In the sixteenth and 17th century, faith was an particularly defining character of a individuals day-to-day life. This was besides the clip of new spiritual ideas and groups. The settlements allowed more of a freedom of pattern and cognition of new faiths with two being the Puritans and the Deists. Puritans and freethinkers are really different in their positions of faith but they have one major belief in common, that there is one almighty God. Puritans believe in following God ‘s word, the Bible, as best they can and being punished by their wroth God for their of course iniquitous behaviour ; nevertheless, Benjamin Franklin ‘s version of free thought explains that God and all He does is good and that world is besides good in nature.
All committed wickednesss should and will be punished, harmonizing to the Puritan ‘s values. God punishes people when they are unfaithful to Him and His word. Puritans trace their history of transgressing back to the beginning of world. The narrative of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden explains why they believe that they were created in original wickedness. The nature of work forces is to move wickedly and merely while moving in God ‘s will can they make any good. He must be honored, listened to, and followed at all times. John Winthrop believed that authorization should non let freedom and needed to maintain people from transgressing. “ The exercising and maintaining of this autonomy makes work forces turn more evil and in clip be worse than beast animals, ” he said about the freedom of single pick ( 1 ) . Puritans believe that since they were created in original wickedness they deserve to invariably be punished. This penalty is how God proves that He still cares ; He is seeking to break them and rectify the mistake of their ways. Puritans felt as though God did non believe that they were of import if they did non see many adversities throughout their life.
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God is wroth by non merely penalizing people but besides by merely taking certain people to hold ageless life. Puritans believe that everyone is a evildoer and deserve merely evil, but a few are chosen by God to populate in Heaven after decease. The 1s that are non predestined for Heaven, which is most of human sort, are damned to Hell, including the mentally retarded and babes. ( Wigglesworth, 3 ) . Wigglesworth claims that Christ says that “ everyone who is traveling to Hell deserves it ” ( 4 ) . Puritans fear their afterlife finish ; nevertheless, they do non believe that there is anything they could make to alter their hereafter. In the “ Day of Doom ” , Wigglesworth describes everyone as “ dead with fright ” when Jesus returns to do His judgements upon them ( 3 ) . There is no manner of cognizing when Jesus will come and what the consequences are, but Puritans want to be those few who have been chosen for Heaven.
The Puritan God is non merely wroth but an omniscient and loving God. He knows when to assist those in demand and when to penalize those who have done incorrect. John Dane ‘s female parent prayed for aid and God provided it by puting a shilling where her girl found it ( Dane, 6 ) . She besides told Dane that no affair what “ God will happen you out ” , which was proven to Dane when he was stung after non go toing church two Sundays ( 7 ) . God loves His people but He realizes that He must besides penalize them to assist them go better people.
Puritans believe that the Bible is God ‘s chief manner of pass oning to them on Earth and should be followed purely. The most of import things in the Bible to follow are God ‘s Torahs. No jurisprudence created by world should interfere with what is in the Bible. Some Puritans think that these Torahs should even be enforced by authorization figures ( Winthrop, 1 ) . Following the Bible allows the iniquitous nature of people to go less apparent because they will non be giving in to what they, as iniquitous human existences, want. The Bible is a guideline to how Puritans should populate their mundane life.
Although the Bible is filled with regulations, it is besides a sense of comfort for Puritans. God is talking to His people in the Bible and is giving information about non merely the penalties but wagess and love they can have. Mary Rowlandson, is assured of her safety and given a sense of composure when she received a Bible and read “ There was clemencies promised once more ” ( 17 ) . In times of demand, many Puritans turn to their Christian bibles to seek comfort and direction from God, merely as John Dane did when he was looking for alleviation from his hurt ( 9 ) . God may be an angry God, but He gives solace and hope in His word for the people that seek it.
Opposing the positions beliefs of the Puritans, Benjamin Franklin ‘s version of free thought describes a loving and good God. He does non believe that God wants His creative activities to hold to cover with hurting and ailment will. In ‘A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain ‘ , Franklin states that “ God permits evil to be done for wise Ends and Purposes ” ( 26 ) . God may allow injury and injury to be in the universe but it is merely for good. He allows enduring merely when it helps person to larn a lesson or allows for a different and better experience. Evil helps God Teach people to see in new positions or cover with new state of affairss ; the manner He sees it, is that it all works out for the best.
Harmonizing to Franklin, the Bible is merely a book of fabrications. He does non believe that the Bible should be followed word for word like the Puritans. Laws should be created by people on Earth, and a fictional book should non be the guidelines for how a individual lives their life. He besides does non see that the Bible is a direct reproduction of God ‘s word ( Franklin, 25 ) . He believes the Bible was created by worlds who believed they were being inspired and straight influenced by God, but in world, were non.
Every individual spends the same sum of life sing pleasance as they do sing hurting. Benjamin Franklin believes that when God creates person, He gives them the ability to see hurting and pleasance ( 27 ) . He besides creates all living things in equality so everyone has to cover with similar sums of adversities and enjoyment, but in different experiences and state of affairss, throughout their lives. In his position, God has no favourites ; hence, no 1 is treated any better or worse than the other. Franklin does non believe that worlds are being punished for their incorrect behaviors or being rewarded for making good, He merely supposes that both are a manner of life and something that they must get the better of.
Harmonizing to Franklin ‘s freethinker beliefs, there is no hereafter ; When the human organic structure is destroyed so is the encephalon and although the psyche is non destroyed it can no longer map ( Franklin, 29 ) . There is no cogent evidence to the being of Heaven and Hell, and there is no ground for Heaven and Hell without the being of the thought procedure. God is a loving God and would non direct person to a topographic point of entire agony such as Hell. He would besides non curse person to Hell, while leting person else to be in complete harmoniousness and felicity.
The Puritans believe that there is no manner to acquire past homo ‘s iniquitous nature and no manner to better a individual ‘s character, but Franklin believes that there is a agency to self-reformation. Franklin made a list of 13 virtuousnesss that if completed would let him to make a phase of moral flawlessness ( 33 ) . He rapidly realized that flawlessness is non possible, but with a batch of work there can be progress and he can go “ a better and happier adult male than I otherwise should hold been if I had non attempted it ” ( Franklin, 34 ) .
Looking through the lens of the Puritans, there is no possible manner to better one ‘s character or life. Following the Bible word for word can convey comfort and decrease the sensitivity of sinning, but it can non alter the individual or alter one ‘s fate. God is vindictive but besides a loving God, who may or may non take to be merciful. The “ hope ” that is given is that of praying and want that one is “ chosen ” to populate in Heaven everlastingly when life on Earth terminals. The mentality is one of regulation following, impermanent success, expected failure, penalty, possible disapprobation, and possibly, ageless wages.
From a freethinker ‘s point of position, regulations are besides followed but they are manmade regulations subject to alter. God merely allows enduring to break the individual ; He does non honor with an ageless life or ageless disapprobation. The here and now is the life that is offered, for better or worse. Each individual makes his ain manner, cognizing that God is loving and lovingness, but non specific in His concern. There are no existent guidelines to follow so one must puddle through the best that he can.
While the freethinker and the Puritans have really different positions, they lived together and strived to populate their lives to the best of their ability. Benjamin Franklin worked for self-reformation and in bend it allowed him to go happier. This is reassuring to those who work towards the common end of peace and comfort. We can believe in whatever we choose and still be virtuous ; handling ourselves and others with regard, while progressing as a population and a people. We are given the chance to take what to believe and how to move. It is our duty to make our best to do the right picks.
