Rhetorical Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

Jonathan Edward’s role as minister establishes his ethical and moral stance. Yet he chooses to instill fear and worry within his listeners, “so thus it is , that natural men are held in the hand of God over the pit of Hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked. ”(267) When appealing to the moral reasoning of the convention members Patrick Henry assures them that God will

It is 1741. The Enlightenment is spreading worldwide. The puritan people are leaving God. Johnathan Edwards gives a sermon on July 8th , 1741, trying to convince his fellow Puritan people to come back to God. He is going to try and accomplish this by giving his famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God '.

Throughout “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Jonathan Edwards utilizes the rhetorical devices of emotional appeal, imagery, and simile to convey the extreme wrath of God, the intensity of Hell, the eternal consequences of someone’s actions, and to provide a powerful warning and opportunity to sinners. To begin, Edwards employs imagery in his sermon to allow his audience to visualize the suffering they will soon be afflicted with. For example, in Edwards’ sermon, he says: “The old Serpent is gaping for them; Hell opens his mouth wide to receive them; and if God should permit it, they would be hastily swallowed up and lost. There are in the Souls of wicked Men.” (Edwards 10)

Edwards creates this sense of urgency by saying “The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation” (Edwards 91). Edwards in this sentence uses words like almighty, undoubtedly, and a great part to create a sense of urgency by making some of the people think that maybe they are a part of the people who have the wrath of God above them. Also in the excerpt he states “Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in call and crying in a loud voice to poor sinners”(Edwards 90). Edwards uses many words in this sentence to create a sense of urgency.

“They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell.” (124). Clearly, he believes that God views the people with the same wrath and anger that he uses as torments of hell. Edwards uses strong language to make the people fearful of the God they loved. “God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on Earth;”(124).

Thesis: Jonathan Edwards in the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” compels his listeners to believe in God and reach salvation by creating the sense of fear among its listeners arguing that otherwise they would end up in Hell. Summary: In the sermon, Edwards explains in detail to his audience how Hell will feel like. He uses figurative language to simulate how they will be judged by God and sent to hell if they don’t believe.

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 “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.

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.

.are in the hands of and angry God” (Edwards 42). This quote from “Sinners” appeals to the sense of logic because it is cause and effect which makes the reader think of what will happen if they do not choose to follow Christ. Edwards says that it is “nothing of your own, nothing that you have ever done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment” (Edwards 43).

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

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.

“The wrath of God is like great waters that are damned from the present; they increase; more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is give; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty its course, when once it is let loose." In this quotation, Edwards uses

Contrasting, Not Conflicting At the time of the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards delivered very influential religious sermons and essays. In these works, Edwards sought to correct certain religious lifestyles or simply discuss certain religious values. One such work is his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in which he urges people not to sin because of God’s almighty power and the strength of his wrath against sinners. Another such work is his essay “Beauty of the World” in which Edwards speaks of the beauty of everything in the world created by God, specifically God’s creation of light.