...“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Jonathon Edwards delivered a sermon for the ages in 1741. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was powerful and moving to all who heard it. Edward’s mastery of diction, immaculate imagery, and reinforced repetition made sure his listeners understood the full impact of their sins. This piece was so forceful, it sent them running for the hills. Maybe not the hills but a few did run out screaming! He accomplished exactly what he had hoped for. People were definitely afraid that God would punish them for their sins. Jonathon Edwards knew how to make his words count. Edwards chose words that got the most bang for his buck. He wanted his words to convey his feelings in the most persuasive way possible. Phrases such as, “The floods of God’s vengeance have been withheld” were used in this sermon. The words are chosen carefully to demonstrate God’s wrath. Edwards could have said God’s anger but he chose, instead, to use the words “floods” and “God’s vengeance” to evoke fear and trembling in his listeners. Another phrase Edwards uses is, “fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God”. Those words are full of impact. When they’re spoken to the crowd they automatically trigger trepidation. Edwards once again is demonstrating God’s disdain for sinners. One of the most aggressive statements in Edward’s whole piece are the words, “you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours.” Edwards...
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...In the sermon of Reverend Jonathan Edward’s ,“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Edwards talks about eternal damnation for people who do not believe in Christ. In his opinion, people who don’t turn to the path of salvation will face the wrath of God. His use of imagery and literary devices contribute to the effectiveness of his preachings. Edward uses imagery to instill fear into his audience, his wording paints vivid pictures into people’s brains. He begins to talk about the horrors that are awaiting the sinners, “the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash for them…”(4). Edward wants the sinners to know that if they do not begin to accept God into their lives, the devil will be awaiting their...
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...Jonathan Edwards was a popular Protestant preacher during the Great Awakening, a time of religious revival and fervor during the 1730s and 1740s. In his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Edwards uses the rhetorical devices of imagery and repetition to convey the pilgrims’ attitude toward God and their way of life. Edwards’ profuse usage of imagery throughout his sermon conveyed the pilgrims’ attitude towards God. Imagery is a rhetorical device which consists of descriptive language that appeals to a person’s five senses and their emotions. In his sermon, Edwards creates vivid images of an angry God and of God’s frightening wrath in order to induce fear among his audience to persuade them to reform their ways. Edwards states,...
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...In "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards, Edwards describes in this sermon God's fury towards those who do not following the religion. To do this, Edwards is required to use man rhetorical devices. Some of those devices are Imagery,Connotation, and Personification. Edwards uses Imagery to allow his audience to visualize how near God is with his wrath. He states, "There are the black clouds of God's wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm and big with thunder..." This allows the audience to imagine the proximity of Gods wrath. He uses, "black clouds", to describe how dark Gods wrath is. These clouds are right over the audiences head to allow them to visualize that is only a matter of time until God releases his fury upon them. But he also goes on to state, "full of dreadful storm and big with thunder..." to describe the darkness of the clouds, but to also allow them to get an idea of some the items that are held within the dark cloud. Edwards uses imagery to all his audience to visualize the proximity of Gods wrath, but to also allow them to imagine the horrific events that follow if God decides to release his wrath....
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...Rhetorical Analysis of Sinners in the hands of an angry God Preacher, Jonathan Edwards author of Sinners in the hands of an angry God (1741) reveals that God is approaching mercy on people who sin. He’s trying to convince Puritan congregation that if you sin you will be damned to hell. Edwards develops this claim by clarifying that if the people in this congregation do not follow God’s will they will result in death by being sent to hell. His purpose is to convince Puritans that God is wrathful God and to also warn the people of the dangers of damnation. He uses structure, pathos and imagery to satisfy the reader that the people who are unrepentant may reject God. Edwards perspective of sin is like a force in a world that is dictated by the devil....
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...Eternity is an inexplicable subject that lies beyond the human’s knowledge and power, which gradually diminish as faith and belief are the only remnant forces that guide human to the afterlife. Jonathan Edwards, the author of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, and Anne Bradstreet, the author of Verses upon Burning of our House, both exemplify Puritan literature that reflects contemporary ideals and beliefs in the extraterrestrial life, embracing God as the ultimate deity who is responsible for salvation. Even though Edwards and Bradstreet share a veneration of God, their perceptions of God are contrasting, resulting in varying religious perspectives and literature voices that can be easily distinguished. The sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God was written by Jonathan Edwards, a minister at a church in Northampton, to enlighten the congregation on its members’ behaviors. As he employs a logical...
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...The Great Awakening was a movement in colonial times influenced by leaders such as George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards. One of Jonathan edwards’ most influencial sermon was “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. In this sermon, he demonstrates how God’s wrath is unstoppable and only Christ can save you from an eternity of misery. In his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’, Jonathan Edwards impacts religious beliefs of colonial American people through rhetoric and persuasion during the Great Awakening. Edwards’ sermon revolutionizes the religious beliefs during the Great Awakening. Edwards uses the simile: “ The God holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like a fire… you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes than the worst venomous serpent is in ours” (Edwards 89). This new idea of God being a God of fury and relentless wrath revolutionized the belief of colonial Americans. William Farley states in his article on the Great Awakening that “Overnight, the town was transformed. The citizens sang hymns in the streets, the tavern closed, young people pursued God in bands, and it...
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...hold fear over the heads of society members; however, it is often also used as a source of hope. Jonathan Edwards’s Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God speech and Patrick Henry’s “Speech to the Virginia Convention” have many differences in the way the speakers portray religion to their advantage, and striking similarities in how they use religious views to persuade their audience. Edwards begins his speech by explaining God’s wrath, and how all Christians are held in the “hand” of God over the pit of hell. From the beginning of his speech, he uses this imagery to instill the fear of burning in hell eternally. Edwards then continues to add panic within the audience as he conveys that “The devil is waiting for them, hell gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them and would swallow them up” (5-7). The usage of imagery pushes these...
