Jonathan Edwards uses several types of writing skills to persuade his audience of God’s intentions. His use of figurative language, analogies, imagery, and repetition all emphasize Edwards’s views. He uses fear, anger, and apathy to appeal to the audience in attempt to warn his audience of God’s intentions.
Edwards was a preacher and when he gave the sermon, he gave it in complete monotone. People were even more frightened and scared because of his emotionless sermon and more people paid attention. Jonathan Edward’s sermon speaks of how sinners should be cast off and be destroyed by God because it is God who is everything and if someone were to turn against God why should he or she get another chance. Some values that Edward’s puts in his sermon are yet similar to John Winthrop’s sermon but Edward’s sermon is very negative and was made to scare people into changing their ways. God is almost everything to people of the colonial period because of their fight for survival and if someone is a sinner or goes against God then they will be punished. Values shown in this document very religious and show that the people respectful to their
this point Edwards has grasped the attention of his listeners by using pathos to pertain to their
When it comes to spreading religious beliefs you can always wonder how much is too much. In typical Puritan culture life is considered a temptation to sin and you must always be grateful for what god has given you. Writing is a way to connect to god and spread a direct, powerful message to the followers of Puritan life. In result of their religion, bible allusions are commonly used throughout their writings. When comparing the two authors, Bradstreet and Edwards, one must look at some of their most common works. To be more specific in this essay we look to “Upon the Burning of Our House” by Anne Bradstreet and “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards. We also analyze their style, personality, and literary devices to discover the reasoning behind their works.
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 '. He plys many different rhetorical strategies to convince his listeners to follow his word. He uses strategies including, repetition, appeal to fear, appeal to urgency and problem solution.
Jonathan Edwards’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Anne Bradstreet’s “Upon the Burning of Our House” seem at first glance quite similar to one another regarding context, however, after taking a closer look, it becomes apparent that there are some substantial differences. These differences cannot be understood without the knowledge of cultural context concerning the Puritan belief system and their lifestyle.
Jonathan Edwards was a great American theologian who was an eighteenth century Puritan preacher who delivered a six hour sermon in 1741, Connecticut to a congregation of Puritans. The purpose was to convince the congregation into seeking salvation by accepting God and to convince the unholy if they continued their ways they would end up in hell. To convince his audience Edwards uses rhetorical devices such as metaphor repetition and bandwagon to invoke fear into his audience.
"Fear is an instructor of great sagacity and the herald of all resolutions."- Ralph Waldo Emerson. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” was a sermon written and delivered by American reverend Jonathan Edwards in 1741, and was an outstanding example of the potentially dominant convincing powers of the use of Rhetoric. The sermon, even when read silently, is effective in projecting a specific interpretation of the wrathful nature of God and the sinful nature of man. 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.
The great awakening was a religious revival that occurred in the 1730s and 1740s. It started in England and then gradually made its way over to the American colonies. During this time, many different preachers and religious speakers went around and gave speeches to the people. Jonathan Edwards was one of Americas most important and original philosophical theologians who also went around and gave speeches about God and hell. 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. 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.
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.
In conclusion, Edwards was a powerful speaker and writer. His words could bring a room full of people to their knees. His use of strong imagery and diction persuades and shocks the congregation even more than just saying they were going to hell. If they didn 't already leave from fear they were crying from thinking they would go to hell. His speech will go down in history for one of the best fire and brimstone
On July 8, 1741 Jonathan Edwards delivered the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” During this time many people were moving away from their Puritan beliefs and did not make God a priority. In the message he talked about how everyone was a sinner and how everyone belongs in hell. He also talked about how if God wanted to He would throw everyone in Hell, but since He gave us His Son we should take Him and repent. While delivering this message many people began to repent and ask for forgiveness. Sometimes it is easy to take the gift of salvation for granite, which is why we should review how and why it was given to us.
He continues this metaphor by showing how God makes them into dedicated Puritans. Taylor used metaphors and personification in these writings. Taylor’s use of figurative language consisted more of personification and similes. In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Edwards used personification: “there is Hell’s wide gaping mouth open” (87). Edwards uses personification to show God scary and unmerciful. Edwards states, “Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards Hell” (88). Edward shows that the people’s sins can be costly and will lead them to Hell. Edwards and Taylor give more details in their writing through the use of figurative
On antor note, Edwards development in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” has a frightful and archaic language usage which help his sermon develop. To explain, Edwards usage of imagery/symbolism help develop the mode. “... hell is gaping for them…”(Edwards) this shows the way the author used his words to make the mood frightening. Also Edwards used second point of view which made it as if he was personally speaking to the readers. Edwards delivery was forceful and firm as if wanting the readers to comprehend every word he was
In the speech sinners in the hands of an angry god the subject is about how god is