Caridade e seus frutos: um estudo das metáforas em sermões de Jonathan Edwards.

Abstract

This monograph proposes a study of metaphors in five sermons by Jonathan Edwards in Charity and its fruits collection, which is regarded as one of the most faithful portrait of the theological, ethical and philosophical thought of Edwards (LOUIE, 2007; MARDSEN, 2003; NICHOLS, 2011; PIPER, 2011). Given the importance of the author’s work in the North American context, since he is until nowadays considered as an icon of the ecclesiastical history of America (FERREIRA, 2014; MARDSEN, 2015; RULAND and BRADBURY, 1991; and SPILLER, 1967), this work is justified by addressing the sermons through a linguistic perspective that allows the interpretation of its underlying concepts. Thus, by means of a bibliographical and qualitative survey, we aim at analyzing how and for what objectives metaphors are used in the Edwardian speech. For this, we rely on the theories proposed by authors such as Ricoeur (1991 apud MEDINA, 2007) and Lakoff and Johnson (2002), who consider the metaphor as a figure of thought, that is, a cognitive instrument that makes us see, think, speak and act on certain concepts in a certain way and not another. As a result, we found that the appropriation of such linguistic resource by Jonathan Edwards exceeds the intentions proposed merely by rhetoric. It is responsible for producing a kind of approximation between distant ideas, since he discusses about themes concerning to disparate natures, that are the spiritual and the human ones, representing what cannot be expressed literally, making his speech intelligible to his listeners.