ipl-logo

Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Language Analysis

529 Words3 Pages

Often in Sermons ministers/pastors persuade their audience to behave in a spiritual or moral fashion. Such is the case in “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” by Johnathan Edwards where he says “sinners should repent for their sins or burn in the eternal pit of hell. If sinners repent, they will receive eternal life.” God destroys sinners, but is merciful to the repentant. Edwards wanted to impact his audience by appealing to the fears pity and vanity. Edwards had a powerful impact on his Puritan audience because the use of a cautionary tone, explicit imagery, and vivid figurative language.
Edwards had a powerful impact on his audience because of his cautionary tone. For example, “we find it easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth… thus easy is it for God when he pleases, …show more content…

For example, “Arrow ready made on a string drunk with your blood” (p.6). This form of explicit imagery shows how the arrow that is already made is ready to travel through your skin causing it to be drenched with your blood. Another example of explicit imagery is Edwards saying, “… and stands calling, and crying with a loud voice” (p.11). This use of explicit imagery shows how sinners finally find the time to praise and ask God for forgiveness crying aloud doing their all to repent so they won’t be cast down to hell.
Moreover, Edwards had a powerful impact on his audience because of his form of vivid figurative language. For example,” Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open”(p.11). This reveals how a door and mercy are similar. The door open and closes just as well as with mercy, you give in and give out, but both let you through once you enter and beg for mercy (give in). Furthermore Edwards uses vivid figurative language by saying, “, and justice directs the bow to your heart” (p.6). This also reveals how Edwards personifies justice to make the sinner scared and

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

    945 Words  | 4 Pages

    Some scientific data shows that the visual impression is usually easier to memorize than an acoustic impression. In the speech, he creates the image of God’s conniption like “the bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart and strains the bow …” (Edwards 41). Nowadays, utilizing PowerPoint is a really common way to deliver a speech; however, Edwards uses imagery, sketching an image by language, to make his speech more remarkable as well. He uses expressive language to“sketch” the picture of a bow of God’s anger that has been bent and aimed, and is ready to shoot at the sinners.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Strategies In Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

    688 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 '.

    Read More

  • Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry G-D Analysis

    1277 Words  | 6 Pages

    If you were to ask someone why is it that they stop at a red light, they’re response would most likely be “I don’t want to break the law and go to jail.” The reality is that we must obey the law not because of the fear of going to jail, but to create order in preventing a harmful outcome. Our government instills fear in our society to follow the law because that is the most effective way to dominate our behavior. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry G-d”, delivered by Jonathan Edwards, a strict Puritan priest, is remembered as the most famous sermon ever preached on American soil. Today it appears in almost every anthology American Literature and stands alone as the only sermon included.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

    529 Words  | 3 Pages

    If he did not use a strong tone then the puritans wouldn't think he was being serious and they wouldn't listen to them. Anyone who doesn't speak with a loud tone doesn't sound confident with what they are saying. An example of when Edwards uses a strong tone is when he says “ You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment.” What he is saying is that they took him for granted, and he does nothing but save them. When he is saying this it also makes him sound mean, which is another reason the puritans should take him

    Read More

  • Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Analysis

    817 Words  | 4 Pages

    The crying churchgoers is one of the appeals to emotion used in the image. This conveys the fear they feel from God, which Edwards preys on in his sermon. The fire and flood just below their feet is another appeal to pathos. In the sermon, Edwards makes the point that God is the only thing that can prevent you from suffering. He also makes the point that everyone in the audience is guilty, corrupt, and wicked.

    Read More

  • Jonathan Edwards God Rhetorical Analysis

    205 Words  | 1 Pages

    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. Jonathan Edwards uses fear in this sermon to terrorize his audience into thinking of God as someone to be feared, not someone to be loved. Throughout the sermon, Edwards uses figurative language along with imagery to frighten the audience.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Jonathan Edwards Sinners In The Hand Of An Angry God

    404 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Literary Devices

    1763 Words  | 8 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Figurative Language In Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

    928 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Comparing Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God And Upon The Burning Of Our House

    1000 Words  | 4 Pages

    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. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was written with the sole purpose of scaring and intimidating the people that purtinans believed to be sinners. Edwards’s work contributed to a movement called “The Great Awakening”. It’s objective was to make the so-called ‘sinners’ aware of their wrongdoings and compel them to repent.

    Read More

  • An Angry God Ethos

    864 Words  | 4 Pages

    This pathos appeal helps Edwards persuade the unconverted because they would not want to be left behind. He also illuminates that “God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world and sending them to hell” (Edwards 41). Edwards discusses the interminably amount of diverse means that God could damn the unconverted to try getting the argument across that they will not comprehend death approaching and it could be at any moment. Another use of pathos in “Sinners” is when Edwards describes to the unconverted that “the wrath of God burns against them, their damnation does not slumber” (Edwards 41).

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

    873 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Edwards By Jonathan Edwards

    146 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Jonathan Edwards Rhetoric

    817 Words  | 4 Pages

    "The God that holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you..." God's hate is compared for how one might hate a spider, and as a spider is disposed of harshly, so is a sinners. In a spider's place in a human household, one is justified in being afraid, Fear is the most prevalent appeal throughout the sermon. "O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in!" Edwards fear to be a motivator in converting to Puritanism.

    Read More

  • Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Essay

    549 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “Sinners in The Hands of an Angry God”, Johnathan Edwards uses fear to create images that help his audience experience the consequences of sinful behavior. He uses imagery and figurative language to persuade his readers. He wants us to get a mental picture of Hell in your head and he wants us to fear the wrath of God. One such image was when Edward wrote, “When men are on god’s hands and they could fall to Hell, natural men are held in the hands of God, over the pit of Hell.” God could let us fall into the eternity of burning flames anytime He wants to.

    Read More

More about Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Language Analysis

Open Document