Revivalist preacher, Jonathon Edwards, in his homily, From Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, conveys the idea that those who haven’t experienced an internal renewal are servants of the devil. Edwards’ purpose is to portray the depravity and perversion of sinners and their ways. He adopts multiple tones, a fearful tone being a prevalent one, in order to foreground the immorality of choosing sin over God and the implications of doing so. Edwards proficiently uses the stylistic choices of diction and syntax to reiterate the power of God and the inevitable judgment he will provide for those who disobey.
Initially, Edwards expertly utilizes diction and syntax to establish a structural pattern throughout the text, which magnifies and reinforces the message of the sermon. Edwards’ first use of these rhetorical techniques are …show more content…
He demonstrates this notion when he declares, “Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the spirit of God upon your souls; all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God.” This approach develops tension in the audience, anxiety conquering them as Edwards concludes the statement with his main point that is not in the favor of the sinners. Moreover, Edwards utilizes semicolons as instruments to continue to consider the tasks he is sure the sinners have not yet completed, as if to list their faults. He is enabling the audience to deduce that if they haven’t converted or renewed themselves, an inconceivable punishment is awaiting them. Edwards’ exemplification of word choice in his proclamation of the sinners being “in the hands of an angry God” is another method in which he is restating that the sinners will in fact face God’s
Initially, Edwards expertly utilizes diction and syntax to establish a structural pattern throughout the text, which magnifies and reinforces the message of the sermon. Edwards’ first use of these rhetorical techniques are …show more content…
He demonstrates this notion when he declares, “Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the spirit of God upon your souls; all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God.” This approach develops tension in the audience, anxiety conquering them as Edwards concludes the statement with his main point that is not in the favor of the sinners. Moreover, Edwards utilizes semicolons as instruments to continue to consider the tasks he is sure the sinners have not yet completed, as if to list their faults. He is enabling the audience to deduce that if they haven’t converted or renewed themselves, an inconceivable punishment is awaiting them. Edwards’ exemplification of word choice in his proclamation of the sinners being “in the hands of an angry God” is another method in which he is restating that the sinners will in fact face God’s