In his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Jonathan Edwards uses imagery to create a tone that is at once stern and benevolent. Through these tones, Edwards uses pathos to frighten his congregation out of complacency and compel them to repent and accept Christ. Edwards establishes ethos simply through his reputation. When he gave this sermon, Edwards was a well-known and well-respected preacher. He also presented his sermon in a church, filled with people who had chosen to be there and who respected him.
Today, when people talk about God they say how amazing He is, and how loving and caring He is; but what about the God that can be angry? At one point God flooded the nation and killed every person except for one family. Is that loving (The Problem of War in the Old Testament, p. 11)? Second, there is a problem of revelation. This is related to the part to the manner of God’s self-revelation in war.
Lincoln is preaching that we cannot pass God’s judgement upon others without first thinking about how God would judge us. In addition, Lincoln goes on to explain that the south and the north were expecting God to gift them different outcomes than the outcomes the end of the war brought because neither side can enjoy a complete sense of satisfaction. Consequently, Lincoln emphasizes that almighty God has his own will and the end result of the civil war is what God had planned instead of what the North or South had hoped for. Lincoln’s mentioning of God through out his speech is his way of relating to the American people by ensuring them that he is a religious man himself, by stating that he reads his bible every day and
The Power of a Letter “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”. Quoting Jesus Christ, this is one of the great lines delivered from the great Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter to Birmingham”. It is a great guide for people to live their lives by, killing others with kindness in the face of adversity and never stooping to their level. Dr. King lived his life this way; he was such a brilliant man and as much as he had every reason to write this letter attacking the clergy, he instead brilliantly put together a masterpiece with powerful use of pathos, ethos and logos. He creates such a polite, apologetic and friendly tone that is beautifully tangled with passive aggressive attacks and criticism.
First, it means that we must persistently and fearlessly share the message of the gospel with others (1:27-30). The message of the gospel is the message that tells us who Christ is and how he provided a way for sinners to be forgiven instead of punished. We are all sinners by nature and by choice. We all have failed to live according to God’s standard of perfection (Rom 3:23). Because of this, we are separated from God and deserve to spend eternity in hell (Rom 6:23).
Christian Studies Essay Option #2 “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. John 3:16 With reference to the quotation above, outline how Christianity presents the central problem for human existence and explain how this problem is addressed in Christian teaching and practice. Christianity believes that the main problem that comes with human existence is the sin people accumulate throughout their daily lives. This sin, which is attained through bad deeds and the falling short of god’s standards, is the main issue in human existence as it not only creates problems in this life but can also create separation from god and eternal
He, like all those before and after him, was wondering why God was allowing His chosen people to go through the suffering they were having to endure at the hands of their enemies. He didn’t understand why no matter no matter how much he cries out for God to save them, God has not yet changed the situation. [footnote1] While Habakkuk begins by wondering or worrying about the world around him and God’s seeming indifference, he ends by worshipping God. [footnote2] Habakkuk’s name means to embrace or wrestle. Per usual, his name has to do with the message in his book.
God reacts to the human decision to turn from him by consigning people to the consequences of their actions. As Paul will show, this involves an ever-increasing cycle of sin, but he highlights sexual sins. Just as God spoke to the original audience, so he still speaks to us through the pages of Scripture. The common humanity with the people of the Bible is evident, we discover a universal dimension in the problems they faced and the solutions God gave them. Those who fail to recognize that Scripture is both timely and timeless run into a host of problems.
He uses this topic to penetrate main point inside the people’s hearts. Edwards also uses figure of speech to compare God’s wrath to common experiences people have. He also uses metaphor in his sermon to show what god wants to do such as the bow of God’s wrath being pointed to the hearts of the sinners. This shows that God could release his anger at any time but God’s kindness saves them. More into his sermon he compares sinners with a rock and a spider web.
Captivating someone’s emotions is most effective to catch and keep their attention. In the accomplished sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Jonathan Edwards applies extensive use of rhetorical strategies, but the most persuasive are metaphors utilized through pathos in an attempt to sway the acts of sinners, the natural men to be morally correct. While discussing the natural men’s wickedness, Edwards states “All your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold [the natural men], and keep [the natural men] out of hell, than a spider’s web would have to stop a fallen rock” (Edwards 8), giving his unconverted audience the idea that God is the single force who is the deciding factor of whether they are saved, or dropped to eternal damnation. Edwards compares sinners to spiders, creatures despised by humans just as sinners are detested by God, displaying to Edwards unconverted congregation how poorly God thinks of them. Righteousness is showcased as the natural men’s sin and weakness.