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The Doctrine of Ethos
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When Jonathan Edwards spoke of eternal damnation, and described the fiery pits of hell people listened. Edwards lived in the late 1700s, and was devoted to his life’s work. He was a persuasive pastor whose sole purpose in life was to convert unbelievers into accepting Jesus Christ. Edwards was known for delivering his sermons “in a composed style, with few gestures or movements” (Edwards 40). During the great awakening Edwards delivered a sermon known as “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in which he uses the rhetorical devices pathos, logos, and ethos to persuade his congregation to convert and trust Jesus as their savior. When “the speaker or writer appeals to the audience’s emotions” it is known as pathos ("Using" 13). Jonathan Edwards …show more content…
Edwards’s uses logos in his sermon to try and help his congregation understand what life will be like if they choose to continue on the path they have chosen. For instance, “When you look forward you shall see a long forever, boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all” (Edwards 43). This makes the reader think do I really want to spend all eternity here with no future to look forward to, but more of the same fiery pit. If one is to choose not to be saved by the grace of God is one willing to burn in the fiery pits of hell with no family or friends. Edwards also states “How awful is it to be left behind at such a day! To see so many others feasting, while you are pining and perishing! 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 (44). This makes the reader think, why would anyone like myself want to be left out of such a joyous day. Who would want to be in agony in hell when they could be in heaven rejoicing with their loved ones? These examples of logos help Edwards’s congregation understand the importance of being converted. It makes them think about their future and whether or not they want to spend an eternity in hell alone or spend an eternity in heaven …show more content…
According to the National Math and Science Initiative worksheet "Using the Persuasive Appeals", ethos is when "the writer appeals to the audience's trust by establishing his credibility" ("Using" 13). Ethos also deals with allusions and historical events. One example of ethos is Jonathan Edwards himself. As said before, Jonathan Edwards was a well known and well respected pastor. For this reason Jonathan’s congregation was more likely to listen and believe what he was preaching. Another example is “for who knows the power of God’s anger” (Edwards 43). This example uses a Bible verse—Psalm 90:11—to help unconverted sinners be “born again”. Edwards uses this piece of allusion to help his congregation realize that God is real and that his anger is real. This lets the audience know that the expanse of God’s anger is unknown and that being converted as soon as possible is imperative. Lastly Edwards states in his sermon “Many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood” (44). This is letting the congregation know that God died on the cross to save them from their sins. God does not want to see any individual in hell so he created a simple way for one to spend eternity in heaven with Him. Edwards utilizes many
Edwards immediately begins with a harsh, almost cruel, tone with the use of abrasive diction. His first moments of preaching the sermon had the use of words such as, “over the pit of hell;..deserved the fiery pit… wrath in hell… devil is waiting for them,” (1). Edwards
...God”, by Jonathan Edwards successfully persuaded the Puritans to be converted back to Puritanism. Through Edwards’ sermon the Puritans were compelled to renew their faith back to God. Edwards gave the Puritans a sense of realization, which caused them to go back to their congregation. Edwards horrified the Puritans, with his use of vivid and descriptive imagery, which effectively persuaded them to return to the congregation. Through his utilization of numerous loaded and highly emotional diction, he petrified and convinced the Puritans to go back to the church of God. He also gloriously enhances his sermon with his utilization of threatening and fearful tone tormented the Puritans and convinces them to be pious once again. Jonathan Edwards’s utilization of numerous rhetorical strategies effectively persuaded the Puritans to convert back to their congregations.
Jonathan Edward's sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," was an example of a persuasive speech in which Edwards used scare tactics to persuade his audience. Jonathan Edwards' purpose was simply to convey a message to the people of the church with intentions of changing their moral and religious views. Edwards often appealed to reason and logic and highly emotional "fire and brimstone" techniques to convey his point.
And while describing the fiery wrath of the “Angry God,” Edwards states, “The use of this awful subject may be for awakening unconverted persons in this congregation.” By focusing on this group of people, Edwards instills a sense of fear within the audience of “sinners.” 3) Edwards purpose in delivering this sermon was to inform “sinners” of the inevitable doom that He thus creates a sense of helplessness in his audience, and encourages them to submit to God and renew their faith in Christianity. His use of parallelism allows Edwards to exponentially build a sense of fear, and it is maintained throughout this sermon.
