"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"

Paper Summary:

This paper breaks down the elements of Edwards' sermon in order to identify the emotional appeal to the audience. This essay focuses specifically on the guilt that Edwards was thrusting upon his audience. There are several supporting quotes from the text properly cited in MLA format.

From the Paper:

"I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire / I Went Down, Down, Down / And The Flames Went Higher" - Johnny Cash (Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire Lyrics) ohnny Cash was singing about love and not hell in the song Ring of Fire. However, the visual imagery of falling into a ring of fire, while the flames rise in anticipation, is quite powerful. People that have truly experienced love, tragic love especially, can relate to exactly what he is expressing. Although not an entertainer in the mold of the "man in black", Jonathan Edwards was also adept at painting a mental picture with words. Edwards gives a visual outline about the concept he is discussing. As a result, the audience members each construct a different mental image based on their individual frame of reference. The representation of hell in the mind of an audience member was proportionately intensified by the guilt they felt about their sins. Jonathan Edwards utilizes the concept of guilt as a means of complementing the visual imagery in his sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."

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