Examples Of Sinners In The Hnads Of An Angry God

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”.

His use of imagery to influence was, Paragraph 4 “O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in; it is a great furnace of the wrath, a wide and bottomless pit full of fire of wrath , that you are held over in the hands of that God.” Edwards is getting an emotional(pathos) reaction from society itself and his congregation that he is talking down to, because of their sinful ways it has now gotten them in the hands of God over a pit of fire and nothing can be done except that he won't let you fall because of his patience is being held within. Persuading them with fear of being thrown into fire to get them to change not only for living a righteous life but for God, so he won't have to leave you and hell also for you and your change of heart

Jonathan Edwards uses masses of figurative languages to describe how he feels about the attitude of the sinners and towards God. He uses figurative language to get his point across to the sinners that God is frantic and has a wrath towards all the sinners and they need to repent immediately. He uses figurative language like imagery, similes, and metaphors.

Edwards’s uses strong, powerful diction to clearly get his across to the spectators. Jonathan Edwards repetitively uses the word “omnipotent” to visibly tell his audience how powerful God is. Along with that, he repetitively uses the phrase “God’s wrath” along with words such as “fury, despair and destruction”. Edwards actually describes God’s wrath by commonly using words as dreadful, glowing, wickedness, black and vengeance. By the usage of these words and phrases, Edwards indicates that God is angered and furious of our actions. However to point out God’s generosity, Jonathan Edwards commonly uses the word “mercy”. By using the word “mercy”, Edwards indicates that since God made his worshipers, he is giving them an opportunity to repent and amend their ways or destruction is unpreventable. Mr. Edwards also uses words as “mourn, howl, hopeless and sober,” to specify the listeners reactions upon hearing Edwards’s sermon. Edwards use of influential words leave the spectators mourning and groaning in great despair. Edwards employs all these words through the emotional appeal of ethos. This is what causes a great impact upon the listeners at the church.

Figurative language is another important factor for the story. In the story, he talked about wickedness in a person’s body. “Your wickedness makes you as it were as heavy as lead.” This will make you think that the amount of wickedness in one’s body is equivalent to the weight of lead. This might persuade people to go be “reborn” since they would want to get rid of most of that wickedness. Another example is the comparison of a person to a spider. “The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider.” Edwards use this to say that we’re no different than spiders in God’s eyes. We could be squished or dropped to our doom in a mater of seconds. Edwards also compared God’s wrath to the great waters. “The wrath of God is like great waters that are damned for the present, they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given, and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and

For the sinners who fail to cleanse their loathsome, tainted souls, angering the omnipotent God whose hostility is presented in an infinite wrath, only a painful, torturing hell is held in their destinies. This terrifying, ominous threat, presented in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards, amplifies the power of God, and renders a profound hatred toward impure sinners. Accordingly, through his usage of the powerful rhetoric exposed by allusion, imagery, and metaphor, Edwards produces a dangerous scene which effectively contributes to his formidable assertion regarding God’s animosity toward those who sin, and his capacity to inflict vengeance upon those who are suspects.

“the fiery floods of the fierceness and the wrath of God, would rush forth with inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with omnipotent power”. The alliteration is attention-grabbing and provokes a feeling of fear. Also, God’s power is demonstrated in this imagery. The phrase “rush forth with inconceivable fury” shows power since flood waters wipe out everything in its path. The idea of God’s power is further demonstrated in the phrases “inconceivable fury” and “omnipotent power”. There are black clouds of God’s wrath now hanging directly over your head, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder;” Edwards stirs fear by creating a dreadful image of a storm. The image of black clouds and thunder over their heads is fearful. People are often fearful of storms and natural disasters. This metaphor compares a large storm to the size of God’s wrath. This provokes the audience to also fear God’s wrath. Also, the metaphor makes God’s wrath comprehendible to the audience.

