Through “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Jonathan Edwards uses ethos and pathos to instill fear into the congregation so they will accept God into their lives. The fear he uses is created with imagery, metaphors, and similes. Edwards leads the congregation to believe they are all sinners and they should fear Hell unless they follow the path God paved for them. With this fear comes heavy convincing from Edwards to the people of the congregation to do as God says, for he has the power to do with them as he pleases. Despite the literary devices Edwards uses to convey this message, he was God loving man with incredible intelligence, rather than hatred. By using ethos, Edwards creates strong imagery and convincing fear about one’s fate.
