Jonathan Edwards Rhetoric

Words: 645
Pages: 3
Open Document
Jonathan Edwards’ sermon given on July 8, 1741 (“Jonathan”), Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, uses fear and paranoia in an effort to convert those not yet reborn in the church. This is the sermon that “New England never forgave him for” (“GraceHenning”), and ultimately caused the Great Awakening. Based on Deuteronomy 32:35 (“Sinners”) which states, “their foot shall slide in due time,” Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is largely based off of the idea that, without warning, at any given moment God can thrust the damned into Hell for all of eternity. Throughout his exhortation members of the congregation fainted and cried out in terror (“Sinners”). In order to achieve such a reaction, Edwards utilized numerous rhetorical elements, among …show more content…
He claims that, “...[N]atural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell...God [is not] in the least bound by any promise to hold them up one moment…[A]ll that preserves them every moment is the mere arbitrary will...of an incensed God” (pg 46). Edwards reinstates this idea throughout his sermon along with the idea that only “the mere pleasure of God” keeps His people from being consumed by the burning flames and being overtaken by the devil. The anaphora, “the mere pleasure of God” has multiple effects on the audience. Primarily, the strategic placement of the word “mere” before “pleasure of God” diminishes the fact that we are not in Hell, but rather living peaceful lives among the living. The word makes it appear as though God’s pleasure is only a trivial matter that is not enough to preserve our health and wellbeing. Furthermore, the repetition of the phrase keeps this thought on the forefront of the audience’s mind and adds a sense of terror which aids in the achievement of the ultimate goal, which is converting the …show more content…
The repetition not only of the idea of residing in Hell for all eternity, but also of the word “nothing” increases the trepidation of the audience. Each time “nothing” is repeated it further implants the idea of eternity into the minds of the people, causing them to be more fearful and influenced.
In conclusion, though it may have sparked a great amount of controversy (“taos000001”), Jonathan Edwards’ Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God was largely successful in achieving its purpose of converting the non-believers to Puritanism. This success can be seen throughout the period of the Great Awakening. Edwards’ strategic use of rhetorical elements--particularly metaphors, diction, anaphoras, and repetition--was key to his success in the conversion of the unconverted in his church, and eventually spread throughout New
Show More

Related Documents: Jonathan Edwards Rhetoric

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

Jonathan Edwards, a prominent theologian during the Great Awakening, delivers a sermon entitled “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God” in the year 1741. As the title points out, the sermon is based on the wrath of God in their Colonial America lifestyle. Edwards uses many analogies throughout his sermon to scare his audience of churchgoers into obedience to the laws of God. Throughout his sermon, Edwards uses rhetoric and an intimidating tone to impart a fear of God in his listeners. Edwards begins…

Words 625 - Pages 3

Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Comparative Essay

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards and “The Minister’s Black Veil” by Nathaniel Hawthorne are two very different stories, each with its own theme and style. Both stories have some things and common and other things that contrast. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards is a sermon given by the Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards. “The Minister’s Black Veil” is a parable written by Nathaniel Hawthorne the tells about the effects of a pastor wearing a black…

Words 643 - Pages 3

Viewing God Essay

hear the message extended through a mediator. The mediator that portrays the image of God through rhetoric depicts the message in various fashions. The most prominent methods of displaying the terms and designs involved in the application of behaviors and traits are formulated in a measure positive and negative scenes. The sermons of John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity” and Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” speak to the actions of a Christian. They harbor many similar…

Words 512 - Pages 3

Essay on English notes

Jonathan Edwards- Jonathan Edwards (October 5, 1703 – March 22, 1758) was a Christian preacher and theologian. Edwards "is widely acknowledged to be America's most important and original philosophical theologian," and one of America's greatest intellectuals.[3][4] Edwards's theological work is broad in scope, but he was rooted in Reformed theology, the metaphysics of theological determinism, and the Puritan heritage. Recent studies have emphasized how thoroughly Edwards grounded his life's work on…

Words 3060 - Pages 13

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Patrick Henry's Speech

Cohen, in his 1981 article published in “The William and Mary Quarterly,” entitled The “Liberty or Death” Speech: A Note on Religion and Revolutionary Rhetoric, those in the audience, that heard the famous oration made by Patrick Henry, exclaimed, “Right here I wish to be buried,” and even those commenting feeling “sick with excitement.” (Cohen 702) Thomas Jefferson, in attendance that day, is quoted as…

Words 1847 - Pages 8

Essay about ICaP 2013 Textbook Orders Fall July8

Introductory Compostion Textbooks - Fall 2013 All Students in every section of 106 and 108 will need to purchase 'Composing Yourself' A Student Guide to Introductory Composition at Purdue 2013-2014 Version by Blackmon, Haynes and Pinkert from Fountainhead Press ISBN # 978-1-59871-745-1 Instructor Name email address Course# course section book title book author number Abbott, Tristan ENGL 106 681-57610 Alamyar, Mariam ENGL 106 740-57669 Writing about Writing Wardle, E. & Downs, D Alcantara, Christiane…

Words 2607 - Pages 11

Essay on Story: Sentence and Language Techniques

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Idiom ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rhetoric ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Tone ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________…

Words 2972 - Pages 12

Mr Barnaby Bax Essay

EL2011: Encounters with Shakespeare 30 Scotcat credit points; 12 weeks Session 2013/14 Course convenor: Dr Andrew Gordon, Taylor B07; 272626; a.gordon@abdn.ac.uk Course team: Dr Thomas Rist, Taylor B15; 272832; t.rist@abdn.ac.uk Dr Dan Wall, Taylor A40, 272149; d.j.wall@abdn.ac.uk Leslie Drury , L.drury@abdn.ac.uk Dr Adam Hanna, adam.hanna@abdn.ac.uk Ian Crockatt, ian.crockatt@abdn.ac.uk This course guide should be read in conjunction with…

Words 9832 - Pages 40

Italy: Informal Fallacy Informal Essay

List of fallacies From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For specific popular misconceptions, see List of common misconceptions. A fallacy is incorrect argument in logic and rhetoric resulting in a lack of validity, or more generally, a lack of soundness. Fallacies are either formal fallacies or informal fallacies. Contents 1 Formal fallacies 1.1 Propositional fallacies 1.2 Quantification fallacies 1.3 Formal syllogistic fallacies…

Words 4737 - Pages 19

Debtholders And Equityholders Essay

sufficientlyprotect them because predicting future events in advance is difficult and costly. Consequently, corporate law should provide bondholders with * Associate Professor of Law, University of Tokyo. I thank Douglas Baird, Lloyd Cohen, Saul Levmore, and Jonathan Macey for their help and suggestions. I also received helpful comments and criticism on earlier drafts from Albert Alschler, Michael Dooley, David Haddock, John Hetherington, Thomas Jackson, Mark Ramseyer, Robert Scott, George Triantis, and the workshop…

Words 7476 - Pages 30