Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry Godby By Jonathan Edwards

In the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Edwards displays controversial viewpoints and ideas concerning heaven and hell. As Edwards speaks to the congregation he warns them of the misery and suffering they will face if they do not repent of certain sins. He also describes God as angry which probably struck fear into the hearts on many. To illustrate his own point that hell is unenviable without repentance Jonathan Edwards creates the idea of an angry God using intense similes, a harsh tone, and strong emotional appeal in “Sinners in the hand of an Angry God”.

His use of imagery to influence was, Paragraph 4 “O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in; it is a great furnace of the wrath, a wide and bottomless pit full of fire of wrath , that you are held over in the hands of that God.” Edwards is getting an emotional(pathos) reaction from society itself and his congregation that he is talking down to, because of their sinful ways it has now gotten them in the hands of God over a pit of fire and nothing can be done except that he won't let you fall because of his patience is being held within. Persuading them with fear of being thrown into fire to get them to change not only for living a righteous life but for God, so he won't have to leave you and hell also for you and your change of heart

Jonathan Edwards, a famous preacher in pre-colonial times, composed a sermon that was driven to alert and inject neo Puritanical fear into an eighteenth century congregation. This Bible based and serious audience sought after religious instruction and enlightenment. Through the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards offers a very harsh interpretation to humankind. Edwards utilizes various rhetorical techniques to evoke an emotional response in his audience and to persuade the members of his congregation that their wicked actions will awaken a very ruthless and merciless God.

Just as effective as language manipulation is Edwards's use of language transformation; indeed, his skillful employment of descriptive language adds a visual dimension to his message. Even if the foundation is misinterpreted, these transformations allow any listener to mentally "see" Edwards's overall direction. For instance, God's wrath is referred to as "great waters that are dammed", "a glittering sword", and a "drawn arrow". These terms indicate powerful and deadly forces. On the other hand, sinners are likened to "worms of the dust", "miserable creatures", and "loathsome insects"; consequently, these labels are receptors of God's wrath through the forces Edwards introduces. Although these conceptual images appear basic, Edwards's frequency and placement throughout his delivery produce a clear and precise overview to even

Jonathan Edwards write a famous sermon titles “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. In this sermon, sinners all over the world are targeted. They are being warned that god will stand sternly judging their actions. It is also seen in the sermon that the sinners’ punishments will be much harsher than they would think. In order to deliver these messages, Edwards uses three different tones; threatening, cautionary, and unsympathetic. These tones are formed when he uses specific words and phrases that represent those tones.

Imagery is used by Edwards to induce terror onto the congregation by illustrating the power of God on “wicked men” (para. 10). In the beginning of the excerpt, Edwards paints a picture of sinners ready to fall into the pit of hell, with only God’s will keeping them up. He describes it as such,

Edwards’s uses strong, powerful diction to clearly get his across to the spectators. Jonathan Edwards repetitively uses the word “omnipotent” to visibly tell his audience how powerful God is. Along with that, he repetitively uses the phrase “God’s wrath” along with words such as “fury, despair and destruction”. Edwards actually describes God’s wrath by commonly using words as dreadful, glowing, wickedness, black and vengeance. By the usage of these words and phrases, Edwards indicates that God is angered and furious of our actions. However to point out God’s generosity, Jonathan Edwards commonly uses the word “mercy”. By using the word “mercy”, Edwards indicates that since God made his worshipers, he is giving them an opportunity to repent and amend their ways or destruction is unpreventable. Mr. Edwards also uses words as “mourn, howl, hopeless and sober,” to specify the listeners reactions upon hearing Edwards’s sermon. Edwards use of influential words leave the spectators mourning and groaning in great despair. Edwards employs all these words through the emotional appeal of ethos. This is what causes a great impact upon the listeners at the church.

Figurative language is another important factor for the story. In the story, he talked about wickedness in a person’s body. “Your wickedness makes you as it were as heavy as lead.” This will make you think that the amount of wickedness in one’s body is equivalent to the weight of lead. This might persuade people to go be “reborn” since they would want to get rid of most of that wickedness. Another example is the comparison of a person to a spider. “The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider.” Edwards use this to say that we’re no different than spiders in God’s eyes. We could be squished or dropped to our doom in a mater of seconds. Edwards also compared God’s wrath to the great waters. “The wrath of God is like great waters that are damned 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

Edwards misused many texts and took a verse out of context. He used it to prove what context denied : God will not restore his people. He applied the imagery of fire to frighten unidentified listeners into repentance. He invoked God’s temporary negative corporate sanctions to scare men regarding permanent negative personal sanctions and invoked God’s wrath against public corporate apostasy top justify preaching against invisible personal

“No one’s ever gonna love you more than God, your mama and me.” These country lyrics by Florida Georgia Line portray their views of God as extremely loving and caring, however Jonathan Edwards has a much different understanding of God. In the short story, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards, he views God as strict, oppressive and willing to take action through the imagery he uses regarding wind, fire and insects in nature.

One can hear a sermon any day of the week, because there are many preachers out there in the world. Many sermons are retold Bible stories from the Old and New Testaments that tell how our ancestors lived, and teach us life applications of how to glorify God while we are living our lives. For over a thousand years God’s word has been preached by many faithful men who follow Him. However, there were some of those faithful men who used God’s Word and their own improvisation to convict sinners and to put their trust in God. Those times resulted in an era called the Great Awakening of the 18th century and they also put an end to the segregation era of the 20th century. Two of the faithful men during those eras were

Edwards use of metaphors allows his tone to be straightforward with their negative connotations. He compares God’s wrath to the great waters that are damned to the present. By incorporating that the waters are for them and the longer it is held the faster and mighty it is, he makes readers feel guilty for being sinful. Depite managing to comfort them by reminding them they have not yet been judged he changes his tone to criticize it is their

3. Reread the sixth paragraph. What people, according to Edwards, are not in the hands of this angry God? How is this state achieved?

What truly defines the meaning of love? Whether it is two people who show affection for each other, or the bond of a father and son, love is able to mean many things. After all, love may vary for those of different religions or practices, and may be expressed in many ways. Religion and beliefs also change throughout the decades, causing different outlooks on love. Speech is a highly important part of love and religion, and certain qualities can either create an aggressive-energetic speech, or a dull lecture.

In Johnathan Edward's, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards has a particular style of writing that conveys an underlying purpose when delivering the sermon. Throughout the sermon, he uses multiple writing techniques and tools to engage the listener more, and to assure the listeners believe and trust him. Edwards purpose of writing and delivering the sermon, is to warn his people and to whomever else wants to agree, that they all must show their remorse of their sins to God before it is too late. Every sentence in the sermon, is based around scarring the people even more and more. Edwards accomplishes this by using certain diction and structure, a certain tone, and persuasive figurative language.