Individuals in colonial American society are similar and different to the individual in contemporary society. The author Jonathan Edwards delivers a sermon called "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is a colonial piece talking about how God will be angry with you if you don't listen to him. The author Patrick Henry wrote a political speech called "Speech to the Virginia Convention 1775" is a colonial piece giving reasons why America should rebel against Britain. The author William Jefferson Clinton made another political speech called "The Speech to the 2012 Democratic National Convention" is about wanting to reelect Obama for president.
It is 1741. The Enlightenment is spreading worldwide. The puritan people are leaving God. Johnathan Edwards gives a sermon on July 8th , 1741, trying to convince his fellow Puritan people to come back to God. He is going to try and accomplish this by giving his famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God '.
In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Jonathan Edwards persuades his audience by using rhetorical strategies and quotes from the Bible to validate the point he is attempting to convey (Belasco and Johnson 347). Edwards wants the readers to be persuaded with repetition of the different phrasings of “wicked Israelites” and to be impressed by the sophisticated tone within the passage (Belasco and Johnson 347). Edwards is also attempting to persuade and impress through his use of hasty generalization such as, “As he that walks in slippery places is every moment liable to fall; he can’t foresee one moment whether he shall stand or fall the next; and when he does fall, he falls at once, without warning.” (Belasco and Johnson 347). Pathos is
At this point Edwards has grasped the attention of his listeners by using pathos to pertain to their emotions and feelings. Towards the end of the sermon his tone switches to one of reason in terms of not neglecting his words. He asks a series of rhetorical questions such as those who are unconverted and do not teach their children of Christ that they too will have to witness the wrath of God. As for literary devices such as metaphors, similes, and allegories, Edwards does not disappoint for his use of them most likely whipped a lot of Puritans back into their faith.
Have you ever been deathly afraid of something or someone? If so, then you have experienced some of the emotions that the audience endured during the sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. This is written by the great theologian Jonathan Edwards. It is recorded that many screamed in terror when Edwards was giving this approximately six hour long sermon. This sermon given in a level voice manor was delivered in 1741 as a piece of oratory.
Jonathan Edwards bases his sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," on the words of Deuteronomy XXXII.35 when Moses is warning his people about the power of God. During the time period of Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, many people were abandoning the idea of God and church; as these people were leaving the faith, they did not understand the difficulty of life without the wisdom and strength of God. Humans lack a knowledge of God and are limited due to the fact in which they do not understand His full potential of power. Some have confidence in their own strength and wisdom and do not believe they need the guidance of Christ. The final reason humans are limited in their knowledge of God is they do not understand the reality of Hell.
The most important feature of a sermon is the application of a scripture text to the personal experience of the listener. Especially this last part is what reduced many of Edwards’s listeners to tears. In Edwards’s sermon the scripture text is “Their foot shall slide in due time”. This meant that eventually, all sinners would be punished by God, which could be at any time. Edwards speaks of a wrathfull God, a God who by Puritan standards is considered forgiving for not letting all of humanity fall into the deepest pits of hell.
From Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God expresses the point that a parishioner should not fall away from the church unless they want to be permanently condemned to hell. Jonathan Edwards expresses his ideas through the usage of multiple persuasive techniques and different types of figurative language. This sermon puts fear into the congregation and this makes the parishioners not want to fall away from the church. Through Edwards utilization of figurative language, the picture of God's Wrath is painted clearly for the listeners of this sermon.
In “sinners in the hands of an angry God”, Jonathan Edwards uses different types of literary techniques, such as, imagery, metaphor, similes, repetition, and rhetorical questions to emphasize his point. His point is to scare the people and make them want to repent, which is the theme of the sermon. In the sermon “Sinners in the hands of an angry god,” Edwards uses different types of
God Gives Us Free Will Jonathan Edwards preaches that if people follow God and obey him they will experience his great mercy. “Sinners in The Hands of an Angry God,” he explains this concept in his sermon. Most people back in 1741 and to this day would be persuaded by his sermon about the Lord because of how passionately and strongly he spoke about his beliefs’. In this sermon Edwards refers to Gods everlasting wrath. He describes Gods anger towards those who do not follow and believe in Him.
In crafting his highly effective sermon, Edwards utilizes his authority as a man of God and as an interpreter of the scriptures, a logical and direct organization of arguments, and violent imagery to convince his audience of the vengeance of God against man. Jonathan Edwards begins his sermon by quoting
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.
It was during the Great Awakening, when powerful preachers like Jonathan Edwards decided to intensify their ways of broadcasting their religious seriousness. The idea of secularism and religious neglect had been the cause for this religious movement. In his sermon, from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards used strategies to guilt, persuade, and redirect the “sinners” into conversion, and to give a wakeup call to those who overemphasize their own worthiness as holy citizens. Throughout his sermon, Edwards used a variety of figurative language like imagery, metaphors, personification, and allusions to reveal his attitude towards “sinners” as unworthy and insignificant in the eyes of God, and his attitude towards God as being enraged
Jonathan Edwards, a preacher, wrote the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". In the sermon, Edwards argues that everyone was out of God's favor and they needed to return to a righteous path. The tone of the sermon is indignant and authoritative. Jonathan Edwards uses imagery, logos, and pathos to encourage the unconverted audience to turn to God in order to escape his wrath. Elemental imagery is used in the sermon to inspire fear in the audience.
Figurative language can be a compelling factor in literary works ranging from romantic poetry to political speeches. It forces the reader, or listener, to visualize and understand what the author is trying to say. Jonathan Edwards utilized this writing technique in his powerful sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Edwards used imagery, metaphors, and personification to express his differentiating attitudes towards both sinners and God which consisted of complete disgust in regards to the former and unwavering respect for the latter. Jonathan Edwards relied more on the composition of his writing rather than the execution of it which is why figurative language is found so often in this sermon.
