The Power of Fear Fear is something everyone has and despises. Fear is our weak points our insecurities. Fear is the quickest way to access someone’s feelings. Fear brings about an emotional reaction that can overwhelm a person and take full control over their bodies. Fear is able to captivate and control audiences. Fear is a way to control and that is exactly how Taylor Edward uses fear in his now infamous sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. The Sermon was given to a large congregation in Enfield, Connecticut, in 1741. The sermon lasted six whole hours non stop and was very well received. This eventually leads the sermon to be published and reread multiple times throughout history. The sermon speaks about the life of sinners,
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To the listeners at the time of the speech, hell is a real place and is truly something to fear. However, the listeners now receive a new image of hell, one even worse than they have previously imagined. This description contains images of death and destruction following a sinners physical end to life on earth. The image scares the listeners. The sermon states, “But once the day of mercy is past, your most lamentable and dolorous cries and shrieks will be in vain; you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God as to any regard to your welfare. God will have no other use to put you to, but to suffer misery; you shall continue in being to no other end; for you will be a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction; and there will be no other use of this vessel but to be filled full of wrath…” (89-90) In the quote, Edward describes what all sinners have to look forward to when they die, in hell. Already Edward has described the wrath of God and what it has the ability to do; now, he explains this wrath of God will be faced by sinners in hell for all of eternity. He explains how after death these sinners will have no other opportunities to prove their worth to God. Their cries will no longer even cause God to turn and look at them. He speaks of how God will have no other use for these sinners but to fill their vessels, (soul and eventually their bodies …show more content…
Edward proves he has the ability to understand his audience, find their weak points, then capitalize on these insecurities, which then allows him to captivate his audience's attention and get his point across. Edward’s ability to use fear shows his understanding of persuasive techniques and his genuine ability to show high intellect. Edward uses the fear to almost control his audience and make it seem like they must listen to what he says. The persuasion found within the many pages of the text eventually help Edward to be a great influence in the Great Awakening, a revitalization of a more devout religious life from past centuries. The effectiveness of fear on the congregation begs another question, how much control can one person have over others, with simply the power of fear? Can this ability to effectively use fear as a persuasion technique allow for a new rise of leaders today in our society? And if so, will people be able to see that they are being controlled by fear or will they just follow and not think? What does the future hold for us if someone or something can perfect this art of control and persuasion? What will be the end
To the listeners at the time of the speech, hell is a real place and is truly something to fear. However, the listeners now receive a new image of hell, one even worse than they have previously imagined. This description contains images of death and destruction following a sinners physical end to life on earth. The image scares the listeners. The sermon states, “But once the day of mercy is past, your most lamentable and dolorous cries and shrieks will be in vain; you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God as to any regard to your welfare. God will have no other use to put you to, but to suffer misery; you shall continue in being to no other end; for you will be a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction; and there will be no other use of this vessel but to be filled full of wrath…” (89-90) In the quote, Edward describes what all sinners have to look forward to when they die, in hell. Already Edward has described the wrath of God and what it has the ability to do; now, he explains this wrath of God will be faced by sinners in hell for all of eternity. He explains how after death these sinners will have no other opportunities to prove their worth to God. Their cries will no longer even cause God to turn and look at them. He speaks of how God will have no other use for these sinners but to fill their vessels, (soul and eventually their bodies …show more content…
Edward proves he has the ability to understand his audience, find their weak points, then capitalize on these insecurities, which then allows him to captivate his audience's attention and get his point across. Edward’s ability to use fear shows his understanding of persuasive techniques and his genuine ability to show high intellect. Edward uses the fear to almost control his audience and make it seem like they must listen to what he says. The persuasion found within the many pages of the text eventually help Edward to be a great influence in the Great Awakening, a revitalization of a more devout religious life from past centuries. The effectiveness of fear on the congregation begs another question, how much control can one person have over others, with simply the power of fear? Can this ability to effectively use fear as a persuasion technique allow for a new rise of leaders today in our society? And if so, will people be able to see that they are being controlled by fear or will they just follow and not think? What does the future hold for us if someone or something can perfect this art of control and persuasion? What will be the end