Edwards, who also had Puritan beliefs, was a philosopher and theologian and his way of thinking was more in-depth and complex. He used repetition to drive his sermons home and convinced his congregations of the evils and wickedness of hell through the use of intense analogies. His “fire and brimstone” way of preaching frightened people and made them feel a deep need for salvation. Edwards believed that all humans were natural sinners and God was eagerly awaiting to judge them. He wrote "their foot shall slide in due time" meaning that mankind was full of inevitable sinners.
For example, Johnson used pathos to touch people’s hearts. He states it by saying, “Long suffering men and women peacefully protested the denial of rights as Americans. Many were brutally assaulted. One good man, a man of God, was killed.” (Johnson, n.d.)
Ethos, pathos, and logos assist Jonathan Edward in “Sinners of the Hands of an Angry God” gain the trust of his audience. These rhetorical devices helped Edwards persuade the unconverted to become a child of Christ. Edwards employed ethos to allow his audience to see he understands their situation. Pathos assisted Edwards frighten his audience into thinking about God 's wrath. Pathos also let the audience understand what they would go through if they did not commit to being converted. Edwards executed logos to make his audience want to change themselves. Edwards exerted rhetorical devices to try and convert members of his sermon to accept Jesus Christ. Persuading Edwards’ congregation was much easier with the manipulation of rhetorical devices. That is why rhetorical appeals are so successful. Jonathan Edwards successfully persuaded the unconverted into believing him. Rhetorical devices helped him create the audience to understand Heaven is better than Hell. This informed his audience on the effects of their sinning. Edwards had an outstanding outcome and if he would not have employed many different rhetorical devices his outcome would not be as
In 1741, Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan preacher of that time, had one thing on his mind: to convert sinners, on the road to hell, to salvation. It just so happened to be, that his way of doing that was to preach the reality to them and scare them to the point of conversion. Sermons of this time were preached to persuade people to be converted and to me it seemed that Edwards just had a special way of doing it. Just as people are being influenced by rhetoric appeals today Edwards used the same method on his congregation. In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Jonathan Edwards positively affected his readers using pathos, logos, and ethos, while trying to convince the unconverted members of his sermon to be born again.
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," Edwards used phrases and parallelism that could simply move his listener or reader. Edwards described his view of a vengeful God and the consequences of sin with such strong emotion and vividness that it was sure too shaken up most, if not all of those who had the privilege of hearing or reading it. Edwards clearly portray an image of a fearful and powerful God in relation to a simple and weak man. Edward's dialect was very mighty and yet handled with class and ease. Edward's words were potent and astonishing and he was sure to shaken anyone who came across them.
In the story “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” the author Jonathan Edwards uses
For example, “It is nothing but his mere pleasure that keeps you from being this moment swallowed up in everlasting destruction” (Edwards,79-81). The way Edwards developed his theme is very persuasive and effective.
To begin, Edwards utilizes variation in tone to provoke fear and guilt among his congregation. For example, Edwards claims “all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you
Pathos is the appeal to an audience’s emotion. Aside from the other two appeals that I have outlined in this essay, pathos is by far the most recognizable appeal in Lamott’s article. The humorous tone of the article is very easily recognized and frankly, it is hard not to laugh at some of Lamott’s uncalled-for sarcastic remarks (whether it be in your head or out loud). For example, when writing about how every writer she knows never writes an elegant first draft, she continues, “All right, one of them does, but we do not like her very much. We do not think that she has a rich inner life or that God likes her or can even stand her” (1). By making such presumptuous claims about this person, some audiences might find this type of language comical or entertaining, which in turn makes them want to believe Lamott and continue reading. In a way this helps Lamott seem credible to some readers, in which case she has created a successful argument. On the other hand, some readers might find this kind of language unprofessional and inappropriate. Because much of the article deals with language that is full of humor and sarcasm, it would make sense to say that Lamott has directed this article towards an audience who is looking for something more entertaining than a typical statistic-filled essay that one might consider mainstream in this field. Whether it be entertaining or absurd, Lamott most definitely uses the appeal of pathos in her
Jonathan Edwards once said, “Resolution one: I will live for God. Resolution two: if no one else does, I still will.” Jonathan Edwards also wrote the six hour long sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. The ultimate purpose of this sermon was to persuade people of the 18th century to confess their sins and repent in order to be spared God’s wrath. Never taking a break or changing his monotone voice, he succeeded in striking fear into the hearts of hundreds of listeners, thus completing the purpose. There are three reasons why Jonathan Edwards’ sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God was such a successful persuasive oration.
McClymond, Michael James, and Gerald R. McDermott. The Theology of Jonathan Edwards. New York: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.