Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Christians were constantly reminded of the consequences of sinning during the Great Awakening. However one church in Enfield, Connecticut was largely unaffected. So they invited Johnathan Edwards, one of the most dynamic pastors of the time to speak. His mission was to convert, and convince the congregation of their sins. He accomplished this by delivering a compelling sermon that helped the congregation realize that they are going to be judged by God, and that this judgment will be more fearful and painful than they could imagine. The sermon that Johnathan Edwards delivered became one of his most famous teachings, because it embodied his entire system of belief. He titled it “Sinners in the Hands of an …show more content…
Each of these topics is made more effective with the use of rhetorical devices, which are the heart and soul of Edwards’s emotional appeal to his listeners.
Edwards uses rhetorical devices to scare his audience from the path of eternal damnation and onto the path of boundless righteousness. He used imagery when he said, “It is that natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell” and “the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up” (Edwards 198). He says this to paint a picture to the congregation of how close they are to eternal damnation, and that it is only because of God’s grace that they are alive …show more content…
There is no doubt as to the effectiveness of his tactics in using imagery to penetrate the hearts and minds of those who are present. This was mainly because people were a lot simpler minded at that time. Nevertheless, I can’t say that I’d condone this method for getting people saved. Despite the fact that a desire for God may be the motive, fear of going to hell is not faith in God. Only faith in God leads to salvation. When Edwards uses fear of hell as a means to bring people to God, sinners don’t have faith in God. They have faith in the possibility of going to hell. This is a distorted form of faith. It is only faith in God and His goodness that will save
Christians were constantly reminded of the consequences of sinning during the Great Awakening. However one church in Enfield, Connecticut was largely unaffected. So they invited Johnathan Edwards, one of the most dynamic pastors of the time to speak. His mission was to convert, and convince the congregation of their sins. He accomplished this by delivering a compelling sermon that helped the congregation realize that they are going to be judged by God, and that this judgment will be more fearful and painful than they could imagine. The sermon that Johnathan Edwards delivered became one of his most famous teachings, because it embodied his entire system of belief. He titled it “Sinners in the Hands of an …show more content…
Each of these topics is made more effective with the use of rhetorical devices, which are the heart and soul of Edwards’s emotional appeal to his listeners.
Edwards uses rhetorical devices to scare his audience from the path of eternal damnation and onto the path of boundless righteousness. He used imagery when he said, “It is that natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell” and “the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up” (Edwards 198). He says this to paint a picture to the congregation of how close they are to eternal damnation, and that it is only because of God’s grace that they are alive …show more content…
There is no doubt as to the effectiveness of his tactics in using imagery to penetrate the hearts and minds of those who are present. This was mainly because people were a lot simpler minded at that time. Nevertheless, I can’t say that I’d condone this method for getting people saved. Despite the fact that a desire for God may be the motive, fear of going to hell is not faith in God. Only faith in God leads to salvation. When Edwards uses fear of hell as a means to bring people to God, sinners don’t have faith in God. They have faith in the possibility of going to hell. This is a distorted form of faith. It is only faith in God and His goodness that will save