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 …show more content…
Through the text, God, his abilities, and his manner of operating are the most constant subjects, which conveys that people were driven by their beliefs in God. The text manifests that “There is no fortress that is any defense from the power of God.” and that “The sword of divine justice is every moment brandished over their heads, and ‘tis nothing but the hand of arbitrary mercy, and God’s mere will, that holds it back.” (Belasco and Johnson 348). This shows that many Early American people believed that anyone against God or what they desired shall be “cast into hell” (Belasco and Johnson 348). However, the people of Christianity today are seen as accepting and understanding of others’ beliefs, which greatly contradicts what is seen throughout this passage. The people of today have a more liberated view on religion and understand where others’ are coming from with their ideas. In the 21st Century, people understand others have differing beliefs and that nothing is going to change that. Therefore, the rhetorical strategies used in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” would not be effective toward today's