Question

passage 1 - from sinners in the hands of an angry god by jonathan edwards this excerpt comes from a famous 18th - century sermon delivered during the great awakening, a religious movement in colonial america. jonathan edwards uses vivid imagery and emotional language to persuade his audience to recognize the danger of sin and the need for repentance. 1 there is nothing that keeps wicked men, at any one moment, out of hell, but the mere pleasure of god, i by the mere pleasure of god, i mean his sovereign pleasure, his arbitrary will, restrained by no obligation, but he was so to curse or afflict you. 2 the mere pleasure of god keeps you from falling into the fire every moment. it is noth but his mere pleasure that holds you, but because of gods great kindness, you are not consumed. you are as it were heavy as lead, and to drop downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell, and if god should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf, and your healthy constitution, and your own care and prudence, and best subrbenience, and all your righteousness, would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spiders web would have to stop a falling rock. 3 the wrath of god is like great waters dammed for the present; they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose. it is true, that judgment against your evil works has not been executed hitherto; the floods of gods vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the meantime is constantly increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath. 4 there is no other reason to be given why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that gods hand has held you up. there is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of god, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. how does the imagery in passage 1 comparing sinners to a falling rock passing through a spider’s web contribute to the meaning of the text? (paragraph 2) it emphasizes the inevitability of consequences governed by natural laws rather than divine judgment. it emphasizes the audience’s complete dependence on god’s mercy. it reflects the author’s uncertainty about divine judgment. it entertains the audience through exaggerated description

Explanation:

1. Analyze Option 1: The passage is about divine judgment (from a sermon), so emphasizing natural laws over divine judgment is incorrect.
2. Analyze Option 2: The imagery of a spider’s web stopping a falling rock is impossible, showing how weak human efforts (righteousness, etc.) are to avoid hell—only God’s mercy keeps sinners from falling into hell, emphasizing dependence on God’s mercy.
3. Analyze Option 3: The author (Edwards) is certain about divine judgment, so this is wrong.
4. Analyze Option 4: The imagery is persuasive, not for entertainment, so this is wrong.

Answer:

B. It emphasizes the audience’s complete dependence on God’s mercy.