Rhetorical Analysis of Jonathan edwards’s Sinners in the hand of an angry god: jeremiad Jonathan edwards, is known as one of the most important religious figures of the great awakening, edwards became known for his zealous sermon “sinners at the hand of an angry god”. During his sermon he implies that if his congregation does not repent to christ they are in “danger of great wrath and infinite misery”. Throughout this sermon edwards uses literary devices such as strong diction, powerful syntax and juxtaposition to save his congregation from eternal damnation. Throughout Edwards’s sermon the use of turgid diction is exceedingly prevalent.
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
If you were to ask someone why is it that they stop at a red light, they’re response would most likely be “I don’t want to break the law and go to jail.” The reality is that we must obey the law not because of the fear of going to jail, but to create order in preventing a harmful outcome. Our government instills fear in our society to follow the law because that is the most effective way to dominate our behavior. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry G-d”, delivered by Jonathan Edwards, a strict Puritan priest, is remembered as the most famous sermon ever preached on American soil. Today it appears in almost every anthology American Literature and stands alone as the only sermon included.
In Jonathan Edward's sermon, "Sinners in the ahands of an Angry God," he strategically utilizes similies, imagery, and analogy to convice his followers into obedience. Jonathan Edward's use of imagery to demonstrate the fury that. god has upon the peoplebecause of their sinful actions. Edward states, "the God that holds you over the pit hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over a fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked," indicating how God views humans as an abominable creation who deserve to rot in hell. This use of imagery allows the reader to vividly imaging how disappointing God was due to the immoral actions of humans.
One of the primary techniques that Jonathan Edwards uses in his sermon “From Sinners in the Hands of and Angry God” to persuade his audience and convey his ideas is the contrast between fear and hope. He starts out by presenting his audience with extremely descriptive imagery of designed to invoke fear. By telling people that “there is nothing between you and Hell but the air” or that “if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend into the bottomless gulf”, he is using pathos to create the emotion of fear within his audience. Once he has told them all about the horrors that surely await them as sinners, he then delivers a ray of hope to a previously hopeless crowd. He then tells them that the only way for them to
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
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.
In Jonathan Edwards "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God", he uses simile, repetition, and imagery to persuade his audience. Throughout his sermon, Edwards constantly uses similes to add more meaning to his comparisons. In his sermon he writes, "... His wrath towards you burns like fire..."
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God was a sermon given by Johnathan Edwards; a Puritan preacher famous for his emotional sermons. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God was a fiery sermon given on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut. Edwards wrote this sermon to tell his following to repent their sins, turn towards God, and ask for forgiveness. His method of conveying his message; Fear. Edwards refers multiple times in his sermon of a fiery hell and the wrath of God.
Jonathan Edwards’ sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” exposes the speaker’s negative opinion of humanity in relation to a worthy Christ and an enraged God. Edwards makes a specific point to explain that he believes anyone that is not a born again believer in christ, will suffer the wrath of God infinitely, in hell and however long their time on earth is. The speaker claims that in the future “... the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them… swallow them up… no end to this exquisite horrible misery.” (Edwards 41). The life and afterlife of christians that have not been born again as described by Edwards consists of infinite agony and inevitable hell with no escape.
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
In “Sinners in The Hands of an Angry God”, Johnathan Edwards uses fear to create images that help his audience experience the consequences of sinful behavior. He uses imagery and figurative language to persuade his readers. He wants us to get a mental picture of Hell in your head and he wants us to fear the wrath of God. One such image was when Edward wrote, “When men are on god’s hands and they could fall to Hell, natural men are held in the hands of God, over the pit of Hell.” God could let us fall into the eternity of burning flames anytime He wants to.
On July 8, 1741 Jonathan Edwards delivered the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” During this time many people were moving away from their Puritan beliefs and did not make God a priority. In the message he talked about how everyone was a sinner and how everyone belongs in hell. He also talked about how if God wanted to He would throw everyone in Hell, but since He gave us His Son we should take Him and repent. While delivering this message many people began to repent and ask for forgiveness.
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.
Lawrence King was a fifteen-year-old kid that was shot in the head for being gay and not dressing to his supposedly “sex”. He was shot dead in the computer lab in his Junior High, E. O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, California. (Cathcart, 2008). King was very open about him being gay, like going to weekly meet ups with Ventura County Rainbow Alliance every Friday night (Cathcart, 2008). King classmates said he started to wear makeup and dress in women’s cloths and proclaimed himself gay to the whole school.
