Divine Exploitations

The uniqueness of the divine being written in plain text was so people could
seek knowledge, but with this brings ways to exploit these teachings for themselves.
People have been exploiting the divine throughout time by not only exploiting
teachings that were initially for the good of the people to draw in followers, but also
by creating a false symbol of hope. Generating a symbol for the people is another
way for the expansion of exploitation of the divine. This is used to make the people
set goals for themselves and stay loyal to this new divine. With the divine being very
open to interpretation, people not only seek guidance from the divine, but also
discover ways to exploit it for personal gain.
In the sermon Sinners of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards, Edwards
exploits the divine in order to persuade people to absolve their sins through the use
of fear. Using the tool of fear, Edwards paints an image of hells wrath as gaping for
them [the sinners], the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold
on them, and swallow them up (1). The pictures of hell and violence linger in
people's minds by scaring them to change their ways. Exploiting peoples fears
draws them to embrace the wrath of gods omnipotent power, hoping that a
persons righteousness will catch them before falling into the gaping pit (Edwards 3).
Although Edwards uses fear as an exploitative tactic, he also provides people with a
sense of hope from God, inviting the sinners to conquer their unholy flaws.Towards
the end of the sermon, Edwards paints a picture of god looking over the joyous
people as they celebrate with their hearts filled with love to him that has loved them
and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory
of God (Edwards). Edwards provides a newfound sign of hope to the people.
Breaking people down with their sins, to then introduce this image of a better lifestyle

is the key to the effectiveness of Edwards writing. Utilizing fear to convince

individuals to change their ways creates an opening for this new symbol of hope
from God. If the audience listens to him, accepts his ideas, and has a change of
heart, they can achieve redemption from their sins. Exploiting the divine through
gods wrath scares his audience; however, Edwards remembers to provide a
glimmer of hope so they seek some opportunity of redemption through Edwardss
sermon.
Edwards is not the only person who exploits the divine; throughout the
documentary, Kumari, Vikram Gandhi exploits the divine in order to trick people into
following his false teachings. Using the common stereotypes of a guru, Vikram
creates a fake persona to enable people to trust him. During the film, Vikram dresses
the part of a common guru- adorned with robes, accent, and a beard- to encourage
people to feel that they can trust his teachings. Vikrams appearance is not the only
way he conveys a false persona; Vikram exploits others struggles along with the
divine to intensify their faith. When talking to a woman about why she seeks his
guidance , Vikram uses the stress from the womans job to lead her faith into divinity.
Devising a plan to relieve stress, the woman is drawn to seek guidance from the
guru. The success from the effectiveness of the divinity surges her belief along with
the people around her. Viewing the change in the womans new lifestyle provides a
relatable symbol of hope to others. Exploiting the divine, or the key to a worry-free
environment, draws people by creating a relatable symbol or role model of hope to
gather information from false teachings.
Just like Edwards and Vikram Gandhi, in The Crucible, Abigail exploits the
divine in order to influence people to follow her. In the play, Abigail was forced to end
her affair with Proctor, but she was not ready to let go. To get Proctor back, Abigail

accuses Goody Proctor of witchcraft so she will go to jail, leaving Proctor all alone
with the hope that she can rekindle a relationship with him. While on trial, Abigail
continues to lie about witchcraft, using righteousness of God and the Bible, to
ultimately win Proctors love and affection. Danforth warms Abigail: The law, based
upon the Bible, and the Bible, writ by Almighty God, forbid the practice of witchcraft,
and describe death as the penalty thereof (Miller 1145). Abigail will stop at nothing
to gain the power of the majority to fulfill her own personal desire. This will hopefully
make Proctor feel that he is all alone with no answers to what he should do. Abigail
makes herself the answer to Proctors sense of loneliness by exploiting the fact that
he has on one left to turn to. Exploiting the divine through witchcraft deceives
Proctor; then, Abigail rekindles that he can always come back to her as a shoulder to
lye on.
Having the power to utilize the law for justice, police could easily discover
ways to exploit their power. The rules give the cops a lot of power- the purpose is for
justice-that can easily be used for exploitation. In this situation and many others,
people exploit the divine and the rules for justice for personal gain.