Andy CampbellMrs. NogarrAP English 3, Period 6October 21st, 2013

Title: “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Author: Jonathan Edwards

Discussed: October 29th, 2013

Imagery: “The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, and justice

bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing but the mere pleasure of

God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or obligation at all, that keeps the arrow

one moment from being made drunk with your blood.” (Paragraph 7)

Repetition: “You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and

ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have no interest in any Mediator,

and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of

your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare

you one moment.”(Paragraph 8)

“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” is an example of a typical Puritan sermon

preached during the Great Awakening, a time of religious revival in the late eighteenth century.

With this resurgence of religion, intense and frightening sermons that persuaded sinners to

repent became commonplace, emphasizing the belief that Hell is a real place. Edwards hoped

that the imagery and message of his sermon would awaken his audience to the horrific reality

that awaited them, if they continue living the way they do. Edwards uses imagery to paint a

horrifying picture of eternal damnation for unsaved souls. His use of graphic words describing

the horrors and torment awaiting sinners has a powerful effect on his audience. Even if Hell

isn't a real place and all of the pain and suffering described is a lie, Edwards' way of delivering

his message is so successful that it scares his listeners into believing and following his

instructions. For example, the sentence: “The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow made

ready on the string, and justice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is

nothing but the mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise or

obligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk with your blood”

contains extremely vivid imagery that puts the listener into the situation described. The listener

can almost feel the arrow of striking their flesh. Edwards uses these figures of speech to

compare abstract concepts of God's wrath to common experience such as the bow and arrow,

the dangers of which everyone understands. Edwards used both of these images to convey the

power of God to the people, many of whom were illiterate, and could not understand complex

words. This metaphor shows that God could unleash his wrath at any moment but his kindness

stops him from doing so. Later, Edwards compares sinners to spiders, a creature despised by

humans just as sinners are despised by God. Edwards conveys these frightening images

throughout his sermon to induce his audience into believing they are vulnerable to God's

wrath.

Edwards continuously uses repetition of images of pain and damnation, such as going

into detail about what Hell is like and what kind of tortures await sinners, in order to frighten

those present into leaving their old ways and converting. Edwards held his audience captive

with his promises of eternal damnation if proper steps were not taken. For example, repetition

is seen in: “You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and

ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have no interest in any Mediator,

and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of

your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare

you one moment.” This sentence concludes Edwards’ sermon, using the repletion of

“nothing…” extensively to emphasize the futility of the sinner’s efforts. His use of repetition is

prevalent throughout the sermon, providing a somewhat rhythmic quality to underscore the

importance of his words and get the message across more effectively. It is interesting to see

how effective this sermon was, despite the lack of evidence used to support Edwards’ claims.

The answer lies in the underlying principle of which religion is built upon: fear. The fear of the

unknown remains a useful technique in persuading people to do some act, or to refrain from

doing acts, based on the laws of God. Most people would agree that a certain amount of fear is

beneficial for man because it injects in him a certain amount of discipline. Certainly, from an

evolutionary perspective, fear is an advantageous trait that prevents humans from doing

potentially life-threatening things. However, sometimes fear is misused. The fear factor is

dangled in front of people to persuade them to act in a certain way because it will keep them

safe from terror. Fear sells today, just as it always did. Edwards’ diction is effective because fear

blinds one’s ability to use logic and common sense to question authority. From Edwards’

condescending tone, he makes is apparent that we have virtually no power over the authority

of God. It appears that religion must constantly degrade and humiliate its followers in order to

glorify and elevate its god. This keeps the followers in a continuing state of fear and

compliance, afraid to question the intentions of their god, no matter how unjust or bizarre.