Everyone is a sinner
(An Evaluation of John Edwards Sinners in the hand of an Angry God)
After reading the excerpt on “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God”, I discovered there was a lot of thought and time put into that six hour speech. Everything that was said in the speech was very true and make the reader (me) think about my perspective on life. You are not guaranteed anything. You are never guaranteed another day on Earth. You are never promised another day with the people you love. Never take anything for granted and always try your hardest and do your best. This excerpt was very persuasive in many ways because it showed that God is very powerful, life is very unpredictable, and everyone is a sinner until they are proven to be different.
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He is someone everyone looks to in times of need. “The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present’ they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped the more rapid and mighty it’s course, when once it is let loose.” Not only do people search for God when they are in trouble, but also when they just need guidance. There is never a wrong time to sit down and ask for answers from the mighty one above. God is also very powerful because of the hand he holds over many people. Most people make choices based on what they think God would say or think - and that keeps them on the right
Comparing Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathon Edward and Martin Luther King's Speech "I Have A Dream" Would you rather be scared into submission or moved to submit? Both are very effective as I will show. Jonathon Edward's "{Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", describes his views of a vengeful God and man as sinners. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" is known as one of the most motivational speeches ever given. I would like to begin by describing what these two powerful speakers and speeches have in common, and will include their differences as well.
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God is an eye-opening sermon to many and an even greater eye opener to the unbelieving. Not only is it seen as controversial for the time, but many people disagreed with it. The entire sermon seemed to be based on one or two verses from the Bible, and many thought they were not used in the proper context. There were many emotions during the sermon that need to be explored further.
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.
During the 1700’s people in America were experiencing the great awaking. Many ministers in this period used rhetorical appeals to get across to their congregation. Jonathan Edwards was one of the most well know pastors during this time. In 1741, he preached a sermon-later titled Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God-to his congregation by using rhetorical appeals he got his point across to many unconverted men. Edwards uses rhetorical appeals: pathos, ethos, and logos to create rhetorical appeals. by using these appeals Edwards is able to reach out to his congregation and get them to realize that they are unsaved from the wrath of God, and the fiery pits of Hell.
Completing a rhetorical analysis has altered the way I think whenever I read “Men Have Forgotten God.” I no longer read the address and see it as a piece of writing that does not serve a purpose for the present days, but I see it as something valuable; it is even more important today than it was years ago. The world is continuing to leave God out, and Christians are still failing at coming together as one body to defend their faith. Solzhenitsyn did a fantastic job at getting his point across and letting his intentions be known.
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” – This work by Jonathan Edwards is a sermon that he wrote in 1741 that centers on the fate that awaits those who are outside of Jesus Christ. Firstly, he speaks of death and how it will come for all, and most often unexpectedly and suddenly. In light of this, he sees the task of warning the “wicked” of their impending destination of hell in the upmost importance. Not only will they be cast into eternal torment most easily, but also Edwards asserts that they deserve to be thrown into hell and would be in hell this very moment, if not for what he calls the “pleasure” or grace of God. The veil that keeps them from falling into hell is so outrageously thin, that it is a wonder in of itself that it has
This is a great devotional. I enjoyed reading it, it reminds us to listen and pay attention when God is dealing with us. God has many different ways of bringing things to our attention. We are so blessed to have a Heavenly Father that loves us and cares about how we live our live. This devotional brought to mind the following scripture; Song of Solomon 2:15 (KJV) “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes” The devil would never tempt us with the big things but the little ‘innocent’ things. For example, most of us would not be tempted to rob a bank. However, we might be tempted to keep extra change that was given to us by mistake at the bank or store. Though, both are wrong but the change is
God is our loving Father who is looking over us. He is caring and created this world for a reason. We would not be here today if it weren’t for God. God is good and gives us what we deserve. It is important that we live a good life and God will treat us with care. “And He’s good all the time—not just once in a while or when things go your way” (Meyer, n.d.). This demonstrates that God will always be good at all times. God created us and gave us the freedom to make our own choices. Even to choose if we follow or reject his leadings. He trusts that we will do the right thing.
