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Sinners In The Hands Of Christian Charity Analysis

Decent Essays

The 2016 Election and terrorism are just a few of the modern trials and tribulations that backdrop today’s sermons. These events widely differ from the circumstances of earlier sermons. In the 1700s, the Great Awakening occurred. It was a time of religious revival in colonial America, and pastors and preachers worked to persuade the congregate to convert. Thus, the sermons utilized skillful rhetorical tactics. Two famous sermons to arise from this period were “Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards and “A Model of Christian Charity” by John Winthrop. Compared to Edwards’s intense conviction in “Sinner in the Hands of An Angry God,” Winthrop crafts the more effective sermon through his positive diction, the inclusive repetition …show more content…

“Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God” is accusatory and pointing a finger in every “you,” but “A Model of Christian Charity” evokes solidarity because of the pronoun “we.” Winthrop involves and calls the audience to “let us choose life, that we and our seed may live, by obeying His voice and cleaving to him, for he is our life and our prosperity” in the last line. By including himself in the pronoun “we,” Winthrop admits that he is in the same boat as the congregate, establishes a relationship with the listeners, and displays trust. Indeed, the last line illustrates that he too needs to follow Christ, not just the listeners. This further contributes to the open-minded approach of conversion by the audience. Altogether, “we” demonstrates that the congregation, including Winthrop, is not alone in the acceptance of Christianity, establishing a sense of …show more content…

Because of these tactics, along with other rhetorical devices, Winthrop constructs an encouraging sermon. This overall hopeful and trustworthy tone of Winthrop’s writing creates a more successful impact compared to Edwards’s scare tactics. For example, right off the bat, Edwards uses the word “sinners” and informs that God is angry in the title, and yet, Winthrop’s title evokes kinder thoughts with the word “charity.” This strong, negative emotion of anger can immediately offend the audience and cause them to disregard what the sermon discusses. On the other hand, the initial tone set by Winthrop’s title can influence the listener to consider the sermon. Above all, an optimistic outlook presented by Winthrop is more effective in a

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