Rhetorical Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

In early America, the Puritan religion was a driving point in building our culture. The Puritans were extremely neat and strict; so much that they were not very focused on the importance of their religion. Johnathan Edwards, the author of the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” believed that New Englanders were too concerned with other worldly matters. When he noticed the separation of his religion, he wrote and delivered his most famous speech. It was a dark and powerful sermon, delivered to multiple churches in New England. A frustrated Edwards gave this speech in a monotone due to the tradition of preaching to a new congregation. The purpose of the sermon was to wake up the faithful Puritans and remind them of their horrible

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. “The Great Awakener,” an article by Marc M. Arkin, shows this in use, “the powerful aesthetic strain in Edwards’s thought, particularly his moral theology, which expressly equated virtue with the beauty of moral acts”(Arkin). His reliance on the audience is important for them to trust and believe his sermon. This evidence proves Edwards use of emotional appeals and his moral credibility for his

To show God’s hatred towards his listeners, he uses an aggressive tone. When explaining God’s wrath, Edwards exclaims, “His wrath toward you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire”(Edwards). Edwards uses this tone for a larger impact on the listeners, making them understand his point. The author uses many images of dark storms in his sermon, as a dark and gloomy tone. Helping his listeners understand God’s hatred, Edwards proclaims, “There are the black clouds of God’s wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm”(Edwards). His use of an ominous tone and an image of a terrible storm leaves the audience with a strong fear. Edwards uses dark and horrifying language to give the listeners a more impactful and fear-invoking