Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God Analysis

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He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil. This account refers to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, where God eradicated those who transgressed his mighty law. The Puritans, aware that God had a terrible wrath toward sinners, had to live in constant fear as a result. In his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, Johnathon Edwards describes the horrors that come with damnation and makes the argument that God has no compassion for sinners. Through its utilization of appeal to emotion, appeal to authority, and profound symbolism, the painting “What I See…” serves as the best representation of Edward’s message about the wrath of God and his condemnation of…show more content…
By showing the church in a state of fortitude under the mighty wrath of God, the painting bolsters the church’s reputation as being the sole source of salvation to the Puritan people. During the Puritan era, the church had more power than any other governing body and Johnathon Edwards even remarks that the wrath of God trumps the wrath of kings. This is compounded by the fact that the picture sets a very helpless mood. In the Puritan times, there was nothing stopping the “Wrath of Jehovah” from damning a person to Hell. Likewise, the picture shows that mankind is in a state of great peril, and that humanity is hopeless in the eyes of God. In addition, the title itself of the picture refers to the authority of the church. My interpretation of the meaning of “What I See” is that it is meant to be the view of a church minister who views society as hopeless without the proper guidance of the church. This picture emphasizes the role of the church in life which is consistent with the view of the…show more content…
Darkness and the wrongdoings of man are being portrayed as being the antithesis to the light and righteousness of God. With the entire city shrouded in darkness, the church is the only place where God’s light is being shown. As a result, God spares the church from his intense wrath while cleansing the remainder of the city with his fires. In addition, a thick cloud of mist shrouds the horizon of the city. The haziness may represent the paranoia that the Puritans had about their status in the world. Nobody could be certain about whether they were predestined to achieve salvation, so they often had to live their entire lives in uncertainty. This deep rooted symbolism makes the artwork truly unique and
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