Rhetorical Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands 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. Edwards first expresses his usage of pathos by appealing to an emotion every human shares; fear.