder to be kind to others and live a certain way, having a loving relationship with God will mold us in his image, which includes living justly and above all loving others. All in all, Edwards sermon serves as a reminder that fear can work in persuading people to act a certain way, but to truly change someone's heart, love triumphs over fear.

Coming to terms with the truth

        A re-occuring  issue in the American society today is the treatment of Native Americans. Moreover if they should have a holiday to celebrate them, replacing Columbus Day. believe that Native Americans deserve more respect and honor due to the hardships they endured at the hands of our country's leaders as well as treatment from early explorers. We deteriorated Native empires as soon as we stepped for on the American continents whether it be from diseases, labor, or violence. In our textbooks we display them as savages, killing off colonists without reason and being unable to keep peace. For all the atrocities we've done such as ravaging their villages, taking all of their land we still find a way to make them look like the provokers. We credit ourselves for introducing them to education and christianity without including the fact that we depreciated the native cultures and traditions while doing so.
          All in all, natives suffered at the hands of Americans however, I do not believe this suffering was completely in vain. Although the suffering the endured could have obviously been avoided there is no going back to change it so there is no purpose on dwelling on the past. This does not mean it should be avoided as most of America has done up until now. We live in a generation more culturally accepting and aware of societal problems which is why now is the time to bring to light and celebrate Native Americans pasts. I say celebrate because regardless of all of the odds against them (most of the Grand Nations of the American continents) they persisted and managed to preserve their culture, and that is something to be celebrated. Coming to terms with the hardships we inflicted on them can do more good than it can harm. It is time to learn from our past mistakes and let it serve as example for present and future generations. By avoiding the truth we only dig our selves in a deeper hole and blemish the integrity of America. If we show we will not let our pasts define who we are now, but rather grow from it and give Natives respect they deserve we live up to the integrity we claim to have.
         That being said, I believe Natives should have a holiday to celebrate and appreciate them. I however do not believe this holiday should replace Columbus day. Columbus as well as the Natives both been essential to the foundation of our society and have enriched our American culture in some way. Although Columbus did numerous unethical things I do not think they should overshadow his important successes in exploration but they should also not be ignored. His mistakes also serve as a learning experience for present and future leaders and should not be shunned from American culture. Both deserve holidays and Americans deserve to know the full truth about both for not only the sake of Natives but as well as the sake of American integrity and the future generations.