Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Effect of One Man on Society

With so many people in this behemothic world, it is very easy to think of yourself as just one more person living here.  Like a tiny fish in a huge sea, we sometimes feel hopeless and unimportant; like nothing we can do will ever be able to change the lives of those around us.  However, it has been proven numerous times in the past that just one man can transform society into something unlike it has ever been before.

While analyzing the sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," by Jonathan Edwards in class this week, the idea of a single man being capable of changing the people around him was suggested.  In this sermon, Edwards explains his idea that all men have and must repent sins, otherwise God will do something terrible to them.  He makes frequent references to the wrath of God and how quickly and simply God can ruin the people here on Earth if he is not pleased with them.  During his speech to the congregation, it is said that many of the listeners wept, fainted, and prayed, showing that the words of Jonathan Edwards alone strongly influenced them in every way: emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

As history proves, one's effect on society is not always positive.  When reflecting upon the past, the most influential single person that comes to my mind is Adolf Hitler.  By leading the Nazi Party in Germany, he was at the core of Nazism, the start to World War II, and the Holocaust.  Although the idea of Nazism and thoughts of those events are always negative, they proved one major concept to the world: that just one man can start something that can terrorize endless amounts of people and scare the rest of mankind.

1 comment:

  1. I loved how you used the example of the Nazi's. It really gives a big impact to the reader because he/she can understand your point even more. Your writing is superb and fun to read!

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