Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Analysis

Jonathan Edwards, a famous preacher in pre-colonial times, composed a sermon that was driven to alert and inject neo Puritanical fear into an eighteenth century congregation. This Bible based and serious audience sought after religious instruction and enlightenment. Through the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards offers a very harsh interpretation to humankind. Edwards utilizes various rhetorical techniques to evoke an emotional response in his audience and to persuade the members of his congregation that their wicked actions will awaken a very ruthless and merciless God.

In the works of Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” uses numerous persuasive techniques and biblical allusions to manipulate his audience, the Puritans. Edwards’ sermon lectures Puritans, people who strictly pursue to live by the bible, on how they are straying from the path of the Bible. During his sermon, the Puritans were terrified of what he had said ,because every little sin each Puritan had committed they thought they were going to go to Hell. Edwards had convinced the Puritans that there everyday activities had crossed the line ,but which they had not. Edwards’ play on words, as well as his use of persuasive techniques, and biblical allusion convinced the Puritans that they were severely in trouble of going to Hell.

In his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” (1741), Jonathan Edwards claims that anyone who is not “born again” is a sinner and is waiting to be thrust down to hell in a state of endless misery and the only way to be saved from this is to become a Puritan. Edwards supports his claim of the Puritan religion being the only saving thing from damnation by explaining how hell is being prepared for those who are not “born again,” that any unconverted are in the hands of an angry God, and then concluding by saying to the people that they have the chance to be saved and live in a happy state, of they are “born again.” His purpose is to illustrate the woe that awaits for those who are not “born again” in order to persuade them to want to be

Throughout Jonathan Edwards’s sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, he strategically utilizes an immense variety of different rhetorical and literary devices to not only bring his sermon to life, but also increase the persuasiveness of his message. For instance, in the fifth paragraph, he creates a simile illustrating that,“the wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given” (Edwards 2). The simile along with his use of descriptive language intensifies his message as well as emphasizes God’s omnipotence. By emphasizing the omnipotence of God, he instills fear within the audience hoping that they realize the importance of having a connection

Jonathan Edwards’ passionate sermon, “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God” creates a state of fear to make “sinners” aware of their sinful state and the wrath of God that they will face sooner or later. In order to warn “sinners” of their future involving God, he approaches fear as a motivator by using metaphors to emphasize God’s disgust towards man, imagery to for the imagination to dwell upon and repetition to build guilt into his readers which helps him enforce his condemning tone.

Jonathan Edwards's sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is moving and powerful. His effectiveness as an eighteenth century New England religious leader is rooted in his expansive knowledge of the Bible and human nature, as well as a genuine desire to "awaken" and save as many souls as possible. This sermon, delivered in 1741, exhibits Edwards's skillful use of these tools to persuade his congregation to join him in his Christian beliefs.

“I’m a devil worshiper” is the very first line as Fetty Wap begins rapping in his song, “679.” In a way, this statement is very similar to Jonathan Edwards writings because both speakers had very unconventional views for their respective times. In today's world, Fetty Wap’s satanic beliefs aren’t generally accepted by other people; this is similar to Edwards views because he opposed the stereotypical loving image of God by warning others of his potential destruction and power. In, “Sinners of the Hands of an Angry God,” Jonathan Edwards makes it clearly known that he portrays God as dangerous and unafraid to take violent action through the use of imagery in nature by water, wind and insects.

Edwards instills fear in his congregation by threatening the wrath of God and what will happen if one does not omit their lives to Him. “So that thus it is, that natural men’ are held in the hand god over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it;” (102). Here Edwards uses sharp descriptions to show his congregation that any wrong move can put one in Hell, promoting the practice of religion, more specifically; his church. Edwards also writes and speaks very poetically in such a way that his sermons are delivered with an intense amount of imagery that it seems as if those in attendance are watching a movie. Comparing the earth to God’s hand and the mention of God’s wrath being a loaded bow that is ready to rain down on sinners at any moment, helps add the the fear and the image. Another way Edwards creates his atmosphere is by referring to the mass in front of him as ‘you’. When spoken to in such a personal manner one is more likely to be afraid or concerned about the subject as opposed to the sermon being delivered with a more general

Edwards' creative choice of words that he uses describes the power of God and the terrible Hell awaiting sinners. These words easily infiltrate into the minds of his congregation and frighten them beyond belief. These choices of words and his use of such vivid images are mostly successful in their intent, to scare and put fear into his audience. Edwards held his audience locked up with his promises of eternal damnation if proper steps were not taken. The congregation felt the intense impact of his rhetorical strategies and lived on the fear of the power of God. In this way, he was able to keep his followers from sin and away from the fiery pits of Hell.

