A Rhetorical Analysis Of Sinners By Jonathan Edwards

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

In the sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" Jonathon Edwards utilizes rhetorical devices such as, personification, similes, and metaphors to persuade his audience into obeying God.

In the sermon “Sinners in the Hand of An Angry God”, Reverend Edwards uses the rhetorical appeals ethos, pathos, and logos to convince unbelievers to become born again in Christ. Reverend Edwards was known for capturing people’s attention with his intense sermons on hell and eternal damnation. His sermons contributed to “The Great Awakening” which was a religious movement in the 1700’s. He used rhetorical appeals in his sermons to reach out to unbelievers. These rhetorical appeals are what helped him to be so persuasive in his sermons. This sermon is one of the many he gave to his congregation.

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.

Jonathan Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is the epitome of a fire and brimstone sermon. Edwards was able to deliver this speech with force, power, and charisma. However this sermon effectively portrays Edwards’s own interpretation of man’s sinful nature and God’s wrathful nature even when read silently. Jonathan Edwards is capable of effectively communicating that his position as a reverend is a means of legitimizing his ability to interpret the bible and all of its scriptures. Edwards finds success in his speech by his use of vivid and violent imagery. By doing this Edwards is able to do two things, one convince his parishioners that as a man of God he has the authority to be an interpreter of the bible. He forces his

This excerpt, “Hell's mouth is open for them. The flames gather and flash around them, longing to take them and swallow them up,” personifies Hell and scares the Non-Puritans into believing so they will not be “swallowed” by Hell. Edwards also says the phrase “The sword of divine justice waves over their heads at every moment,” to show that at every moment God is watching over us and he will decide whether you will fall due to your sins. By demonizing Hell and God’s wrath, Edwards uses personification in a way that convinces the Puritans to rededicate

How do people in power influence society ?To influence means to have an affect on character,development, or behavior of someone or something. People in position of power use Rhetorical techniques in the process in trying to influence their audience. Sharing their opinion about a situation can affect a person in different ways ,by the person in power appealing to logic and emotions. Affects an individual’s character and also can have an large impact emotionally,mentally, and physically. Using these tools really all to persuade a person to feel what their feeling and see their side. It could be to help a person or shape an individual in astonishing way.

Edwards uses personification to continue to make examples of how God is needed in your life. On the second page of the excerpt, second paragraph down, Edwards says, “Justice bends the arrow at your heart… and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God… that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood.” Edwards uses personification in this quote when he says that God keeps the arrow from being drunk with your blood. The personification he used in this quote helped create some imagery for the reader. From this quote, the reader can infer that the Pilgrim’s believed that God was almost like their “armor.” He protects this bow from stabbing them in the heart because it pleasures Him to stop them from dying, and to prove to them yet again that if they are faithful to him they will be

In the “Sinner in the Hands of the Angry God”, Jonathan Edwards uses rhetorical devices such as personification and hyperboles to manipulate his audience and deify himself.

In 1741, Jonathan Edwards preached his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” to his congregation in Enfield, Connecticut. Although the sermon was given to his whole congregation, it was and still is purposefully directed towards unconverted non-Christians. Jonathan Edward’s sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” utilizes provocative diction, unsettling repetition, and belittling metaphors to prove that the only escape from God’s wrath is to convert to Christianity, rather than one depending “upon himself for his own security” (212). Jonathan Edwards challenges his audience to think deeper into his words and converting to Christianity through his provocative diction. In the beginning of the sermon, Edwards says that God possesses

Well respected puritan minister, in his sermon, Jonathan Edwards,”Sinners in the hands of an Angry God” (1741), establishes the consequences of why God won’t accept them in the Puritan Religion. Edwards purpose is to impress upon the Puritans’ Religion is to get God to forgive everyone so they can be accepted into the religion. He adopts a desperate tone because he’s so worried about the Puritans’ because God is wrathful and will punish them for their sins. Edward supports his claim by employing, repetition,imagery, and pathos to make the readers frightened of sinning and the consequences with it.

Edwards and Patrick Henry used powerful rhetorical techniques in order to get their point across and persuade their audience. People who have power tend to have a major influence on society. Both JonathanJohnathan Edwards and Patrick Henry were in positions of power, and they substantially influenced others. JonathanJohnathan Edwards sermon; “In the Hands of an Angry God,” transformed how the congregation saw their relationship with God. Edwards’s purpose of his sermon is to show the sinners “an opportunity to obtain salvation.”

Edwards utilizes pathos in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” when he describes man’s fate. He states on page 15 that God holds man “over the Pit of Hell, much as one holds a Spider, or some loathsome Insect”. By comparing man to a spider, Edwards causes his audience to envision the loathsome insect. This in turn forces the audience to generate feelings of disgust for the insect and as a result of this comparison of man to the horrible insect, they begin to associate that sense of disgust with themselves. Additionally, Edwards instills fear in his audience by comparing them to a spider over the Pit of Hell because his word choice makes the audience envision themselves as a spider dangling by a thread over the Pit of Hell, which at any moment

Jonathan Edwards speech "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" uses three types of techniques to persuade his audience. Edward uses similes, personification, and biblical allusion.

In Jonathan Edwards sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Edwards uses numerous persuasive techniques and biblical allusions. 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, 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’ 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.