The Song of an Angry God

Jonathan Edwards has a strange way of convincing people do to something. First, he tells his listeners that they're going to Hell. Next, he describes the terrors of Hell in frighteningly violent terms. Finally, he tells them everything is okay because Christ can save them.

The purpose of Jonathan Edwards' sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, is to evoke fear in his listeners, telling them that they are damned to go to Hell as they have sinned. He scares them into repenting with his use of descriptive language, something quite abnormal in Puritan literature. Edwards describes the punishment of angering God as an "exquisite horrible misery" (Edwards 124) in the fiery pits of Hell. God sees sinners as "ten thousand times more abominable" (123) than those already in Hell, and hold them over the fiery pit like one would hold a spider or another insect. There is nothing but the mere pleasure of this angry God that keeps the arrow of death from being "drunk with [their] blood" (122). His graphic and vivid use of imagery and other language devices truly strikes fear into his audiences hearts.

 However, he reveals there is hope for them, as Jesus Christ will forgive them of their sins. His tone shifts; he changes from a condescending, grim tone to a urgent, joyful tone. By appealing to his audience's fear, he is able to convince them there is no other solution to the terrible fate they will face.

Jonathan Edwards knew how to use fear to convey his purpose, and the same success can be seen elsewhere. Just like Edwards' sermon, Saya no Uta (or Song of Saya) describes a horrific scenario of the same caliber. Fuminori Sakisaka gets caught in a car accident that kills his parents- but, it also gives him a brain disorder in which he sees everything as a scene from a grotesque horror movie: bloody and disgusting. The walls are covered in blood and organs, and his friends looks like monsters and demons. In other words, his life becomes a living Hell. However, it turns out to be a blessing in disguise (and said blessing is also a curse in disguise, but that's irrelevant): he finds a beautiful girl named Saya whom understands and loves him.

In this case, Saya is both the angry God and Jesus Christ (considering God and Jesus are one and the same). Saya creates Fuminori's living hell, as she gives him the brain disorder. Just like God, who can cast sinners into the pits of Hell anytime he wishes. Saya also consoles Fuminori and brightens his day, as she cares for him and is the only person that looks normal to him. She helps Fuminori become desensitized to his gory environment. This is exactly like Edwards' description of Jesus: he fills his followers with love and gives them salvation from Hell, helping ease their fears.

Edwards himself also shares similarities with Saya. Once again, Edwards goal was to scare him audience into repenting their sins and accepting Christ. Saya's goal was to scare Fuminori into coming to her and being with her. Their target audience was afraid enough to cling onto any salvation they could find. In fact, Saya's own success only highlights the fact that appealing to fear is extremely effectively in persuasion, something that Edwards uses throughout his sermon with the same success.

Fear is a powerful tool in convincing people, and Saya and Jonathan Edwards both use it masterfully for their respective purposes. With his vivid description of the horrors of Hell and the wrath of an angry God, Edwards appeals to his audiences fear and convinces them that repenting is the only way out of their horrible fate. He definitely made his point, but I doubt the congregation could sleep at night after hearing him, even with Christ in their hearts.

The Longevity of a Turtle with Plants on Its Shell

The Iroquois sure are interesting people. Not only did they manage to come up with the idea that they live on a giant sea turtle, they also managed to plagiarize off of older creation myths. I wonder how they copied off of people an ocean away from them (on both sides).

Joking aside, the Iroquois creation story really does highlight that the majority of humans think similarly: the Great Tree in Sky-World is similar to the Yggdrasil of Norse mythology; the twins similar to yin and yang of Chinese Philosophy; and where the twins ended up is similar to Heaven and Hell. However, it does have a few unique elements: namely, the sea turtle that everyone lives on.

The sea turtle in the story of "The World on the Turtle's Back" is what the Iroquois believe land on Earth came from. While the concept of a "World Turtle" isn't necessarily new, the turtles of Chinese and Hindu mythology don't (directly) support whole worlds. The sea turtle of Iroquois myth is the world itself, and that makes it pretty special.

It's also a good example of how deeply connected to nature and wildlife the Iroquois are. The turtle is symbolic to life itself, as it has everything people need to survive. These people respect the animals and respect them for being wise, brave, determined, and many other attributes someone would strive to embody. The fact that "all the creatures" (Iroquois 36) help the woman securely fall down and obtain the dirt from the bottom of the ocean necessary for vegetation to grow proves how important animals are to the Iroquois culture.

On the other hand, the sea turtle is also pretty prevalent in our culture as well, especially in video game design. Take Torterra for instance: literally the "Continent Pokémon," this turtle-like creature has a large tree and some mountains on its back. Most Pokémon don't have this level of intricacy, having symmetrical designs with intricate patterns instead of exterior details. The design highlights an attention to detail, and, consequently, the importance of the turtle in Iroquois myth (to the Iroquois people and culture). It may only be a land turtle with a tiny world on its back, but it is clear that Game Freak was thinking of the Iroquois when designing Torterra.

Another similar turtle is the Turtle (yes, that is its name) from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. The Turtle is originally hidden underwater, and only its back is visible. Its back looks like a tiny island, with two palm trees and some grass. Waking it up reveals that it has been asleep since ancient times, but it has been watching over the seas in its slumber. This may be akin to Iroquois thinking, with the sea turtle protecting them with its plentiful harvests and other resources. In any case, the turtle is important in helping Link save Zelda, as is the sea turtle in the myth in helping people survive and thrive in a world that was once only water.

To be frank, the sea turtle plays a really small role in the Iroquois myth; the myth focuses more on the grandmother and the twins. In other words, the turtle has a few minutes of screen time before being replaced by the movie stars. That turtle is, however, an important part of Iroquois culture: it's what they live on!  Video game designers definitely see that importance, but they may also see the deeper meaning behind the sea turtle and its role in Iroquois culture as well.

Or, it could just be me overanalyzing things again.