Through his fire and brimstone teachings Edwards evokes an immense amount of fear in his listeners. To further impart the feeling upon his audience Edwards uses the rhetorical device pathos. Pathos “appeals to the audience’s emotions “(NMSI 13). This helps Edwards to reinforce his purpose and persuade his audience. Edwards informs his audience that “[unconverted men] are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell” (Edwards 40). By telling his listeners that there is just as much anger directed at them as there is expressed in hell Edwards fuels their fear and shows them the horror they face by not converting which in turn persuades them even further to be “born again”. Though, this is…
In "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Jonothan Edwards makes use of similes, hyperboles, and repetition to strike fear into his audience in order to persuade them. By utilizing the sense of fear along with the rhetorical devices he manages to prove his point.…
Jonathan Edwards uses an effective method called the “fire and brimstone” approach, which basically used scare tactics to keep people from straying away from the church. Jonathan Edwards was a master at using literary devices, which horrified but intrigued his audience. He (Edwards) wrote in second person to make each individual feel responsible for their own sins, this strategy allowed Edwards to speak to large groups. Edwards also used extended metaphors to help his audience realize the full extent of their sins. An example of this imagery is, “ The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty the course, when once it is let loose.” (Sinners 1). This metaphor shows the extent that Edwards goes to show parishioners of what God is capable of doing to the Human race if they do not seek salvation.…
Consider the fearful danger you are in it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of fire wrath.’ this rhetorical strategy that is being is called pathos. Pathos is used to appeal to the readers emotions. In this case Jonathan Edwards uses pathos to appeal to people fear. he is using this to scare people to convert Christ and to stop committing sin. This also helps because most people don’t want to feel the wrath of God. Pathos is one of the best rhetorical strategies that Jonathan Edwards used. Appealing to someone’s emotions is the best way to grab and keep there attention. Fear is a powerful thing if you can get fear into someone you can possible persuades them to do just about anything. That why pathos is an important part of his…
Throughout Edwards’ six hour sermon, he made many connection from what he was talking about to real life scenarios. One of his more prominent connections in the sermon was about a dam and the floods of water that it is holding back. Edwards states on page 88 “The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present: they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose.” The longer you sin, the greater and more powerful the wrath of God will be. Once the dam crumbles under the pressure there is nothing that can stop the liquid stampede that follows. Truly, the first persuasive technique that Edwards used in “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God” is making connections to…
First, the author uses imagery to vividly explain the sufferable experience sinners will have in hell. For instance in the ninth paragraph Jonathan Edwards coldly states, " When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul , and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance,…
Edward’s words represented God’s power in being able to cast wicked people in hell at any moment. The people sitting in the pews of the Church were most likely coped with fear as a result of Edward’s harsh speech. He further warns the people of the only thing keeping them from hell is the thin air which God creates as a barrier. According to Edward’s, God would have no pity for those people casted into hell since he provided humans with a chance to resolve their sins. Since the sermon of Edwards was conducted during the Second Great Awakening when people were regaining their religion, people would most likely be on edge from the words of Jonathon Edwards. In summation, the brief representation of hell from Edwards commended God’s lack of sympathy for those people who did not abide by God’s words and instilled fear in the hearts of people who attended…
When first reading Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” shocked readers how it started right in about the wrath of God and Hell. His diction and images create a tone of alarming immediacy – act now for your own good.…
In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Edwards states that “Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering...God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of this world and sending them to hell...God had need to be at the expense of a miracle, or go out of ordinary course of his providence, to destroy any wicked man, at any moment” (124-129). Edwards’ statement voices that he believes that God will go out of his way to punish unconverted men for not believing in him. With this belief Edwards goes on to express that those who are unconverted are already sentenced to Hell and therefore, will be sent to Hell to suffer for all eternity. Along with these beliefs, Edwards also expresses that God is prepared to send anyone who does not believe in him, to the pits of Hell and that the only reason those who are sentenced to Hell have not been casted down there is that God is holding on to them to make them suffer a little longer. In result of that, Anne Bradstreet’s and Jonathan Edwards’ religious views show how they differ, nonetheless Anne Bradstreet’s & Jonathan Edwards’ personalities are also a big part in how they differ as…
I found "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" written by Jonathan Edwards as a terrible misconception. From the things I've learned through my own faith and Theology classes I've taken God is nothing like the god that Edwards portrays. Edwards's god is one of destruction and hatred. Where as the true God is full of love and compassion for his children. This sermon suggests that God is ready at any moment to condemn man to Hell. In Theology however we learned that God does not choose to send anyone to Hell, rather it is our sin that condemn us to this destiny. Edwards fills his sermon with scripture in an attempt to solidify his beliefs. However upon closer examination these quotes are bits and pieces of the complete text. These instances…
Although the author’s claim was uncertain, he sought to bring strong evidence towards his protestation that all non-converted people would suffer the wrath of God in hell. For example, he affirms that “God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world and sending them to hell, that there is nothing to make it appear that God had need to be at the expense of a miracle, or go out of the ordinary course of his providence, to destroy any wicked man, at any moment.” The textual evidence implies that God can destroy any person at whatever time He pleases if they are wicked. According to Edwards, the congregation was wicked because they were sinning against God. Edwards used this theory to endorse his claim that the congregation would be destroyed by God because they are…
Throughout the excerpt, Edwards uses a scornful, intimidating tone to convey his message to the unconverted. Edwards declares that, “The God that holds you over the pit of hell.. his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire.” Edwards elucidates that God has no interest in the pardon of the unconverted offenders. By stating that the unconverted hold no chance of salvation, Edwards pressures them to change their unholy ways by installing fear into their hearts with his disdainful mannerism. Also, Edwards goes on to state, “O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God.” He stresses the fury the unconverted will face if they continue down the path of eternal damnation. Edwards creates a worst case scenario in hopes of kindling the fear within the unconverted so that they see the light and become devoted Christians. With the immense amount of terror and shame implemented upon the non-believers, Edwards enticed the unconverted to becoming pure, dedicated Christians. Likewise, another key technique Edwards used to express his statement was through his vivid imagery. From beginning to end, Edwards creates the image of the unconverted being held over hell by God's hands. He demonstrates that God is in charge of…
In the text Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards uses a real sermon that he wrote a long time ago. He uses a very angry and scary approach to get his point across. He basically scares the reader by saying that if you’ve ever sinned you will go straight to hell.…
In a math class, the students taught by proofing concepts might get the same grade on a test as students taught by rote memorization, however, the students taught by proofs will understand the information longer and more profoundly. During the eighteenth century, various attempts at morally reforming the people of the Americas were undertaken in drastically different ways. Preachers took the avenue of religion, while academics used the philosophies and logic of the enlightenment to teach people. Preachers often only cared that their followers were sin-free, while philosophers wanted their audience to come to a self-realization of their moral code. Jonathan Edwards, an austere pastor, and Benjamin Franklin, a Renaissance…
Jonathan Edwards's sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” delivers the dogma that only the mercy of God can save one from being condemned to Hell. Edwards appealed to his followers’ fear as a way of guiding his flock towards what he saw as the correct principles of Christian faith; the intensely terrifying metaphors of the sermon were his trademark.…