In the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Edwards displays controversial viewpoints and ideas concerning heaven and hell. As Edwards speaks to the congregation he warns them of the misery and suffering they will face if they do not repent of certain sins. He also describes God as angry which probably struck fear into the hearts on many. To illustrate his own point that hell is unenviable without repentance Jonathan Edwards creates the idea of an angry God using intense similes, a harsh tone, and strong emotional appeal in “Sinners in the hand of an Angry God”.

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is one of the most potent and impactful orations of the 18th century. In his sermon, Jonathan Edwards, a major driving force behind the Great Awakening, sought to turn his congregation away from their wicked ways brought on by the world around them. To do this, he instructed them in how to more closely follow the plan for eternal life laid out for them by God (Edwards 394). Edwards used many literary devices to make this point; however, in this paper, I will attempt to prove that his use of metaphors had the greatest impact on his audience. I believe metaphors are one of the best ways to teach religion, because it is such a difficult topic to discuss. Moreover, most of Edward’s audiences were not classically trained theologians and a good portion was not even literate. Because of this lack of knowledge, many pastors at the time had to use terms that would be familiar to even the layman listening. By using metaphors, such as comparing our ability to save ourselves from damnation to a spider’s web stopping a falling rock, even an illiterate religious neophyte could understand the point Edwards is trying to make (Edwards 395).

In the 1730's there were people breaking away from the church and abandoning the Christian lifestyle. Church leaders were aware of this problem and decided to turn to the young Jonathan Edwards to recapture the hearts and minds of those who have left the church. In his most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", Edwards uses a variety of techniques to frighten his congregation to return to Christ. One technique that stood out from the others was imagery. Four of the most powerful images that he uses was the hanging by a thread, being overwhelmed by water, an arrow ready to destroy, and the fiery pit.

Both stories focus on God’s approval in the Puritans’ lives, although in Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, God is depicted as a ruthless power who burns sinners in Hell, while William Bradford’s “Of Plymouth Plantation” depicts God as a loving, helpful God that blesses the settlers with survival. First, in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, God is depicted as angry and drops sinners into Hell when the author says that “Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering..” (Edwards 126). Moreover, humans are represented as spiders dangling over the burning pits of Hell and God’s hand is shown holding sinners over Hell: “The God that hold you over the pit of hell..” (Edwards 126). Conversely, a loving

"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Edwards and "Salvation" by Langston Hughes are similar in that they both widely use imagery, metaphors, and emotional religious appeals. While "Salvation" is more informally written with a relatable and child-like style, "Sinners" is a more pretentious, formally written, complex essay. Imagery, metaphors, and other figurative language, along with emotional religious appeals are both used throughout "Sinners" and "Salvation" to express various tone. Imagery in salvation includes the"jet black faces" and the "gnarled hands" in the church, showing how old and deep the church's roots are in their community. Imagery in "Sinners" depicts a vivid image of a vengeful God casting leaden souls into the fiery

Jonathan Edward’s passionate and revolutionary sermon ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’ played a major and influential role during the Great Awakening. In the 1700’s, the Christian community’s church attendance drop by half. In an attempt to renew the colonist’s relationship with God, Jonathan Edwards gave a powerful sermon revolving around how they are dangling over the depths of Hell. Within his sermon, he states that they will be severely judged by God if they do not seek to strengthen their faith. This sermon was extremely successful in striking fear in the hearts of the churchgoers, as they were so moved they cried out during the sermon in either agreement or fear. This emotional and