Every person that lives on the earth except for Jesus Christ is born as a sinner. Sin is not something parents have to teach their children how to do; but instead, adults should teach their kids to obey and to follow the Will of God. In the Bible, God says pride is the root of all evil and the main reason sin occurs. Pride is something that every human being deals with and is not something they can overcome unless they are to become a Christian.
The biggest difference from both stories is the religion and the number of Gods that are in each story. In the “Changing Woman and the Hero Twins after the Emergence of people” the Navajo mentions multiple gods when he said, “…Talking God and Calling God might pass in and out…”(38). Usually, when there is more than one God in a story they will be Gods of a particular thing. There being more than one God allows for a deeper relationship between one God and a character in the story. A great example of this is with the twins and their father, the Sun God. This is very different from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” because the twins are the children of the Sun God, where as in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” there is only one God that is the creator of everything.
The “Prodigal Son” is much more than a short story. Though seemingly simple and straightforward, it encompasses many important themes and symbols. The three main characters (Father, younger song, older son) all represent one aspect of the religious undertone that is carried throughout the duration of this tale. While the concept of family is prevalent in this story, what is actually more important is the symbol of Jesus and his followers that is communicated through the idea of family. The family embodies the idea of God, sinners, and Pharisees. Each character in the prodigal son represents one of these three symbols, and through the use of the symbols the audience is able to accept the idea of sinning, and layer it with the idea of repentance, in order to maintain the religious foundation this story was built upon.
Overall, this book helped me become more aware of my weaknesses with my preaching style and also gave me tools to strengthen them. The examples are very basic and practical and helped highlight key skills and situations that a preacher can experience when doing a sermon. This book added more knowledge to me and gave me new insights that I can use as a tool when I go back with my ministry as a youth worker.
...mazing, but sets an example of how believers today can use relevant and modern examples and stories to share the Gospel and continue growing the body of Christ.
Using this method, he successfully engages the congregation through descriptive narratives and relating ideas to current times. As part of the narratives he includes descriptive biblical stories beginning with the story in his text, claiming it as a “scary story”. He further re-enforces this scary story concept by sharing two more biblical passages where a scary story exists. These biblical narratives are the beginning of what Wilson would call the second page of the sermon where the trouble in the text is given. This of course was preceded by his first page that discussed the idea of having scary stories in our lives today (trouble in the world) by using a vivid personal illustration. He continues to use vivid illustrations to hammer in his focus on the church needing to be friends to the downtrodden because God responds that way. He designs the third page to share the Gospel in the text reminding us that God responds to continual injustice by sending his son to be the friend that everyone needs. The one who stands up for injustice and never leaves your side. Finally, he concludes with the fourth page by demonstrating how churches can live the gospel in the world today. They do this through friendships with people in their surrounding community whose stories might be
"Who Is God To Me" God means many different things to many different people. There are a lot of people who believe that there is no such thing as a God. There are people who believe that there is no God because no one has ever seen him. I personally believe that there is a God because of my faith. I have faith in God and I feel that God is real. I have many reasons why I believe in God and who God is to me. But I have three reasons that stand out for me about who God is to me. They are the following: God is always there for me, God is my friend, and God is my creator. These are my three most important reasons of who God is and what God means to me. God has never let me down in my life. Sometimes I feel that God has let me down or that He did not answer my prayers in times that I most needed Him. But I have to realize that everything that God does is for a reason. God has taken a few friends of mine from this Earth at a very young age. I have prayed to God and asked Him why? But I have never seemed to fully understand why. I have come to the conclusion that God works in mysterious ways. I do not think that anyone can fully understand why God does what He does. So for this, I do not feel that God has ever let me down. He just does these things for a reason and if you believe in Him, He will never let you down either. God is the longest lasting friend I have ever had in my life. He was there for me before I was born and He will be there for me after I leave this Earth. God is the best listener also. I can talk to God anywhere at anytime. Every time I want to talk to Him or ask Him a question, He is there for me. Most of my other friends are at least a phone call away, but not God. He has always been there in time of need, even though sometimes I feel like He is not. Even when I do something wrong, He is there to forgive me and set me straight.