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In his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, by Jonathan Edwards he displays the Puritan belief that men are saved by grace. Edward, however, use rhetorical devices to make his sermon persuasive by using vibrant images and figure of speech to make these men repent. For instance, Edward uses figurative language such as the image of the fire, “the dreadful pit of the glowing flames… there is Hell’s wide gaping mouth open: and you have nothing to stand upon”. The imagery of the fire is the description of Hell according to the Biblical text. Edward uses this scare tactic to fear the sinners what they could possibly face in Hell. Edward conveys to the audience that if they have not converted then hell will be on the wait. He uses personification
to explain the location having a “wide gaping mouth open” which is used to scare the audience. However, to avoid the fiery hell “it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that [will] hold you up”. Meaning under his power, God will protect and rescue “you”. God chooses your fate. Furthermore, Edward argues that men are restricted to control their fate, it is only God to give one’s mercy. If these natural men do not overcome their ways they will undergo the “Wrath of God”. Edward uses anaphora for those who experience the “flames of divine wrath” those who have “nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have of your own…”. This repetition of nothing terrifies that the men will figuratively have nothing when facing the wrath. Those who fear will repent. Moreover, Edward uses figure of speech to describe a sinner, “That God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire...” This metaphor displays how weak and disgusting the sinner is in the sight of God. The sinners will not be respected or admired unless they are born again. Edward validates that the audience experience his view of Hell. He uses violent and descriptive details to the imagery of Hell.
Jonathan Edwards creates a more effective argument for the intended audience in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” than “The Speech in the Virginia Convention” written by Patrick Henry, by utilizing various techniques. Patrick Henry makes a strong argument however in the end, Edwards’ sermon grows to be more effective. Edwards creates the argument by strengthening the writing through tone, structure, fallacies and knowledge of the congregation that became his audience. Henry’s piece uses methods of oratory persuasion but the actual topic of “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” has an advantage from the start by appealing to fear, a fallacy of logic. Even with the strong basis “The Speech in the Virginia Convention” by Patrick Henry, Edwards’ “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God” proves the more effective piece in the end.
Imagery is one of the components that were used by Edwards to make his story more persuasive. As the short story begins, the first sentence was an example of imagery. Edwards wrote when men are on Gods hands and they could fall to hell. natural men are held in the hands of God, over the pit of hell Knowing that you might fall into hell at any moment should scare you. God decided to save you until he wants to let you fall into an eternity of burning flames. Another example of imagery is when he talks abo...
In the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards, he preached about a stricter Calvinist theology of Puritanism. Edwards delivered it at the Massachusetts congregation on July 8, 1741. He blatantly uses rhetorical strategies to instill fear into his audience if they are to continue to not be active Puritans in religion. Edwards uses polysyndeton, harsh diction and tone, and the appeal to emotion along with the use of semicolons to develop his message.
...God”, by Jonathan Edwards successfully persuaded the Puritans to be converted back to Puritanism. Through Edwards’ sermon the Puritans were compelled to renew their faith back to God. Edwards gave the Puritans a sense of realization, which caused them to go back to their congregation. Edwards horrified the Puritans, with his use of vivid and descriptive imagery, which effectively persuaded them to return to the congregation. Through his utilization of numerous loaded and highly emotional diction, he petrified and convinced the Puritans to go back to the church of God. He also gloriously enhances his sermon with his utilization of threatening and fearful tone tormented the Puritans and convinces them to be pious once again. Jonathan Edwards’s utilization of numerous rhetorical strategies effectively persuaded the Puritans to convert back to their congregations.
2) Edwards sermon was directed towards non believers and those have turned away from the light of god, and in his words “sinners.” And while describing the fiery wrath of the “Angry God,” Edwards states, “The use of this awful subject may be for awakening unconverted persons in this congregation.” By focusing
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards and “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne are both 1700s Puritan works of literature with similarities, as well as differences, from their theme to tone and to what type of literary work they are. Edwards and Hawthorne are both expressing the topics of how people are all sinners, especially in regards to their congregation and that questions their congregation’s faith.
Figurative language is used in a lot of writings to pull you more into the words. Figurative language uses the five senses to place a deep picture in your mind of what is actually happening. Metaphors, similes, personification, hyperbole, etc. are all figurative devices used in writing. Without using any of these things writing would be straight forward and not so complicated to understand. When figurative language is used it makes the reader really think about what is being said by the author and what point the author is trying to make. Both "The Iroquois Constitution” and "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” use figurative language but for different reasons.
Edwards, Jonathan. "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter. Canada: DC Heath and Company, 1990. 584-595.
Many of the symbols that represent Hell are things that are feared, such as spiders and snakes. Edwards declares the terror of the sinners: “That God holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider…over the fire” (26). The unnerving symbol of a spider relates to the religious idea that God is so powerful while the person is so insignificant, such as the spider. By making these connections, the audience can easily understand his point, making his sermon effective. It also provokes the audience, by relating the sinner to a spider and how angry God is, which causes the audience to think about their actions. Edwards speaks with credibility and poise when delivering his sermon, which makes him more effective. He uses logic that says, “If you are a sinner, then you are going to hell”, which makes a strong point. Whether the logic is true or false does not affect the effectiveness of his sermon, because he is able to shock the audience so much that they listen to him without question. This logic that sinners are condemned to hell is referenced in the imagery seen in the sermon. Through his logic and imagery, Edwards creates a very serious tone that makes the sermon very effective in persuading people to convert and become closer with
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.
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.
On July 8, 1741 Congregational minister, John Edwards, delivered a sermon entitled “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” before a Massachusetts congregation in order to dismiss some of the colonist’s belief that hell is not real. Edwards’s objective is to abolish any doubts against god and hell that the colonists have. He uses strategies such as anaphora, figurative language, polysyndeton, all while instilling a feeling of angst in his audience through his tone.
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
We wonder what this great evil could be that makes evil itself tremble. Another personification used is ‘candle writing’. Candles are usually associated with gothic stories, as it is only a small source of light. within the vast darkness of the room.
When Jonathan Edwards spoke of eternal damnation, and described the fiery pits of hell people listened. Edwards lived in the late 1700s, and was devoted to his life’s work. He was a persuasive pastor whose sole purpose in life was to convert unbelievers into accepting Jesus Christ. Edwards was known for delivering his sermons “in a composed style, with few gestures or movements” (Edwards 40). During the great awakening Edwards delivered a sermon known as “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in which he uses the rhetorical devices pathos, logos, and ethos to persuade his congregation to convert and trust Jesus as their savior.