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Jonathan edwards sinners of an angry god
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Well respected preacher and philosopher, Jonathan Edwards, in his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (1741), enhances the remarkable consequences of remorseless sinners. Edwards’s purpose is to impress upon the Puritan Congregation an abhorrent idea stating that if a sinner does not feel guilt and attempt to correct it, they will anger God and burn in hell. He establishes an audacious tone in order to initiate the fear of going to hell within his religious listeners. Edwards’s most powerful rhetorical strategy is expressed through his noticeable manipulation of pathos, found along with his mentions of logical and ethical foundations.
If you were to ask someone why is it that they stop at a red light, they’re response would most likely be “I don’t want to break the law and go to jail.” The reality is that we must obey the law not because of the fear of going to jail, but to create order in preventing a harmful outcome. Our government instills fear in our society to follow the law because that is the most effective way to dominate our behavior. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry G-d”, delivered by Jonathan Edwards, a strict Puritan priest, is remembered as the most famous sermon ever preached on American soil. Today it appears in almost every anthology American Literature and stands alone as the only sermon included.
He made certain of this through his sermons with “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” considered by far one of his most influential. In "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards utilizes various rhetorical devices that deeply contribute to the thoroughness of his preachment. Also, he preaches the immense fear of all sinners, packed with metaphors, precise diction, and vivid imagery to frighten all wrongdoers into being reborn.
Through connecting psychological principles with accentuated rhetoric, Jonathan Edward’s delivers “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” initially stirring the First Great Awakening. The basis of his sermon relies on a mix of imagery and rhetoric with an impassive delivery to condemn those currently who do not have the spirit of God striving within them. He further sentences those who resist and sin, by speaking of God’s sovereignty with severity, using graphic metaphoric language, thus hyperboles descriptions of God and the fate of the congregation. On his pulpit, Edwards portrays a God himself, who harshly opposes all human order for holding a sense of security, for these efforts inspire rebellion and self-reliance, which leads to blind
Jonathan Edward’s purpose in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is to persuade others that they must eliminate their sinful ways and turn to God for forgiveness before it is too late. Edwards combines imagery and pathos to appeal to his audience in the sermon to achieve his persuasive purpose. One important example of imagery in his speech is at the very beginning of the story. Edwards describes sinners as “heaps of light Chaff before the Whirlwind; or large Quantities of dry Stubble before devouring Flames” (line ), choosing this imagery because he knows that a majority of his audience are farmers and understand this analogy about corn and grain husks. Edwards choice of using the word “devouring” to illustrate the flames of hell creates
Jonathan Edwards wrote the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” with the purpose of persuading people to seek salvation by producing horror in the possibility of going to hell when he should have tried to inspire his congregation to try and get to heaven instead. He transmitted his message in an intense manner which consequently caused terror on the people that attended the church in which he preached. His pathos appeal on the sermon intended people to fear what awaits in hell if they are not born again. The author emphasized in the descriptions of the torments of hell and the punishments that the people who go there have to go through. He could have approached this topic by referring to the good things that are in heaven and the blessings that will come to your life once you accept God as your savior.
Edwards intimidates his listeners by using awful imagery. Reminding his audience that hell is under them, Edwards says, “That world of misery… is extended abroad under you. There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God”(Edwards). Edwards explaining the terrors of hell makes his audience fear hell, giving Edwards the effect he wants. Edwards also used his own moral theories, giving an effect of trust for the audience.
One of his well-known sermon is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” preached at the meeting house in the village of Enfield, Connecticut, on Sunday, July 8, 1741, at the height of the great awakening. In this sermon, Edwards focused on the consequences of leading a sinful life, the power of God and repenting of ones sins, in order to be saved from hell. The purpose behind this piece of writing was not to terrorize or dismay the hearers, but to make them repent and believe in God again. This piece was aimed at those who lacked belief in God as well as churches.
Contrasting, Not Conflicting At the time of the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards delivered very influential religious sermons and essays. In these works, Edwards sought to correct certain religious lifestyles or simply discuss certain religious values. One such work is his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in which he urges people not to sin because of God’s almighty power and the strength of his wrath against sinners. Another such work is his essay “Beauty of the World” in which Edwards speaks of the beauty of everything in the world created by God, specifically God’s creation of light.
Jonathan Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” exposes the speaker’s negative opinion of humanity in relation to a worthy Christ and an enraged God. Edwards makes a specific point to explain that he believes anyone that is not a born again believer in christ, will suffer the wrath of God infinitely, in hell and however long their time on earth is. The speaker claims that in the future “... the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them… swallow them up… no end to this exquisite horrible misery.” (Edwards 41). The life and afterlife of christians that have not been born again as described by Edwards consists of infinite agony and inevitable hell with no escape.
Jonathan Edwards was a well known preacher during the Great Awakening. In one of his sermons titled "Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God", he uses a great amount of figurative language,such as metaphors, imagery, and similes;uses repetition and parallelism to get his point across trying to persuade the people to have a change of attitude and to stop being sinners. All the metaphors he uses in his sermon are related to the wrath of God is and then it compared to the water, storms, bow and arrow, and a bottomless pit. All his choice of words are elevated,because when he wrote this sermon he was writing to the studious Puritans that understood that kind of language. Some readers might get confused because they don’t understand
Edwards has a more effective style because the tone and aggressiveness he has. “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edward theme is, God provoked by man’s wickedness, but the only thing holding them up is God's own hands. While, Nathaniel Hawthorne's theme in “The Minister’s Black Veil” is do not be quick to judge based on appearance. Big difference in their themes which connect to their style in the rest of the essay.
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.
On July 8, 1741 Jonathan Edwards delivered the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” During this time many people were moving away from their Puritan beliefs and did not make God a priority. In the message he talked about how everyone was a sinner and how everyone belongs in hell. He also talked about how if God wanted to He would throw everyone in Hell, but since He gave us His Son we should take Him and repent. While delivering this message many people began to repent and ask for forgiveness.
Jonathan Edwards once said: “Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will.” Since birth (October 5th, 1703), Jonathan has always been a devoted Puritan which explains why he began the Great Awakening, along with George Whitefield. Edwards started preaching and wanted people to reconvert to Puritanism. His work, “Sinners at the Angry Hands of God,” was written on July 8, 1741.
