A Tale of Sin and Atonement Essay

To what extent are the protagonists of ‘Atonement’ and ‘The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead’ similar and different?

“… now give me an upright answer. Your name in the town - it is entirely white, is it not?” (L.121-128 P.144). “… I have heard it said, and I tell you as I heard it, that she comes so rarely to church this year for she will not sit so close to something soiled. What signified that remark?”

Jonathan Edwards's sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is moving and powerful. His effectiveness as an eighteenth century New England religious leader is rooted in his expansive knowledge of the Bible and human nature, as well as a genuine desire to "awaken" and save as many souls as possible. This sermon, delivered in 1741, exhibits Edwards's skillful use of these tools to persuade his congregation to join him in his Christian beliefs.

• Writes about Christ suffering extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of Pontius Pilatus. Refers to an immense multitude of Christ followers willing to die for their beliefs. Pg. 82

Ever looked at somebody and thought that they were a terrible person? This is probably because they embody at least one of the seven deadly sins. These sins have been around for centuries and have been used over and over again in many stories. Some of the best examples of the deadly sins are found in the characters of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. These characters, the pilgrims, vary in profession, personality, and background; most being guilty of at least one of the seven deadly sins. Continuing, Chaucer’s pilgrims will be exposed of their deadly sins that they are guilty of, each with an explanation.

Edwards' creative choice of words that he uses describes the power of God and the terrible Hell awaiting sinners. These words easily infiltrate into the minds of his congregation and frighten them beyond belief. These choices of words and his use of such vivid images are mostly successful in their intent, to scare and put fear into his audience. Edwards held his audience locked up with his promises of eternal damnation if proper steps were not taken. The congregation felt the intense impact of his rhetorical strategies and lived on the fear of the power of God. In this way, he was able to keep his followers from sin and away from the fiery pits of Hell.

Death Comes for the Archbishop tells us an existing (not novel) tale with artistic narration. As readers of this work, we have both feet grounded in authenticity, but have our minds occupied with skillful imaginings.

Both passages agree that everyone is full of sin and will one day face their judgements. Jonathan Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Ministers Black Veil” are effective in their own point of view. Edwards uses second person point of view to “point at” the reader that they’re being the ones read to. Hawthorne uses third person omniscient point of view to show the reader the different sides of what he is writing about. Edwards was more effective with his second person point of view because the reader will feel they’re the ones at fault for the sin when the passage was made 100s of years ago.

The setting in this story plays two very important roles. One of them is the presence of the Catholic church in the story. You can tell that there is a slight Catholic

Lonnie’s death is horrific and gruesome. Kate, Binx’s wife, even comments, “That poor little boy – he’s so hideously thin and yellow, like one of those wrecks lying on a flatcar at Dachau” (Percy 238). However, his death is significant because it mirrors Benedict’s passing. Even in their agony and dying breath, both men are affixed to the Divine; Benedict “fortified himself for death by receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord” (Gregory 140), and Lonnie’s last words to Binx were that “he had conquered an habitual disposition,” a grave sin he had been fighting through acts of penance (Percy 239). Neither man complained about his suffering, nor bragged about his worldly achievements; rather, the two were completely satisfied with denying themselves in this fading life so as to bear fruit in Eternal Life.

The character of Father Paneloux is introduced as “a stalwart champion of Christian doctrine,” (Camus 92) thus leaving the reader with no curiosity about the qualification of this man from a religious point of view. It is this character’s challenges and responses to hardship that reveal his loyalty to the faith based world that is so commonly overlooked in Camus’ novel. The sermons of Father Paneloux are perhaps to be considered the strongest example of his faith in the face of the plague. The nature of the first sermon is blunt and

O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! My ducats and my daughter!’ (II, iix, 15-17). He would ‘rather his daughter dead, and the jewels in her ear!’ (III, I, 81-82). Even though Shylock and Jessica’s relationship is filled with minor affection. Portia’s love for her father is visible and true.

It can be said that in God's eyes, Christians are only dirty glasses which are stained inside and out with their own sin. These glasses were once clean, not plagued with stains. Now the glasses bear with them these ugly stains, the stains of sin and wrongdoing. The dirty glasses had to accept their punishment for becoming dirty, and the punishment was being destroyed by a hammer. The hammer is God's instrument against sinners. As the hammer made its decent on the glass, a pan covered the glass and took the blow of the hammer to save the glass. This pan represents Jesus because Jesus sacrificed himself to God so that God would forgive us for our sins.

     Adam and Eve, the two that started it all. These two names will remain as a reminder to us forever because of their actions. Genesis chapter two talks about how man was made perfect; flawless and in God’s favor. These two individuals change how mankind would be from that time on. Sin entered the world and things began to change.

Christianity is a faith based on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Fisher, 1991) Christianity is a one God religion as presented in the New Testament. Today, Christianity and the church are culturally diverse, even in the aspects of race. It is even said that Sunday mornings is the most segregated time in the world. There is one central belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, all Christians can come to this conclusion. Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and that we are all under the judgment of God because we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Other religions may often depict that it is only necessary to do some good when it comes to God in order to