Edwards

Amanda Onalaja

September 2, 2009

Pd. 2 –Ms. Brown

I may not go to church every Sunday, but I don’t think anyone has the right to question my spirituality. An individual’s relationship with God is not a topic for others to be concerned with. No man knows the purpose behind God’s actions, so to criticize one and call his actions “wicked” is entirely wrong. The text written by Edwards was terribly harsh. The man seems hypocritical and narrow minded. In “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God”, he definitely appeals to pathos in a sense that he uses such strong depictions and illustrations to put readers in an angry, fearful, and intimidated mood.

The first line of this text is “Their foot shall slide in due time”, a passage from the Bible. It represents, what must be Edwards view, sinners and their revelation. He continues to branch off this passage to the book of Psalm where he uses more passages having to do with “sliding” and the process of damnation. Later in the text, a passage from Ecclesiastes is used, “How dieth the wise man? Even as the fool”, this is used to express that Edwards believes that acquiring mankind’s limited pool of wisdom is not enough to save one from death. There are several more biblical quotes outlined in the text and even though their messages are usually meant to inspire, the context in which their used appears intimidating. The passages sound like conformations to Edwards’s belief of those who are wicked and their means of punishment. Christian readers, like myself, may read this text and see those biblical passages and assume they are plain evidence to Edwards’s cause and accusations. This is an appeal to ethos. The men and women who originally read this may have had some Christian backgrounds and I can imagine them nearly believing and fearing Edwards’s logic.

Luckily, the Bible isn’t as harsh as Edwards’s writing style. Throughout the entire account, he depicts horrifying images, “… the pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow…”, he uses these descriptions as if they were as real as day.

On the fifth page, near the bottom, Edwards uses a simile to compare damnation, “…your destruction would come like a whirlwind, and would be like the chaff of the summer threshing floor”, this comparison didn’t make much sense, even after I looked up “chaff” and “threshing”. Furthermore, he uses another simile, “[the devils] stand waiting for them, like greedy hungry lions that see their prey”, and this is a terrifying analogy. Why would he depict man as prey of any sort?

It seems to me this whole account is nothing more than a scare tactic to convert others. However, I fail to see what Edwards wanted to accomplish with this narrative. He didn’t earn respect or make a point; instead he frightened and accused men of wickedness. His sense of logic is in disarray and it made me question his sanity. I don’t believe he himself was a true man of God, for he would have set examples, rather then set punishments or predict them. Who is he to claim the will and way of God? I believe the title of this text should be changed; he is the only one who is angry.