How Does Edwards Use Persuasive Techniques To Induce Fear Into His Audience

Edwards uses persuasive techniques to induce fear into his audience, to make them leave their sinful lives behind. These techniques help to create a visual image of God’s anger and wrath against insubordinate people. Edwards uses images of hell, fire, and storms to strike fear into the audience and show God’s anger towards the people. Edwards also uses these techniques to create a sense of urgency and fear. Finally, Edwards uses persuasive techniques to induce fear by pointing out their sins. Firstly, Edwards uses images of hell, fire, storms and other things to strike fear into his audience. Edwards states in the sermon “there Hell’s wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon”(Edwards 87). This shows Edwards trying to

Edwards creates this sense of urgency by saying “The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation” (Edwards 91). Edwards in this sentence uses words like almighty, undoubtedly, and a great part to create a sense of urgency by making some of the people think that maybe they are a part of the people who have the wrath of God above them. Also in the excerpt he states “Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in call and crying in a loud voice to poor sinners”(Edwards 90). Edwards uses many words in this sentence to create a sense of urgency. The words used to create this sense of urgency are words like crying, loud voice, door of mercy, and poor sinners. He uses these words to create a sense of urgency by creating a visual image to the audience that God has opened up that door of mercy and God is crying out to you to come to him. To conclude he states “Haste and escape your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed”(Edwards 91). In this statement Edwards uses many words to create a sense of urgency, these words include haste, escape, and consumed. He uses these words to create a sense of urgency because by him saying these it makes the people feel the need and urgency to escape their past lives and have a change of

Edwards first points out his audience's sins by saying “as the good state of your bodily constitution,your care of your own life, and the means you use for your own preservation. But these things mean nothing; if God should withdraw his hand”(Edwards 87). This shows Edwards pointing out the people's sins by saying that their good works or all the good stuff that they have done in their life means nothing if not with God. Agin, Edwards points out the people's sins “your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure wards hell”(Edwards 88). This also shows Edwards not only pointing out their sins but also using imagery to say that the people are so wicked and the evil things they do make them as if they were heavy as lead as they fall to hell. Edwards uses a combination of not only pointing out their sins but he also uses mental images of what their sins are doing to them, to not only put fear in them but to also persuade them to have a change of heart and seek