Johnathan Edwards

From Sinners at the Hnad of an Angry God:
"So that, thus it is that natural men are held in the hand of God, over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked, his anger is as great towards them as to those that are actually suffering the executions of the fierceness of his wrath in hell, and they have done nothing in the least to appease or abate that anger, neither is God in the least bound by any promise to hold them up one moment; the devil is waiting for them..."

In Sinners at the Hand of an Angry God, Johnathan Edwards uses conartation, repetition and diction to evoke fear in order to create a society subdued into goodness as individuals fear the merciless, angry wrath god holds against all sinners.

This piece of literature conveys the teachings of the puritan era thoroughly by strongly conveying his convictions concerning the church and god as he coerces people into fear of the lord through powerfully negative diction. Edwards depicts god as a vengeful being who controlls the fate of everyone and can beseige them for the rest of their life, and afterlife. I don't think many people, during any time period, would have enjoyed his writing and teachings because he makes people feel as if they are condemed forever because they act as humans do. I chose the above passage because it is extremely forceful in creating the point that god hates living sinners as much as those already existing in hell. Also, Edwards says god has no reason for saving them, but does so because he gets pleasure from it. He repeats this throughout this piece to reenforce his point and continue to create and build fear in everyone.