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.