Examples Of Persuasion In Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

What is persuasion? To many, persuasion would be defined as, the ability to get the people around you to see things from your point of view. Some people are very good at this, others may not possess some of the qualities needed. One man in the history of American literature that retained these qualities was John Edwards. In 1741, John Edwards gave a sermon entitled, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. In this sermon, Mr. Edwards used his power of persuasion to, “scare the hell out of his audience”(Dr. Tim Mcgee, 2014). Through his persuasive styles, Edwards was able to get several responses out of his audience, including fear, weakness, and hope.

The most obvious tool and response that John Edwards’ used and received in his sermon,

Through the many images that Edwards was able to describe throughout his sermon, he was able to induce a great amount of fear into his listeners. Yet some of his images also showed them how weak they are compared to God 's wishes. In one line, Edwards states, “The God that holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire...”. Through this line, he is telling the audience of his famous sermon, that no matter how important they feel they are on Earth, to God, they will be nothing more than a spider, or any other hated insect. He then goes on to say that when God judges them, he will find you worthy of nothing else, but to be thrown into the fire. Because of this image, people are able to put themselves in that position, and understand just how weak and insignificant they will truly become, if they are to die the sinners that they were at that

Be it for products, religious beliefs, political views, or anything else that people are trying to sell you today. One great example of someone being successful in their hopes of persuading people is John Edwards. He is able to persuade people throughout a 6-hour sermon to believe in and fear Hell. While doing this, he receives several responses, including fear, weakness, and hope. He gets a fearful response by telling of the many horrors of Hell and the horrifying wrath of God. In order to get weakness, he tells of how significant they will be as sinners in the eyes of God. Yet lastly, he gives them hope, by telling of a day in which God will open the doors of mercy and redemption, and all those who take the opportunity, will be