Question

read the excerpt from \sinners in the hands of an angry god.\

so that thus it is, that natural men are held in the hand of god, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and god is dreadfully provoked, his anger is as great towards them as to those that are actually suffering the executions of the fierceness of his wrath in hell; and they have done nothing in the least to appease or abate that anger.

in this excerpt,
atural\ is used to describe people who

• are not tempted by wealth or power.
• have not been touched by the spirit of god.
• live on farms or in the wilderness outside of cities.
• practice conservation and avoid destroying the beauty of nature.

Explanation:

⚡ Using what you learned: inferential comprehension and textual evidence

Step 1: Analyze the context of the excerpt

In Jonathan Edwards' sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," the term "natural men" refers to people who are living in their natural state of sin. In Puritan theology, a "natural" person is someone who has not experienced spiritual rebirth or regeneration through the Holy Spirit.

Step 2: Evaluate the given options

• "are not tempted by wealth or power": This is incorrect because the sermon focuses on spiritual salvation and sin, not material temptations.
• "have not been touched by the spirit of God": This is correct. In this theological context, "natural" means unconverted or lacking saving grace, meaning they have not been spiritually transformed or touched by God's grace.
• "live on farms or in the wilderness outside of cities": This is incorrect as it takes the word "natural" too literally in a physical or geographical sense.
• "practice conservation and avoid destroying the beauty of nature": This is incorrect as environmental conservation is a modern concept unrelated to Puritan theology.

Answer:

have not been touched by the spirit of God.