Book Reports / A short comment: "Sinner in the hand of an agry God" by J. Edwards English Literature [3]

Well, here's the thing: I just lose myself when I have to write essays. I put my soul in them, but it seems it's not enough. Would you tell me where do things go wrong? It's about the text "Sinner in the hand of an agry God" by Jonathan Edwards. We are supposed to write a short comment about the text and what we thought it was important. By the way: we can use the 1st person.

The sermon written by Jonathan Edwards' is outlined in a well-founded and specific manner. He bases his discourse in simple but convincing claims and several figures of speech to illustrate what sinners should wait to see if they don't follow the one rule to be saved from hell: believe and follow Christ. Since the beginning of the text he uses biblical citations to prove his arguments, but the most highlighted of them "their foot shall slide in due time" (Deuteronomy 32:35) is the basis of the following premises. After he explains this citation he starts enumerating the situations to which the sinners are exposed to and what "sliding" can mean.

He asserts how powerless sinners are in relation to God and how it is unavoidable to go to hell if they do not follow Christ. It is interesting how well-defined are the images of hell. The author uses the most known symbols to illustrate the fate of sinners. Fire, Hell's mouth open, devils lurking and the hand of God that prevents sinners to fall into hell are just some of them.

He writes in a radical way, giving readers no other option to be saved from hell. Due to this fact, I believe he is using every available writing device to call attention to this matter (following Christ or going to hell), probably because he saw alarming situations in his congregation. A writer knows the perspective he should give to his readers to reach them. Since he was the leader of the congregation, it was his task to advise his companions what would happen if they did not follow God. He chose a radical approach because he believed it was necessary. There are several ways to call attention to a subject, and he chose the most striking way to present his point of view of the situation. He is emphatic and objective enumerating facts and citations of the most representative sacred book of the Catholic community, which is the bible, to ground his speech. But he mostly talks about hell and pain, and suffering and flames, and appeals to the basic instincts of his audience.