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Examples Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

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Sin in the Eyes of God In order to successfully portray ideas regarding God’s wrath and power, Jonathan Edwards utilizes images such as a spider web paired with a rock and a storm, in the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. The analogy describing a spider web and rock not only shows how the rock can be equated to the amount a person sins and the magnitude of sins, but also how the web can be seen as a person’s righteousness and the rarity it is in having righteousness. “…if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best contrivance, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of Hell, than a spider’s web would have to stop a fallen rock.” The rock is seen as a person’s sin because of …show more content…

Edwards uses the web because it exemplifies how easily it can be destroyed by a rock. The rock also resembles a sin because of the magnitude and power it possesses. A sin is much greater in Edwards eyes than righteousness because sin is more important than righteousness in terms of the inability to forgive. The web can also be considered righteousness because of how fragile and uncommon the web is. Righteousness is also much harder to find; likewise, it is difficult to find a spider’s web perfectly intact. Edwards uses the image to convey his point: a person’s sins will always outweigh any amount of righteousness a person may have. God’s hand comes into play to protect a person from falling into the pits of Hell. And though their sins are much greater than their righteousness, God saves them. Edwards believes images similar to

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Jonathan Edwards was a great American theologian who was an eighteenth century Puritan preacher who delivered a six hour sermon in 1741, Connecticut to a congregation of Puritans. The purpose was to convince the congregation into seeking salvation by accepting God and to convince the unholy if they continued their ways they would end up in hell. To convince his audience Edwards uses rhetorical devices such as metaphor repetition and bandwagon to invoke fear into his audience. During Edwards Sermon he uses metaphor when describing God. In his sermon he states that God is a higher being who's hand is holding us, the sinners, above the fiery pits of hell.

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This interpretation of God becomes the reference point for the rest of the sermon. All of the commands and accusations in the sermon rely on Edwards' portrait of God as an angry, all-powerful being that has no obligation to have mercy upon his creations. By convincing his congregation of God's wrathful character, Edwards is then able to convince the congregation that they are in danger of damnation and severe punishment at the hand of this wrathful God. Edwards characterizes God as a being that "abhors" mortal men and "looks upon [them] as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire" (200). Edwards then uses scriptural references to support his claims about the nature of God.

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Jonathan Edwards, in the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" presents his beliefs through the usage of repetition and imagery. He expresses his thoughts to persuade readers of the wrath of God. Edwards usage of words and his repetition allows the reader to undestand what he wants the congregation to grasp from the text. In the sermon Edward repeats the phrase " the wrath of God" he emphasizes on the wrath of Almighty God to make it known that no one has the power to resist God, a persons actions can dertermine their destiny which can either be hell or heaven. the purpose of his repetion was to terrify the potestants into obeying his demands and prevent them into commiting a sin and burning into the firey pot of

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Edwards uses this picture to point out God is exasperated about the sinners and if they did not repent, God’s bow will shoot at them. Edwards uses the picture to address the sinners are religious and he hopes that they will realize their sins. Moreover, Edwards also uses similes to make his point about God’s power which is more impressive than

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Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Benjamin Franklin’s “The Way to Wealth” while having a drastically different topic had similar subtopic and rhetoric language. While Jonathan Edwards warned his congregation of the eternal damnation that will be faced if they did not change their ways, Benjamin Franklin warned and gave advice on financial arrangements. Edwards communicates to his audience how their behavior has consequences, in this case, eternal damnation. Throughout his sermon, his use of pathos is overwhelming. Edwards uses confrontational language, descriptive images, strong fierce language to ingrain his warning into the hearts of his congregation.

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By alluding to Heaven and Hell, Edwards hoped to contrast the two with the idea of fear and hope. However, Edwards goal was not to completely defeat the hope of the people, because at the end of the sermon he brings a lighter approach. He ensures them that as long as they accept the help of God they will be successful. Human limitations can only be surpassed when one comes to reality and begins to listen to God. Once one understands the power of God, they will learn that without him it is impossible to escape Hell

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Edwards reminds people that mankind is nothing compared to God and that that all of humankind is guilty and deserves to be punished. This appears similar to Bradstreet’s poem, but there are some

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The majority of this sermon is dedicated to the audience whom Edwards views with repulsion. He uses imagery to describe the awful Hell that he believes the people in the congregation will end up in and calls it a “great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath” (Paragraph 8). He illustrates the never ending state of Hell in order to frighten everyone in the audience. He sees each and every person as damned and honestly believes they deserve be sent to Hell to burn for all eternity. He feels no sympathy for them because they are completely free to do what they want and he knows that what they do with their free will is commit sin.

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Elie Wiesel says “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” This quote helps people believe that they are protected and they can help protect themselves and their people. It also shows that letting things go and pushing them off to the side when conflict arises causes more problems.

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"The God that holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you..." God's hate is compared for how one might hate a spider, and as a spider is disposed of harshly, so is a sinners. In a spider's place in a human household, one is justified in being afraid, Fear is the most prevalent appeal throughout the sermon. "O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in!" Edwards fear to be a motivator in converting to Puritanism.

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Edwards also uses a lot of intense imagery, as he does when he describes the wrath of God: “But the great God is also willing to show his wrath, and magnify his awful majesty and mighty power in the extreme sufferings of his

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It is explained that God is the only one who is able to save people from going to Hell. Edwards wants people to imagine how evil and distressed life would be without Gods love and mercy. He explains that to not burn in Hell people need to ask for forgiveness from God, experience Gods mercy, and continuously practice the Lords word. Edwards really lets the message of “Gods wrath” sink into our minds to show how mighty, powerful, and capable the Lord is. The Lord gives us many opportunities to rely on Him and when we need his love and mercy the most.

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Edwards saw God’s power as something the world would not be capable of handling. Edwards used God’s power as a threat of destruction. Jonathan Edwards concluded his sermon by revealing his attitude of a merciful God through an allusion. “The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation; let everyone fly out of Sodom. Haste and escape for your lives...escape to the

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Edwards starts of the middle of the sermon by saying," The God that holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider, or some other loathsome insect over the fire; abhors you, and it dreadfully provoked. " The imagine of the members of congregation being a bug makes them feel disgusted with themselves by the way God is disgusted with them to something they can relate to. Edwards then writes," O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in; it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide, and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God."

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In “Sinners in The Hands of an Angry God”, Johnathan Edwards uses fear to create images that help his audience experience the consequences of sinful behavior. He uses imagery and figurative language to persuade his readers. He wants us to get a mental picture of Hell in your head and he wants us to fear the wrath of God. One such image was when Edward wrote, “When men are on god’s hands and they could fall to Hell, natural men are held in the hands of God, over the pit of Hell.” God could let us fall into the eternity of burning flames anytime He wants to.

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