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Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Analysis

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In the 1700s during the Great Awakening, Puritans worked harder than ever to increase the number of saved Christians. They constantly tried to convince sinners to convert and be “born again”. The Puritans inflicted fear upon all who were not converted in hopes of convincing them to follow the word of God. In 1741 Pastor Jonathan Edwards induced a strong sense of fear in his congregation through the use of powerful sermons filled with rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos in hopes of increasing the number of “born again” Christians. Jonathan Edwards gave many powerful sermons in attempt to purify his congregation, one of his most famous being “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. In this particular sermon, Edwards used abundant pathos to appeal to his audience’s emotions, particularly their emotion of fear. When Edwards delivered this sermon with its fiery …show more content…

Edwards used ethos through his position as a minister, his use of expert testimony, and allusions to the Bible to make his argument of why everyone should be "born again" or converted and follow the word of God. His reasoning for doing so is his belief that all beings not saved make God an angry God, and they all will suffer in the deepest depths of Hell for all eternity without any hint of mercy. One allusion to the Bible that Jonathon Edwards used in this sermon is "who knows the power of God's anger?" which is an allusion to Psalm 90:11 (43). Edwards used this in order for the congregation to understand that no one knows the power of God's anger but we do know we should not try and anger him, for he does hold all power and control over our lives as if our lives are in the palm of his hand. Edwards included ethos within his sermon in order to gain the trust of the sinners he wishes to convince to

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At this point Edwards has grasped the attention of his listeners by using pathos to pertain to their emotions and feelings. Towards the end of the sermon his tone switches to one of reason in terms of not neglecting his words. He asks a series of rhetorical questions such as those who are unconverted and do not teach their children of Christ that they too will have to witness the wrath of God. As for literary devices such as metaphors, similes, and allegories, Edwards does not disappoint for his use of them most likely whipped a lot of Puritans back into their faith.

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945 Words | 4 Pages

There are many forms of art. As for orators their ideas are their canvases, their language is their paint brush and their wordings are their colors. Orators combine them together to paint elaborate paintings, the painting of speaking. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1741) is a typical sermon which was written by Jonathan Edwards in the Great Awakening. Edwards wants to use the sermon to awaken his audience that they should dedicate their lives to God.

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The most important feature of a sermon is the application of a scripture text to the personal experience of the listener. Especially this last part is what reduced many of Edwards’s listeners to tears. In Edwards’s sermon the scripture text is “Their foot shall slide in due time”. This meant that eventually, all sinners would be punished by God, which could be at any time. Edwards speaks of a wrathfull God, a God who by Puritan standards is considered forgiving for not letting all of humanity fall into the deepest pits of hell.

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397 Words | 2 Pages

Jonathan Edwards used imagery as well as pathos in his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” to achieve his purpose of persuading his congregation. In showing the way for his congregation Edwards first, has to use the pathos of fear to get his congregation to listen and care. Alongside with repetitive powerful imagery of hell and fire invoking a reaction among his congregation and turning them away from hell. However, none of that would matter if Edwards does not end with the uplifting image of love and hope showing what could be and that there is a path to “fly from the wrath to come.”

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351 Words | 2 Pages

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

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1763 Words | 8 Pages

One of his well-known sermon is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” preached at the meeting house in the village of Enfield, Connecticut, on Sunday, July 8, 1741, at the height of the great awakening. In this sermon, Edwards focused on the consequences of leading a sinful life, the power of God and repenting of ones sins, in order to be saved from hell. The purpose behind this piece of writing was not to terrorize or dismay the hearers, but to make them repent and believe in God again. This piece was aimed at those who lacked belief in God as well as churches.

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726 Words | 3 Pages

It is explained that God is the only one who is able to save people from going to Hell. Edwards wants people to imagine how evil and distressed life would be without Gods love and mercy. He explains that to not burn in Hell people need to ask for forgiveness from God, experience Gods mercy, and continuously practice the Lords word. Edwards really lets the message of “Gods wrath” sink into our minds to show how mighty, powerful, and capable the Lord is. The Lord gives us many opportunities to rely on Him and when we need his love and mercy the most.

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In his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Jonathan Edwards attempted to convince his congregation that they must repent of their sins and return to religion. Around the time this sermon was made was the period of the “Great Awakening” where people in Western Europe, England, and America were going back to their religious ways. The people were getting too caught up in worldly matters like working on their farms and they needed a reminder to get back on the path of worshipping God. This is where itinerant preachers, like Jonathan Edwards, came in and traveled around to try and persuade people to focus more on god than on their own personal interests. A few of the persuasive techniques that Edwards used were hyperboles, repetition, similes, and emotional appeal.

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441 Words | 2 Pages

When analyzing the sketch, the audience is able to infer that the world is full of darkness and that God is the light. In Edwards’ sermon, he evokes a fearful mood and the illustrator depicts a sinner’s figure

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“The mountains are calling and I must go!” John Muir The allure of nature has never failed to astonish me. Climbing steep mountains, going through the woods, listen to the water splash and birds sing had always been my dream. On Sunday, September 20, 2015 this dream turned into reality when I went on my first hike to Mt. Rainier.

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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

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1253 Words | 6 Pages

Edwards wanted his audience to mentally understand his attitude towards God, and for them to not underestimate God’s Powers. He painted a mental picture of an enraged and angry God when Edwards preached that “There are black clouds of God’s wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm… and were it not for the restraining hand of God, it would immediately burst forth upon you” (Paragraph 3). The black clouds and the description of the storm demonstrated God’s anger building up inside him waiting to unleash. God’s merciful act was the only reason he did not release his true wrath. There was no say when God will become completely fed up with his “sinner.”

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817 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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928 Words | 4 Pages

The majority of this sermon is dedicated to the audience whom Edwards views with repulsion. He uses imagery to describe the awful Hell that he believes the people in the congregation will end up in and calls it a “great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath” (Paragraph 8). He illustrates the never ending state of Hell in order to frighten everyone in the audience. He sees each and every person as damned and honestly believes they deserve be sent to Hell to burn for all eternity. He feels no sympathy for them because they are completely free to do what they want and he knows that what they do with their free will is commit sin.

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527 Words | 3 Pages

A college degree can be beneficial in a number of ways. Statistically, people with college degrees get better and more promising jobs. Usually, a person with a degree would have a higher annual salary than one without a degree. You can obtain a degree in almost anything in college. Many degrees can help you get a various number of jobs.

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