This interpretation of God becomes the reference point for the rest of the sermon. All of the commands and accusations in the sermon rely on Edwards' portrait of God as an angry, all-powerful being that has no obligation to have mercy upon his creations. By convincing his congregation of God's wrathful character, Edwards is then able to convince the congregation that they are in danger of damnation and severe punishment at the hand of this wrathful God. Edwards characterizes God as a being that "abhors" mortal men and "looks upon [them] as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire" (200). Edwards then uses scriptural references to support his claims about the nature of God.
Edwards' distinct diction is put to work to descriptively describe the power of the Lord and the unpleasant Hellfire that awaits the sinners. Such words efficiently infiltrate into the minds of his audience and scare them greatly. Edwards held his congregation locked up with his assurance of eternal damnation if the correct course of action was not taken. The church assembly felt the great impact of his rhetorical tactics and had the fear of the power of God on their minds.
In order to emphasize God’s contempt for the audience, Jonathan Edwards utilizes inflammatory diction and comparisons of God’s anger to a bow and arrow and “black clouds” to instill fear in the audience so that they will accept God as their savior, provoking a religious revival. Throughout the sermon, Edwards utilizes “fiery” phrases such as “furnace of wrath”, “wrath…burns like fire”, and “glowing flames of the wrath of God” in order to establish a connection between God’s fury and a burning fire, reaffirming the reality of going to hell, as hell is commonly associated with fire. Because fires are also very devastating and unpredictable, Edwards emphasizes the power and degree of God’s disdain and his ability to cause drastic change at unexpected times, making God’s patience seem fragile.
In the opening of the sermon an analogy is stated between the ability of a person to crush a worm with the ability of God to cast his enemies to hell (First Paragraph). This supports the main idea of how God is a superior being, able to freely decide people’s fate. The author’s persistent imagery of Gods abhorrence towards sinners is continually mentioned as a form of repetition, to cause a vivid depiction of Gods wrath in the audience’s perspective of him. This is illustrated when it’s stated how unconverted men walk over the pit of hell and how God has unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world (Paragraph 3). He also introduces a metaphor where he associates Gods wrath as a bent bow with an arrow aiming towards your heart; this again typifies Gods supremacy to take away sinners existence unless they convert (Paragraph 6).
Jonathan Edward’s purpose in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is to persuade others that they must eliminate their sinful ways and turn to God for forgiveness before it is too late. Edwards combines imagery and pathos to appeal to his audience in the sermon to achieve his persuasive purpose. One important example of imagery in his speech is at the very beginning of the story. Edwards describes sinners as “heaps of light Chaff before the Whirlwind; or large Quantities of dry Stubble before devouring Flames” (line ), choosing this imagery because he knows that a majority of his audience are farmers and understand this analogy about corn and grain husks. Edwards choice of using the word “devouring” to illustrate the flames of hell creates
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
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.
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.
Jonathan Edwards was a well known preacher during the Great Awakening. In one of his sermons titled "Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God", he uses a great amount of figurative language,such as metaphors, imagery, and similes;uses repetition and parallelism to get his point across trying to persuade the people to have a change of attitude and to stop being sinners. All the metaphors he uses in his sermon are related to the wrath of God is and then it compared to the water, storms, bow and arrow, and a bottomless pit. All his choice of words are elevated,because when he wrote this sermon he was writing to the studious Puritans that understood that kind of language. Some readers might get confused because they don’t understand
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.
World War I, also known as the Great war, War to end all wars, and First World War, officially begun August 4, 1914. The war involved The Allies that include Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and the United States. These five countries fought against the Central Powers whom included Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. The leaders of Germany and Austria-Hungary started the war. This war consisted of a long 4 years.
I was taught in my church that God was loving and kind, was never angry, and always forgiving. The methods all of my pastors used were to lead you to the lord using love and the promise of forgiveness no matter the mistake. Most preachers of this era also go with this approach in hopes that love will guide people to do the right things as God would want. In the passage “Sinners in the hands of an angry God”, Edwards, the author and the speaker of the sermon, proceeds to use highly intensive imagery to describe Hell and the consequences of the actions of the people if they do not do as God wishes. He (used this approach to induce fear of God into the congregation…
