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What Are The Rhetorical Devices In Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

729 Words3 Pages

Braylen Murth
Mrs. Martin
English 3 - Period 2
18 January 2023
Rhetoric in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
In 1741, in Connecticut, Johnathan Edwards delivered a powerful and terrifying, yet effective sermon directed at those that are “…out of Christ,” (87). Edwards’ sermon lasted nearly 6 hours and persisted the idea that God is all powerful and wrathful. In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards uses repetition, imagery, and personification in order to scare and threaten people to conform to a life with Christ.
Edwards uses repetition a number of times in order to further stress his ideas. Throughout the sermon Edwards continues to warn the listeners of “The wrath of God…” (88). The purpose of repeating this phrase is to over stress the concept that God has the ability to cause mass harm at will. The wrath is said to not be unleashed out of sheer pleasure by God. Because of this God must be feared and respected, especially since he is angry. Furthermore, Edwards repeats the word “nothing” often during the sermon. For …show more content…

An example of personification in the sermon is when he states, “The world would spew you out, were it not for the sovereign hand of Him…” (88). This quote uses personification and imagery to continue the idea that God is all powerful. The word “…spew…” is used because this verb has a negative connotation, thus, adding to the negative tone and showing the great power that God possesses. Likewise, Edwards uses the phrase “Your damnation does not slumber…” (90) to create a chilling feeling, and to express that being banished to eternal hell is always possible. By using the verb “slumber”, it expresses that this method of punishment is always keeping you accountable for sinning, and never turning a blind eye to sinful actions. In other words, the use of personification helps to continue to instill fear by giving harsh qualities to non-living

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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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Sinners in the Hands of an Angry GOD Analysis “Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering.” Edward’s sermons were preached during the period of the Great Awakening, a time of religious revival. Edwards was a powerful preacher of his time, he wanted to change and persuade the mind of his audience. Jonathan Edward’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry GOD” considered his listeners as sinners of their religion through the use of Diction, Figurative Language and Rhetorical Devices, making it one of history’s great works.

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Jonathan Edwards, in the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" presents his beliefs through the usage of repetition and imagery. He expresses his thoughts to persuade readers of the wrath of God. Edwards usage of words and his repetition allows the reader to undestand what he wants the congregation to grasp from the text. In the sermon Edward repeats the phrase " the wrath of God" he emphasizes on the wrath of Almighty God to make it known that no one has the power to resist God, a persons actions can dertermine their destiny which can either be hell or heaven. the purpose of his repetion was to terrify the potestants into obeying his demands and prevent them into commiting a sin and burning into the firey pot of

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