Fire and brimstone

Fire and brimstone is a motif in Christian preaching that uses vivid descriptions of hell and damnation to encourage the listeners to fear divine wrath and punishment.

History

During the Great Awakening of the 1730s and 1740s, revivalist preachers such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield used fire and brimstone preaching to elicit fear of divine wrath in their hearers, sometimes to great effect. Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" remains among the best-known sermons from this period; when Edwards first preached it, many in his audience burst out weeping; some reports indicate that other attendees cried out in anguish or even fainted.

Related Topics:
Great Awakening - Jonathan Edwards - George Whitefield - Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

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Since that time, fire and brimstone sermons have been an occasional feature of Christian preaching, chiefly among more conservative preachers in the United States.

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In more recent times, fire and brimstone preaching has declined in popularity, as many Christian churches prefer to present a more positive message. Fire and brimstone is now characteristic only of the more conservative branches of Christianity; the fundamentalist cartoonist Jack Chick of Chick Publications keeps the tradition alive in print. Many Baptist, Pentacostal, and Church of Christ preachers, especially older ones, do still deliver sermons in the fire and brimstone tradition. Belief in Hell and fear of Hell can reduce people's happiness in this life.

Related Topics:
Conservative - Fundamentalist - Jack Chick - Chick Publications - Baptist - Pentacostal - Church of Christ

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Some denominations, such as the Society of Friends (or Quakers) have few, if any, members who support such notions; indeed many mainline churches have a significant number of followers who would deny the existence of hell in any literal sense.

Related Topics:
Society of Friends - Mainline - Hell

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In more recent times, the term "fire and brimstone" is used more often to stereotype and discount conservative preachers and their messages. Few preachers, even conservative ones, would label themselves that way because it is an unbalanced and incomplete description of their beliefs.

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