Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

​Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Literary Analysis: Sermon (Persuasive Oratory)

A sermon is a speech given from a pulpit in a house of worship usually as part of a religious service. Jonathan Edwards delivered many sermons that dealt with “fire and brimstone,” or the torments of hell. Although he delivered his words in a level and calm voice, his message often caused listeners to shriek with fright. In his sermons, Edwards used persuasive oratory, or language that would convince listeners of the truth of what he was saying.

Two forms of persuasive oratory are logical appeals and emotional appeals. Logical appeals speak to the listener’s sense of reason, and are based on facts and evidence.

Emotional appeals speak to the listener’s feelings about a subject, and often use loaded words that convey strong positive or negative connotations.

Open Ended

The God that holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in our eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours . . .

Which form of persuasive oratory does Edwards use in this passage, logical or emotional?

Open Ended

The God that holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in our eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours . . .

To which emotion or emotions in his listeners does he appeal?

Open Ended

The God that holds you over the pit of Hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in our eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours . . .

List some loaded words or phrases that Edwards uses to persuade his listeners of God’s

wrath and their unworthiness?

Open Ended

And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north and south;. . .

What behavior is Edwards trying to persuade his listeners to undertake in this passage?

Open Ended

And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north and south;. . .

To which emotions is he appealing in his listeners?

Open Ended

And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north and south;. . .

Which loaded words or phrases help to give this passage its persuasive character?

​Reading Strategy: Use Context Clues

When you come across an unfamiliar word in your reading, you can often determine its meaning from its context—the words, phrases, and sentences that surround it. For example, notice how the context provides clues to the meaning of avail in the sentence that follows:

But indeed these things are nothing; if God should withdraw his hand, they would avail no more to keep you from falling than the thin air to hold up a person that is suspended in it.

Since we know that “these things are nothing” and that “they would avail no more” than

“thin air” to keep a person from falling, we can figure out that avail must mean “help.”

Open Ended

It is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up. You are probably not sensible of this; you find you are kept out of Hell, but do not see the hand of God in it.

Open Ended

It is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in Hell.

Open Ended

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.

Open Ended

He will not forbear the executions of his wrath, or in the least lighten his hand: there shall be no moderation or mercy.

Open Ended

There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long forever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts and amaze your soul.

Multiple Choice

In the selection from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, what is the author’s main intention?

• to tell his listeners of God’s love and mercy

• to frighten his listeners into seeking salvation

• to inform his listeners of the life of Jesus Christ

• to persuade his listeners to form a new church

Multiple Choice

What is the main message of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?

• No one has any hope of salvation.

• Salvation is gained through good deeds.

• Salvation is gained through Christ.

• Salvation is gained through prayer.

Multiple Choice

What does Edwards think is true of the members of his congregation in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?

• They are all church supporters.

• They are all sinners.

• They are all worthy of salvation.

• They are all saved.

Multiple Choice

Based on context, what does the word gulf mean in this passage from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?

Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards Hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf....

• body of water

• mountain cave

• deep pit

• ocean shore

Multiple Choice

Based on context, what does the word duration mean in this passage from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?

When you look forward, you shall see a long forever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts and amaze your soul....

• landscape

• time period

• strange sight

• memory

Multiple Choice

What images does Edwards use in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God to draw a picture of the anger of God?

• bows and arrows

• spiders and blood

• heat and cold

• floods and fire

Multiple Choice

After persuading his listeners of their sinfulness during most of the selection from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, how does Edwards’s attitude change at the end of the sermon?

• He becomes angrier.

• He becomes hopeful.

• He becomes sorrowful.

• He becomes humorous.

Multiple Choice

What is the basic way in which Edwards tries to move his listeners in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?

• with stories of salvation

• with images of hell

• with descriptions of spiders

• with cries for them to flee

Multiple Choice

Based on context, what is the meaning of the word mourn in this passage from Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God?

To see so many rejoicing and singing for joy of heart, while you have cause to mourn for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of spirit!

• celebrate

• repent

• pray

• grieve