Examples Of Personification In Sinners Of An Angry God

Jonathon Edwards maintains his audience’s attention by creating intense and meaningful similes. Edwards uses these similes as a way for his audience to understand the points he is making and adds dramatic imagery and piercing words to get the audience to consider what he is saying. The first simile he uses says this, “…they were always exposed to destruction; as one that stands or walks in slippery places is always exposed to fall” (Edwards 1). Edwards includes this quote in his sermon to provoke the readers thought. The point he is trying to make is that God’s people are exposed to destruction which is a hard to imagine so he breaks it down for his audience by saying that just as they are exposed to destruction if you walk in a slippery place you will also fall. The next memorable simile Edwards uses says this, “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, and is dreadfully provoked. His wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire…” (6). Here Edwards compares his congregation to a “loathsome insect”. Edwards does this to try and describe how God views them. He continues his claim by comparing God’s wrath on them burning like fire, which would probably spark fear in the hearts of the people that they may repent. This simile helped further Edward’s main point, that hell is inevitable. One last simile Edwards uses is this, “Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards

Jonathan Edwards, a famous preacher in pre-colonial times, composed a sermon that was driven to alert and inject neo Puritanical fear into an eighteenth century congregation. This Bible based and serious audience sought after religious instruction and enlightenment. Through the sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards offers a very harsh interpretation to humankind. Edwards utilizes various rhetorical techniques to evoke an emotional response in his audience and to persuade the members of his congregation that their wicked actions will awaken a very ruthless and merciless God.

In Jonathan Edwards, “Sinners in the Hands of an An Angry God,” shows an extreme viewpoint of God. According to Edwards, humanity is naturally infected with sin despite our efforts to overcome it. Throughout his sermon, Edwards goes on about how God shows such mercy in not throwing all humanity in the deepest depths of hell. As said by Edwards in his sermon, “ You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about

Jonathan Edwards, a negative and realistic man, focused on how God is a judgemental god and sinners will be put to a painful death, they should be fearful. He says in the first few lines of his speech, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, “So that, thus it is that natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit.” (Edwards, Pg. 23) Edwards implies that everyone deserves to be in hell and he goes on to say that God is an angry God and that no one had done anything to try to ease His anger. Edwards also played a large role in the Great Awakening. He wanted people to experience Christianity in an intense and emotional way. In his speech, he said, “O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: It is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell.” (Edwards, Pg. 26) Edward’s speech was opportunity knocking at everyone’s doors. He influenced people to want to be saved in a way that made many fearful of what could happen to them if they weren’t saved or a child of God. Edwards believed that God set the world in motion, but was not active in everyone’s life. Edwards believed that God created the world and

Disturbingly describing God’s abhorrence towards man and comparing it to a spider being held over a fire and claiming that is humanity in the hands of God, that they are nothing but to be cast away into a fire, his disdain towards the church congregation is displayed. Edwards forces the congregation to feel his dislike towards them by expressing God’s and it makes them aware of how angry God must be and the reality that to him, they are nothing worth looking at and are better off burning. Another example of imagery is God’s bow of wrath already bent with and arrow of justice ready to be shot at their hearts. Here he lets their minds wander by the thought of God shooting an arrow into their heart, having no reason not to shoot it because they are sinners and sinners will see justice when he finds fit. His tone is more cautious and informative but still menacing, he prepares them for the worse just to fling them further down into guilt and

Over the course of humanity, one thing has stayed fairly consistent, and that is the devastation which water is capable of. In his sermon, Edward’s explains how God can use the power of water to harm and cause trauma in people’s lives. Edward’s was explaining the growing temper God had with humanity when he lectured, “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 mighty is its course, when once it is let loose” (Edwards 2). People didn’t believe that their God would ever do anything to cause them harm, but Edwards believes that God will one day become fed up and lose his

