Sinners_in_the_Hands_of_an_Angry_God

Mark Haver 11/26/11 AP English MW Period 3 Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” uses ethos, pathos, and logos to inform his congregation about the prowess of God and how He holds back the utter destruction of Man. First Jonathan Edwards identifies the sinners by pointing out what the Israelites were punished for, which was being wicked for their own purposes and Edwards says that “they were always exposed to destruction”. This is described as a representation of the destruction that is coming upon them, being represented by their foot sliding and sending them falling into a pit of destruction, the same was also described in a biblical verse that said, “… Surely thou didst set them in slippery places; thou castedst them down into destruction.” This implies that they always were exposed to destruction. He also informed them of what would happen to the sinners that did not repent and ask for forgiveness from God and the world of hurt they would be in when it was their time to be judged in his eyes. Edwards hopes this because “He that believeth not is already condemned” meaning that every unconverted man belongs in Hell. Edwards uses gruesome images to instill fear into the hearts of his congregation hoping that they would repent and convert to Christianity and go to heaven and be at peace, rather than face an eternity of suffering surrounded by demons. Edwards tells them that a plethora of men try to flatter them by telling them that they will escape hell, but they continue to reject Christ and so they remain wicked and have not saved themselves from hell for one moment. Edwards paints a mental picture for all those in his congregation about how God is the one thing that holds Man from slipping into the pit of fire which is Hell. Jonathan Edwards was trying to persuade his congregation to convert to Christianity because in his eyes anyone that was not converted was going to hell and he wanted to save everyone he could. He thought that if he scared the living daylights out of them they would convert to Christianity and those who were not going to be believers would be cast down into hell where they would suffer for eternity.