"Sinners" in the Hands of An Angry God, Saints in the Hands of Their Father

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Stephen R. Yarbrough, Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: Jonathan Edwards sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is unquestionably his most famous and most analyzed work. It is a commonplace that "Sinners" exemplifies what is called fire and brimstone preaching designed to terrify auditors with its vivid depictions of hell's torments. Edwards sermons although superficially and structurally quite like those his fellow ministers were preaching and had been preaching for decades were unique in their rhetorical dynamics. These sermons were meant neither to instruct nor to persuade for their audiences were already instructed and persuaded. They were meant primarily to remind congregations of what they already knew and believed to give congregations opportunities to review and possibly experience anew his repetitive Calvinist theme of election and predestination.

Additional Information

Publication
Journal of Communication and Religion 20 (April): 25-35.
Language: English
Date: 1997
Keywords
Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, sermons, preaching, rhetorical dynamics, Calvinism, predestination

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