He was a man whose very words struck fear into the hearts of his hearers. Recognized as one of the most powerful religious speakers of the time, he led the Great Awakening. “This was a time when the intense fervor of the early Puritans had abated somewhat” (Heyrmen 1) due to a revival of religious zeal (Stein 1) in the colonists through faith rather than predestination. Jonathan Edwards, however, sought to arouse the religious intensity of the colonists (Edwards 1) through his preaching. But how and why was Edwards so successful? What influenced him? How did he use diction and symbolism to persuade his listener, and what was the reaction to his teachings? To understand these questions one must look at his life and works to understand how he became successful. In his most influential sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Jonathan Edwards' persuasive language reawakened the religious fervor that lay dormant in colonial Americans and made him the most famous Puritan minister of the Great Awakening in North America. To understand Edward's use of language, however, it is necessary to look at his early life and his formative influences. His family undoubtedly shaped his religious career because "[H]e was the only child among the eleven children of the Rev. Timothy Edwards and Esther Edwards, the daughter of the influential Puritan clergyman Solomon Stoddard" (Wachal 1). Growing up in a religious family must have influenced his professional path. Then “Edwards attended Yale School of Theology at age 13” (Paposian 1). This is important because at Yale Edwards created his “unique style of preaching” (“Jonathan Edwards” Dictionary 1). Here “his theology, which soon became known as Edwardseanism, had developed in hi...... middle of paper ......l, 1989. 68-69. Print.Paposian, Edward M. "Jonathan Edwards American Theologian-Preacher." In the Faith of Our Fathers: Scenes from the History of the American Church. Ed. Mark Sidwell. 33-39. Greenville: BJUPress, 1991. Print. "Revival and Renewal". American eras. vol. 3. The Revolutionary Era, 1754-1783. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 315-321. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Network. May 17, 2012.Stein, Stephen J. "Edwards, Jonathan." Encyclopedia of religion. Ed. Lindsay Jones. vol. 4.Detroit: Macmillan, 2005. 2698-2701. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Network. May 17, 2012. Tulley, Stephen Richard. “Awakened to the Holy”. Sinners in the hands of an angry God! Ritualized context. “Christianity and literature”. 57.4(2008): 507+. Literature Resource Center. Network. May 17, 2012.Wachal, Barbara Schwarz. “Edwards, Jonathan (1703-1758).” Colonial America. Sharpe. Web.16 May 2012.