My addiction to nicotine progressed from casual social smoking to consuming two packs a week. Although I’ve only been smoking for about one year, I had to quit before my addiction became much stronger. Like most smokers, I’ve tried to quit cold turkey on many occasions, but the mood and the will power lasts only until my synapses (nerve endings) start screaming, crying, and pleading with my conscious for a cigarette. The intendment of my quest was to discern the influences on my smoking habit and to curb the physical and psychological addiction through the implementation of specific reinforced behaviors. Positive reinforcers make me smoke, and negative reinforcers prevent me from smoking. By identifying positive reinforcements, I learned to quit smoking.
Before beginning my analysis of my smoking habits, I recorded the number of cigarettes smoked on a daily basis. On an average day I smoked 4-5 cigarettes. By establishing my baseline performance on a typical week, I set out to find the positive reinforcements, which coerced me into smoking. The days that were most prolific in smoking were Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The primary reason for the increase in smoking was due to the social events of that particular evening, which included the occasional alcohol consumption, and companionship of fellow smokers/friends. “Partying” dramatically affected my smoking habit. Undoubtedly my gregarious antics affected my smoking, but the post-sex cigarette also added to the count. By pinpointing these factors, I was able to invent a fixed negative reinforcement schedule to lead me away from smoking and steer me towards a healthier lifestyle.
In order to develop a fixed negative reinforcement schedule, I divided my cigarettes into groups allowing myself only three cigarettes a day. I placed my daily ration of cigarettes into envelopes and labeled them for each day of the week. I smoked one cigarette after lunch, one after dinner, and one later at night. I would reward myself with a cigarette after attending classes and eating lunch. I would then reward myself with another cigarette after homework and dinner. Through the course of my week, I violated my regimen only twice. On Wednesday and Friday, I “bummed’ a cigarette from one of my friends. After feeling guilty about violating my regimen, I repented for hours, and swore to myself that I was going to beat my addiction. Primary negative reinforcers also helped me stick with the plan such as improved stamina during physical exercise and more money in my pocket.
Edwards, who also had Puritan beliefs, was a philosopher and theologian and his way of thinking was more in-depth and complex. He used repetition to drive his sermons home and convinced his congregations of the evils and wickedness of hell through the use of intense analogies. His “fire and brimstone” way of preaching frightened people and made them feel a deep need for salvation. Edwards believed that all humans were natural sinners and God was eagerly awaiting to judge them. He wrote "their foot shall slide in due time" meaning that mankind was full of inevitable sinners.
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.
Freneau describes that religion is supposed to be discovered through nature, it is not hidden or coded, but merely patiently waiting to be found. On the contrary, Edwards goes on for quite some time to reinforce the urgency of salvation. The certainty that God can take you out of this world at any moment and the severity of his punishments are repeated multiple times. Edwards continues to say that the only reason any being is alive at this moment is only because God is holding on to them. God is preventing all the breathing masses from slipping down the slope of death in which all will inevitably slip down because without Him, no mere human possesses the strength to stand on that slope. All the while, “natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell” ("Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” 213). In a nutshell, Edwards is trying to show that one must be saved by God now, and no later than now, because at any moment God can tear a life away and then it will be too late, the person will have already been sentenced to eternal Hell even before death because of the simple fact that God is angry with all who have not yet been
In 1741, Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan preacher of that time, had one thing on his mind: to convert sinners, on the road to hell, to salvation. It just so happened to be, that his way of doing that was to preach the reality to them and scare them to the point of conversion. Sermons of this time were preached to persuade people to be converted and to me it seemed that Edwards just had a special way of doing it. Just as people are being influenced by rhetoric appeals today Edwards used the same method on his congregation. In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Jonathan Edwards positively affected his readers using pathos, logos, and ethos, while trying to convince the unconverted members of his sermon to be born again.
The detrimental consequences of cigarette smoking are widely known across smokers. Yet they still engage in such unhealthy activities. Over the years, studies have looked into the use of counterfactual thinking and the intention of quitting cigarette smoking on youths (Eavers, Berry & Rodriguez, 2015). It is believed that when individuals mentally put together different outcomes to an undesirable smoking-affiliated circumstance, such as unhealthy teeth, premature death or occurrence of cancer, there is an increased resistance towards the negative circumstance. This in turn shape their later behaviour and intention – the ‘want’ to quit smoking (Page & Colby, 2003). A study by Gavanski and Wells 1989) hypothesized that upward counterfactual thoughts will reinforced behavioural intentions (quit smoking). Findings from the study suggest that youths with upward counterfactual thought tend to express guilt and regret with regards to their smoking behaviour as compared to their counterparts. Behavioural intention of quitting smoking can be attributed to the negativity of the consequences. In light of the negativity, a greater motivation drives individuals to think about actions they could have taken to prevent a negative consequence. With the increased in motivation, individuals begin to form relevant behaviour intention to stay away from smoking and take actions to
Drugs seem to cause surges in dopamine neurotransmitters and other pleasure brain messengers. However, the brain quickly adapts and these circuits desensitize, which allows for withdrawal symptoms to occur (3). Drug addiction works on some of the same neurobiological mechanisms that aid in learning and memories (3). "This new view of dopamine as an aid to learning rather than a pleasure mediator may help explain why many addictive drugs, which unleash massive surges of the neurotransmitter in the brain, can drive continued use without producing pleasure-as when cocaine addicts continue to take hits long after the euphoric effects of the drug have worn off or when smokers smoke after cigarettes become distasteful." (4)
Edwards also used personification“Hell’s wide mouth gaping open”. He is trying to let people know that if you do something bad, then the hell’s door is open for you and you can go to hell anytime soon. That doesn't mean you can’t do bad thing because everyone does a bad thing once in awhile nobody's perfect i'm sure even god has at least done one bad thing.