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...Question Six The forthright sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, is very directly written to strike fear in his listeners. This sermon was written by Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan preacher. With his very elaborately spoken, yet very brutally worded sermons, Edwards tried to scare his listeners into continue following the religion, or start following it again. He used two main techniques to do this, firstly, by speaking how awful hell would be, and secondly, how horrific God’s wrath would be, Jonathan would even use both ways to strike more fear too. The idea of hell was very frightening to many already. Jonathan was a man who thrived on this fear of many. In the first few sentences, he sermonized,“That world of misery, that lake of...
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..."Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" was a sermon given by the Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards. In this sermon Edwards uses the fear that God can punish the wicked at any time he wants, to keep his people under control. Some say this type of harsh preaching was a practice used by the puritans to make all people live a righteous and correct life. A multitude of people have analyzed ¨Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God¨ and have many different interpretations of it. Most would agree it is simply about a man trying to scare people into Christianity using the roaring wrath of God as stated above. There are others who have taken that idea and used it to compare different concepts. The ideas that stem from this sermon ¨Sinners in the Hands...
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...By looking at the Virginia Convention and Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God one can see rhetorical devices which is important because you need to compare and contrast the two stories by using rhetorical analysis. Both stories are very emotional and persuasive, and have two completely different but very strong arguments. The Virginia Convention, written by Patrick Henry who at the time lived in a british ruled america. Henry wanted to break free from the british, and felt strongly about his point, but there were other people who felt strongly that the thirteen colonies should stay with the british. Henry needed a very emotional and persuasive speech if he was going to get anybody to see his way of thinking. Henry states “ give me liberty or give me death” this part of the speech is very emotional, because it is basically saying that they better give him freedom or just let him die. “ should i keep back my...
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...Persuasion is a major part of Jonathan Edwards sermon he uses many metaphors, hyperbole, and other rhetorical devices to convey the Puritans. Edwards used a fearful and wrathful tone to persuade the unconverted to convert. He forcefully wanted people to convert thus feeling shameful. Edwards instilled biblical allusions into his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,’’ such as spending eternal life in the fiery mouth of hell (line 50-51). He is presenting this sermon to the Puritans and is preaching the word that God has provided us with (the bible). Puritans and anyone who was in that same era did not really think about what they themselves wanted, they just went with the crowd. Edwards has an opinion and he might have been opinionated and wanted to help them for the greater good but, at the end everyone was just so fearful. He provided them with biblical allusions that were taken into an exaggeration. In reality nobody really knows what is to come after death. Everyone now in the modern day has their own opinion but is all about the faith you have. He was grabbing the attention of the audience by using imagery of being dropped out of God’s hand and falling into hell. Edwards used reverse psychology he offered information about hell and everything about the Puritans that was wrong but was only doing that so he...
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...Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God 1. Describe three specific details of Edwards’ background. Jonathan Edwards grew up from an orthodox and devout religious family. From a young age, Edwards displayed his religious faith by preaching sermons to his friends. After earning a degree in the theology, Edwards began preaching with his grandfather in one of the largest and wealthiest Puritan congregations. 2. In what manner did Edwards deliver his sermon? Edwards delivered his sermon in a calm and composed manner. He was very collected and focused during his deliverance. 3. Who was his intended audience? Jonathan Edwards’ intended audience were Puritans that had lost faith in God due to the fact that many Puritans lost their faith because of scientific theories that contradicted the word of God. He directed the sermon to those who were “hanging over the pit of hell.” 4. What was his effect on his audience? Edwards’s listeners were said to have gasped and screamed in terror. Edwards message reached farther than the audience in the church, causing many Puritans to reconnect with their religion and refuel their...
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...I don’t know if this rhetoric will fit to be a good prose, Neither am I sure if it will be laden with any literary devices. Not to talk about poetic quality to adorn it like thorns on a rose; But I pray the questions inherent provokes your thought And set your mind and heart on a soul searching spree. It might even help your spirit soar and set your conscience free. But firstly, show me two things and let’s proceed; a sin and a sinner. And the difference between a righteous and a self-righteous spinner. Yes, I binge drink and you occasionally gulp in a couple of spirits. I wear condoms and aid in abortions while you literally kill people. Just like my liking for the color green and you, purple! You also point fingers at me for smoking while you safely harbor in lust; Avariciousness is what you wake up to yet you call me a thief; You spit on my existence and what I stand for, like a dustbin; While calling me names because I don’t indulge in your kind of sin; You call me a sinner while you live your illusive life as a saint. Forgetting that you cannot see through any object with a taint. How about removing the log in your eyes first – objectivity. Before proceeding to quenching my thirst – positivity. You sex two or more people yet call me a prostitute – subjectivity. We both engage in different and varied degrees of vices – relativity. So just allow your good self to live and let’s live – adaptivity. I want to be free; devoid of your labeling theories...
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...in the lines 82-84 with, “down there I saw a terrible a terrible confusion of serpents, all of such a monstrous kind the thought of them still makes my blood run cold” (24.82-84). These serpents attacked all sinners viciously while they were in attempt to flee the wrath bestowed upon them scurrying around the pit nude. Tied around the sinner's limbs, the serpents restricted all movement of their arms. The two traveling men witnessed a serpent jolting at a sinner and gouging down on the vulnerable neck with its needle-like fangs. The impaled sinner eventually had burst into a pile of ashes post catching fire. After the tied up sinner had vanished to ashes, the sinner would rise from its remains and repeat the never ending tournament throughout...
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