God can throw you into hell at any time. Jonathan Edwards believed this and shared it with his sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. His sermon explained how God was disgusted by humans and believed they deserved his wrath. He convinced people by using different techniques which made him successful. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Persuading others can be a difficult task, but not for Edwards. His goal was to persuade people to change their lives and he succeeded. Edwards used scare tactics, believing that people who are afraid will want to change so they don't go to hell. God “considers you worthy of nothing but to be cast into the fire” (Edwards 2). A human is considered weak and disgusting in the eyes of God, someone who should be thrown into hell. They will want to change their lives because “it is nothing but [God’s] simple pleasure that keeps you from being swallowed up right now in eternal destruction” (Edwards 2). There is hope, however. “You have an extraordinary opportunity, a day when Christ has opened wide the door of mercy and stands at the door, calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners” (Edwards 3). He believes that even if you are a sinner, you have hope of change when Christ offers you help. His persuasion was strong enough, or frightening enough, to make people change the way they lived. Persuasion uses techniques to influence others. Edwards uses a few persuasion techniques such as repetition, emotional appeal, and metaphors. Repetition is very important in his sermon because he repeats things about God's wrath and how God is angry with you. Edwards appeals to people's emotional appeal. It shows “how horrible it is to be left behind on such a day!” To see so many others feasting, while you languish and perish! Seeing so many people rejoicing and singing for joy of heart, while you have reason to weep for sorrow of heart and howl for vexation of spirit! » (Edward 3). The audience reading this will feel sad or fearful that they will end up “pining and perishing” and “having reason to weep for sorrow of the heart” instead of being joyful (Edwards 3). He scares the audience, makes them feel guilty, but then gives them hope that they can be saved. Metaphors are also inserted into his sermon. He compares God's wrath to a sword, a bow and an arrow, which he can strike at any time. Edwards' sermon was not popular with his own people, but that may have been because they were accustomed to hearing it. When he visited different churches and delivered his sermon, people were very moved. Edwards used powerful imagery in his sermon, such as describing someone “hanging on a thread over the fire” (2). It stirred up people's emotions and made them afraid or certain images gave them hope. This had an influence on people because they believed that they could change if they did what Edwards said in his sermon. Through his use of imagery, emotional appeal and persuasion, his sermon was very successful and people changed their attitudes because of it. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Many sermons like this would not be as successful today due to the diversity of religions and is not as important to the mass of people.).