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards uses imagery and symbolism to persuade the audience to become more devout Christians by channeling fear and emphasizing religious values. Jonathan Edwards was a Puritan minister who preached during the time of the Great Awakening in America. During this period of religious revival, Edwards wanted people to return to the devout ways of the early Puritans in America. The spirit of the revival led Edwards to believe that sinners would enter hell. Edwards’ sermon was primarily addressed to sinners for the purpose of alerting them about their sins and inspiring them to take action to become more devoted to God. Mentioned throughout
Jonathan Edwards was extraordinary and many peoples' estimates he has the most acute an American philosopher, and he was the most brilliant of all American theologians at his time. There are at least three of Edwards many works such like: Religious Affection, Freedom of the Will and The Nature of True Virtue are standing as masterpieces in the history of the Christian literature. Jonathan Edwards was the machine encourage of Christianity in nineteenth-century. But not only the machine but he brought over lasting influence. His life involve most important things legacy that is religious and social movement. He preached a stronger message what became American’s most famous sermon: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (Marsden
As a Christian and probably in many other religions the congregation is taught that being a sinner is frowned upon in the eyes of God. By not doing God's will he will be judged, and it will be fearful and painful. A "hellfire and brimstone sermon" were common in the older days but produced negative images/meaning. Many preachers have steered away from theses sermons because the slightest mention of hell or God in an unpleasing way frustrates individuals. Jonathan Edwards writes a sermon called,"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," explaining the unmerciful judgment God puts upon sinners that are unimaginable. His sermon is a hellfire and brimstone sermon which is condemning and blunt about the judgment of God. Throughout the sermon, Edward
Every person possesses some type of habit, whether we realize it or not. A habit is a repetitive way of thinking, doing, or acting that is acquired from a previous experience. Most habits are done unconsciously and can be anything from shopping, drinking, and licking your lips, to telling lies, crying, and brushing your teeth. Though habits seem to be embedded in us, it is possible for us to do away with them. This paper will dissect my habit of smoking tobacco. I will discuss how I developed this habit and why I continue to pursue it. Also presented, will be different theories as to why I have this habit and what I can do to change it.
He chastised his congregation repeatedly in high hopes that they will turn away from their sinful ways. His Puritan beliefs were the impetus force behind his message. The Puritans emphasized the “covenant of works”, which was in the control of humans, and the “covenant of grace”, which was in God 's power to give. (Covenant of grace). Edwards believed that mankind could save itself from damnation depending on the way that they lived. Basically, it is man’s control to save himself of certain damnation. He believed God 's grace could possibly be limited. He proposed a belief that God is judgmental and angry. Edwards ' belief in God was that He was ready to throw people into hell because of all of their unrepentant sins. Edwards used his sermon to give proof to the people that they were only worthy of hell and God 's grace kept the people from being tossed into the Lake of fire. “There are in the souls of wicked men those hellish principles reigning, that would presently ignite and burst into flames of hell fire, if it were not for God 's restraints. “There is laid in the very nature of carnal men, a foundation for the torments of hell”(Edwards 432). Edwards believed man was so dishonorable that hell was waiting for him. He preached that God was showing grace and mercy to people or otherwise mankind would be destroyed by hell 's
In the sermon "sinners in the hands of an angry God" Jonathan Edwards is speaking to the puritans during a time of religious revival. Edward indicates that God is an angry God and his hand is the only thing keeping the puritans from departing to hell. Jonathan views each individual human as a group of humans he visions them as one, if one individual sins, all humans are now sinners. All humans were already destined to go to hell there was no say or doing that would provoke the angry God from releasing you to the pits of hell. According to Edwards sermon God gave an remarkable opportunity to escape this fate "therefore let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come…"
When it comes to the topic of addiction, most of us will readily agree that it is a miserable trait to possess. An addiction is a physical and psychological state of being that if not treated correctly could result into harmful wrongdoing. In The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, he recounts a story in which a fatigued housewife named Angie Bachmann lost all of her family’s assets, amounting to a million dollars due to a gambling addiction. Every habit has three components: a cue or a trigger of an automatic behavior to start, a routine the behavior itself, and a reward which is how our brain learns to remember this pattern for the future. According to Duhigg, “you cannot extinguish a bad habit, you can only change it” (63). Duhigg suggests that in order to change ones bad habit the “Golden Rule” must be implied. The Golden Rule is a theory of shifting a habit by retaining the old cue and reward, and tries to change only the routine. Duhigg’s answer to the question in the chapter title, “Are we responsible for our habits?” is simply “Yes.” If we have an awareness of our habits, then we are responsible for their consequences. In the case of Angie Bachmann, she should be held accountable for her gambling debts because she was well aware of her own bad habit and did not try to seek for help.
In the article “Smoking”, people who consider smoking as a habit is also one of the reasons that lead to addiction with “serious health consequence” (Boughton 2090). Every addiction only starts with just one puff to another until it became one stick to one pack. Most of the people today, they said that they only smoke occasionally, saying that they use it for instant stress reliever and moderate using only. But, what they don’t know is that one day they will be craving it and slowly they will realize that they can’t stand a minute of not smoking a stick of a