Are you ready to face the wrath of God? This is the question that Johnathan Edwards asks his listeners in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. Edwards lays out three central ideas in his sermon: humans are sinners who belong in hell, it is only by the mercy of God that you are not already in hell, and the only way to escape hell is to accept mercy and the sacrifice of Christ. Deuteronomy 32:25 reads, “Their foot will slip in due time.” This Bible verse serves as the backbone for Edwards' sermon in which he provides terrifying imagery to persuade the congregation to accept God and begin living for him. In the first part of his sermon he provides four implications along with ten other observations based on the text of the Bible and the second part is an application of his preaching to their lives. Edwards used his sermon as a warning to his listeners that without God's mercy, every living soul is doomed to eternal damnation due to humanity's sinful nature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Some of the most vital aspects of Edwards' sermons were metaphors. Edwards used many metaphors to make his sermons more compelling and engaging. But these metaphors could also be very repugnant. One of the metaphors is “We find it easy to trample and crush a worm which we see crawling on the earth; so it is easy for us to cut or burn a thin thread on which an ant thing hangs; so it is easy for God when he wants to throw his enemies into hell." He uses this phrase to make his congregation understand that God is omnipotent and can send them to hell whenever he wants. As harsh as this is, the congregation took it to mind as a reason not to sin, as was Edwards' purpose. Another metaphor used by Edwards to brainwash his congregation is “The wrath of God burns against them, their damnation sleepeth not; the pit is prepared, the fire is ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames now rage and shine. This second metaphor closely follows the first to illustrate what hell will be like. He compares hell to a furnace, showing heat and fire. First he tells them that God will throw them into hell on a whim, then he makes them realize how terrible that would be. This shows that Edwards is a true literary genius, he knows how to influence people with his way of speaking. Another metaphor used by Edwards is "The God who holds you over the pit of hell, just as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire..." This metaphor talks about how God could care less of you, you have to do it. he is as the spider is to you. It makes it obvious that we are all nothing in the eyes of the Almighty. You may also be interestedCitation Machine TurabianEdwards also uses powerful narration to produce vivid images. His images force listeners to visualize hell and how easily they could end up there. A phrase that provokes vivid images is: “It would be terrible to suffer for a moment this ferocity and the wrath of almighty God; buy it you will have to suffer for all eternity." Edwards evokes images of torture and eternal pain. It states that you will not only go to hell, but will also indefinitely endure tortures that would be unbearable for a mere moment. Another remarkable image-producing phrase is “How terrible it is to be left behind on such a day! To see so many others feast, while you pine and die! Seeing so many rejoice and sing for the joy of the heart, while you have reason to cry for the sadness of the heart and scream for.
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