In his speech, Jonathan Edwards describes God's wrath as being "great waters" that will overflow with his anger, and reassures them that it is only "the mere pleasure of God that holds the waters back". This provides an image that the congregation is able to imagine. Edwards then describes how they are "treasuring up more wealth" and God may open the floodgates of a "fiery flood" that would ultimately destroy everything. The imagery of the great waters and flood forces the congregation to comprehend a terrifying image and reinforces his main idea. He uses this image in his speech to describe how they affect and provoke God's anger.

Jonathan Edwards is one of the most misunderstood people in American History. Some people despise him for embodying everything that there is to hate about American Christianity, while others praise him for his marvelous understanding of God. His views were formed because of people’s lack of spirituality during the Great Awakening. This infuriated him, therefore he used harsh imagery and metaphors to make people fear God’s wrath. His sermons paint a picture of an angry God but was it really Edwards’ own anger that he described in his writings?

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is a religious speech which Jonathan Edwards gave out during his sermon in Connecticut as an appeal to sinners to recognize the sins they were committing. Readers can also identify his oration as a jeremiad, for the speaker’s regular integration of passion and the indication of an imminent destruction of society renders this text as a powerful form of a lamentation. From the very beginning of his verse, Jonathan Edwards states that within his sermon “is threatened the vengeance of God,” reiterating his firm belief that there are significant issues regarding the Puritan faith. He lists out four implications to clear off any misunderstandings from his audience, and builds up credibility by citing various

In his sermon, “Sinners In The Hands of the Angry God,” Jonathan Edwards, uses figurative language and dictation to bring about an emotional reaction from his Puritan audience. He successfully manipulated his audience by the use of imagery.

Edwards uses visual imagery by using the feelings of emptiness, abandonment and pain. He begins by presenting the denial of visual senses. For example, he mentions how Puritans once relied on God but he will turn his back on them forever. Edwards uses the threat of abandonment to relate to the psychological fear as a deterrent for sinful behavior (Steele 245). Next, he relates to the sense of sight again using the image of God holding a helpless spider, the sinner, over fires of hell. This image of God holding the helpless sinner over hell while the flames swallow him is a demonstration of God’s strength and wrath (Lukasik 222). Another example of visual imagery is presented as the picture of a sword hanging over the head of “natural men.” Edwards uses the phrase “natural men” to relate to sinners and he compares their judgment as the sword over their heads. The justice will come when the sword falls in the unrighteous at the time of judgment. Finally, Edwards uses images of God as a merciful and unstoppable force of dark clouds, dammed waters and bow, ready to strike down the sinners without hesitation. Edwards describes an angry God at the height of his wrath, completely unforgiving and hatful towards those that betray his will. Edwards introduces this image as the last means of terrifying his audience to deter their sinful behavior. The tactile sense is the most basic of all the senses and the most relatable (Gallagher 211). By focusing on this sense of sight and the emptiness, abandonment and pain: Edwards is able to appeal to the psychological and emotional feelings of Puritans he is trying to

Edwards also discusses God’s providentialism by writing another comparison: “There are the black clouds of God’s wrath now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm, and big with thunder; and were it not for the restraining hand of God it would immediately burst forth upon you” (24-29). This frightening description of a vicious storm emphasizes how helpless any person is when compared to God. The daunting tone of this dreadful storm expresses the idea of providentialism while making any readers or listeners intimidated by God’s absolute power. God has full control of our lives, and He can send us to hell with ease. By putting the fear of God into others’ minds, they are intimidated by His providential supervision and what He can do if one does not correctly

On the other hand, Jonathan Edwards produced sermons such as Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. In this sermon, he paints a picture in which the listener is suspended above “Hell’s wide gaping mouth” solely by the “mere pleasure of God” like a spider held above a fire. (Edwards,

Edwards uses tools such as predestination to scare his listeners by saying “They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell.” He repetitively mentions the fact that “it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.” His use of long sentences that drag on and on, creating a mood of depression and frustration although he