What is Religion?

Religion what is it? What does it mean? What purpose does it serve? Well you see religion is the belief and worship of superhuman controlling power such as a god. In the stories "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God" and "The minister's black veil" these text discuss religion in different aspects one way is harsh and strict while the other hypocritical and a fallacy.

In present times religion can be viewed differently, for example, some people see religion as a lifestyle but for other is a option something they don't really have to be committed to.

The first story that deals with religion is "Sinners in the hands of an angry god" by Jonathan Edwards it is discussed as a tough, and ruthless lifestyle and in the text it discusses the punishments that may happen when you are upholding the religion and you commit sin and do not repent for it. One would characterize Jonathan Edwards as judging and ruthless the information in the text modifies the reader's understanding of puritans ideals of religion describing how strict their religion can be.

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In the text it states "All wicked men's pain and contrivance which they use to escape hell, while they continue to reject christ, and so remain wicked men do not secure them from hell one moment. Almost every natural man that hears of hell, flatters himself that he can escape it: he depends upon himself for his own security; he flatters himself in what he has done, and what he is now doing.

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The example from the text explains the for the men who sin they do not repent because they don't fear hell as if it was a fallacy or story told to scare children into behaving, but they still do not repent the more they resist his holiness Christ the more they will burn, those who sin believe that no matter what they can easily conquer hell.

Here is a second example form the text "your wickedness makes you heavy as lead" with great weigh and pressure towards hell· you would immensely sink and swiftly descend into the fiery pits of hell.

The second example explains that each time you sin you are creating a weight that only gets heavier the more you sin which in turn will cause you to fall down to hell.

Jonathan Edwards sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is a window into an age fraught with religious controversy and moral confusion. The sermon was riddled with horrifying imagery and threats to instill fear into the audiences of Puritan Minister, Jonathan Edwards. The movement of religious revivalism that occurred in part because of Edwards caused the Puritan society to think of God as a vengeful, torturous God, of whom to be afraid. The Puritans fear of God and being condemned to hell forced them to live in accordance with God's will in hopes of spending eternity free from sin, living in salvation with Christ.

The second text is called "The Minister's Black Veil", in this text we read about Mr. Hooper, the parson is perceived to be a "self-disciplined" man, a Puritan trait which would have been admired by the people of his Puritan congregation. In wearing the veil, they believe that if Hooper has not gone insane, he is guilty of a dark and terrible sin.

In the text it states "at that instant catching a glimpse of his figure looking in to the glass, the black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others. His frame shuddered his lips grew white, he split the untasted wine upon the carpet, and rushed forth into the darkness. For the earth, too had on her black veil."

The example is talking about how when Mr. Hooper looked into his cup of wine he saw his reflection and realized that he must still continue to repent for the sins he has committed.

Second example in the text it states "The next day, the whole village of milford talked of little else than parson Hooper's black veil that, and the mystery concealed behind it, supplied a topic for discussion between acquaintances meeting."

On his deathbed, Reverend Hooper again refuses to remove the veil. He tells Reverend Clark, a colleague from a neighboring town, that he sees a black veil on the face of everyone he meets. He goes to his grave wearing the veil.