As I was reading Nat Turner’s confession, I found myself horrified and deeply moved. I could not stop reading his statement, even though it was terrifying to read. What I found the most troubling is that Nat uses verses from the Bible and saying he heard from God to justify his violent behavior. Nowadays, I am afraid if someone did as Nat had done, we might label them as psychotic. While any murder is significant, I think it must be addressed that there were over fifty men, women, and children killed by Turner and his followers. This was not one or two lives that were murdered but over fifty lives. This was a massive massacre. Turner’s reputation of being able to hear from God aided in his credibility and made others more willing to follow his lead. When he talks with the attorney, Thomas Ruffin Gray, he openly admits that God made him do it (the murders). He was not doing what he himself wanted to do but what God wanted him to do. What a terrifying thought to justify one’s actions by claiming they did it because God had told them to. Another incredible thing to consider is that Nat Turner knew there would be consequences for his actions. He was a slave who was bold and brave enough to step up and take a stand against slaveholders. While most of us may not agree with the actions taken my Turner and his followers, I do not know how we can deny where their aggression stemmed from.

Having grown up in a Christian home and having gone to a Baptist church, you better believe my mama has had me read "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in the past. My question to people who do not come from a background similar to mine is if you find this sermon to seem over the top and not something that you take seriously? Do you think the stance Jonathan Edwards takes of trying to scare people into salvation is effective? For myself, while I did grow up surrounded by parents, grandparents, and siblings who believed in Jesus and heaven and hell, I did my own exploring to make sure that their beliefs were my beliefs (and not just something I was going along with for the heck of it). My exploration of the Bible and spending time getting to know Jesus made me marvel at the idea of grace that I believe Jonathan Edwards had also experienced firsthand. This divine grace that led Jesus to die on the cross for my sins so that I can spend eternity with Him makes me want to live a life that reflects His. Having said that, I feel like nowadays, we are supposed to love everyone, to the point that we might even be tempted to condone something we disagree with. We are all afraid of offending each other. Jonathan Edwards was not scared of offending people because, I think, he saw the bigger picture. Jonathon Edwards saw life as it is-- a mere speck in the realm of eternity... an eternity that can be spent in heaven with Jesus, or in hell separated from Jesus. Have we become too comfortable with keeping everyone comfortable that we do not share our faith? If we shared our faith as boldly as Jonathan Edwards had, how many more people would realize that they want a part of the hope that we have? Then again, as much as I want to be bold, I do not wish to offend to the extent that someone never listens again. I try to be loving as Jesus loves, but not condone things that I know go against my beliefs. In a day and age where everything is falling apart, I cannot imagine not having the cornerstone that is Jesus. Without Him, I would have lost my mind a long time ago (because let's face it: life is hard). Have a great night, everyone!