Psychology: The study of the human mind and its functions, esp. those affecting behavior in a given context.
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Jonathan Edwards was a pastor during the Great Awakening and his mission was to influence the masses and voice the lifestyle and opinions of Christianity, but to do so you need more than just words to influence people to accept your beliefs and ways of thinking. Understanding basic ideas of psychology can make the task of influencing people easier. Religion and faith is more of a psychological influence, meaning any influence religion has is internal and will impact a person from the inside out.
Edwards sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God was very vivid and had a lot of imagery;
"There is a dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is hell's wide gaping mouth open; and you having nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold of; there is nothing between you and hell but air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up."(Page 5 of printed version) http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/history/spurgeon/web/edwards.sinners.html
His sermons left still pictures in many of the peoples minds who saw and heard him speak. Through his many metaphors and imagery he slowly shaped the mind of the people with his influence. Through constant repetition also a human can be shaped and molded. Edwards constant repetition of verbal images about hell and walking without guidance, is a basic behavioral analysis principle called shaping. Shaping in psychology is the strengthening of a behavior or a certain thought process through repetition.
To show how religion and psychology is tied together, I move forward to present day and the battle between people and religion. The fight that Jonathan Edwards and many like him fought decades ago. Over the years from Edwards time on earth until now, people have died over religion and people have changed their religion. Through the years psychology developed the principles of conditioning, and conditioning a group of people to think a certain way and behave in a certain manner has been done since the beginning of religion. Religion persuades a person through faith and belief that what ever done under their faith, for their faith, is just.
Religion is no more than a psychological tool that is used to keep people separated and thinking different. Belief elicits emotion and when emotions run too high, violence increases and the tranquility religion is suppose to bring is diminished.
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