Fear is something that is sometimes used in order to manipulate people and in this case fear is being used in order to convince people into becoming religious or into becoming a better person. For example, “... Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fine of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much as against you, as against many of damned in hell”(Edward, para, 90). The author warns the sinners that they should be aware of the sins they have committed. He gives a description of how god has the sinners hanging from hell in order to put fear into the reader. By doing so it scares the reader and might convince them into either becoming a better person or becoming religious. The author easily manipulates the reader by warning the reader of what's going to happen if they don’t change. He also tries to use this as a way to convert them into religion. Edward exhibits a strong use of persuasion to try and get people to either believe or change into better people. Everyone is in danger of going to hell but, it's up to them to decide whether they're going to change. One way to change or manipulate them is by using fear.

puts fear in all those who do not follow the word of God by writing about hell and the punishment

Edwards' creative choice of words that he uses describes the power of God and the terrible Hell awaiting sinners. These words easily infiltrate into the minds of his congregation and frighten them beyond belief. These choices of words and his use of such vivid images are mostly successful in their intent, to scare and put fear into his audience. Edwards held his audience locked up with his promises of eternal damnation if proper steps were not taken. The congregation felt the intense impact of his rhetorical strategies and lived on the fear of the power of God. In this way, he was able to keep his followers from sin and away from the fiery pits of Hell.

Jonathan in his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (July 8, 1741), claims that the unconverted are hanging from the hands of God, and can be dropped off to the eternity of hell, his sermon is used to make the sinners be afraid and understand how the power of God is saving them, but it is only for his pleasure, unless if they return to Christianity. Edwards strengths his argument by using metaphors and imagery of a wrathful God to make the unconverted people afraid of being sinners and encourage them to have a relationship with Christ to be fully saved from falling to an eternity in the flames of hell. Edwards purpose is to start his sermon with such powerful use of visualization to provide fear to the sinners and give them a

Jonathan Edwards’s excerpt from the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” preaches to sinners saying they need to awaken and understand that they are sinning, leading God to be angry with their sins. Edwards supports this claim by repeating images of God’s “sovereign pleasure”, reminding the audience that God did not create the sun so it would shine on sinners. God’s hand is what is keeping them out of hell and without his hand, they would sink straight to hell. To show the consequentiality of God’s forgiveness, as well as showing how easy it would be to let go of it, Edwards says “The God the holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider,”. The audience Edwards addresses are Puritans who continue to follow God’s path

An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. This paralyzing emotion, identified as fear, often takes control of one's life, forcing them in or out of a situation. In the sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” the author, Jonathan Edwards, takes advantage of the power of fear to use it as a persuasive technique against his congregation. Although other forms of motivation may be effective, the way in which Jonathan Edwards uses the fear of God's wrath and eternal damnation to convert the congregation has powerful effects on his listeners. Through the use of figurative language, Jonathan Edwards is able to appeal to the fears of the natural men, forcing them to

Robert Herrick, an English poet, once said, “Hell is no other but a soundlesse pit, where no one beame of comfort peeps in it.” Picture any type of Hell with relief, happiness, or even the smallest crack of a smile. There is no place. In fact, one can only think of the complete opposite, whether it is a Hell filled with neglect, pain, disgust, or a never-ending life of horror. This is the place created by Dante Alighieri; The Inferno is exactly the type of Hell where no person would want to be. Even those who acted upon the lightest of sins suffered greatly. While each realm contained a different sinner, the punishment that each were forced to face was cruel, repulsive, and sometimes rather disgusting. Through grieving tears without an

In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Jonathan Edwards tries to oblige people to be born again. He was too radical in communicating his message to the congregation getting to cause fear and hysteria in the Connecticut church in which he preached. He only describes hell and emphasizes too much in the consequences of not been born again instead of speaking about heaven and all the good things that will happen if you accept Christ. “This is the case of every one of you that are out of Christ: That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone, is extended abroad under you.” God should be represented as loving and compassionate instead of an evil being that is just playing with us for fun. Edwards is mistaken by portraying God as an evil

In "Sinners in the hnads of an angry God" Jonathan Edwards reveals how God has omnipotent power and howhe uses it to punish sinners. Jonathan Edwards proves what God is capable of causing through imagery, alliteration, and similes.