Hypocritical Christianity Exposed in Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara
Bernard Shaw reveals in his plays a type of religious standard that is not unlike Christianity but with what most people see as a stereotypical view of hypocritical Christianity. Shaw's concept of Crosstianity , as he calls it, shows a religion in which the church preaches what the rich and powerful tell it, scoundrels are treated as equals, and punishment is concerned with prosecution rather than salvation. "Poetic justice" rules judicial retribution rather than redemption. Everyone is inherently the same.
The scene in Major Barbara in which Bill Walker is dealt with for his attack on the shelter is revealing about the concepts of Crosstianity. Walker expects that
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The methods of Crosstianity would have taught a lesson to others about the merits of committing a crime, instead of the culprit himself.
Shaw's view of Crosstianity allows that every person has the capacity for good or evil. Still, it also admits that a wealthy "scoundrel" is seen more highly to the public than a poor one. A man with a bullying nature may be praised if he is a lawyer but would be ostracized if he is homeless. This idea extends itself to the belief that all people are inherently the same, which is not a far cry from Christianity's "all men are children of one father." Also, Crosstianity holds that morals are "social habits," so no matter how well-educated or wealthy a person is, the nature is the same and the only real division between men are the ones that they set for themselves.
The scene of saving Bill Walker also introduces the idea that churches are dependent on the corrupt to survive. If the church becomes destitute itself, the poor cannot be helped or saved, so the church finds itself in the awkward position of accepting money from others. This is only awkward because one of the money's sources may be Bodger, who manufactures the alcohol from which the Salvation Army tries desperately to free their converts. The church leaders must decide whether or not they should accept the money. Most likely they will. Seeing the hypocrisy in the Salvation Army, Walker
Can justice; fair treatment, exist in a world of prejudice; preconceived bias opinions? In both works of American Literature about the United States judicial system; The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and Twelve Angry Men by Reginald rose extol the pursuit of justice while questioning the place of prejudice in the judicial system. These plays unveil the fact that; only by overcoming and setting aside prejudices can justice be attained. The Crucible takes place during puritan times when the word of mouth was proof of guilty, while Twelve Angry Men takes place during the 20th century when the word of mouth must be proven true prior to a verdict. Hover both plays exhibit a reasonable protagonist who stands against all his misguided peers in the
In a famous poem by Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken” he writes: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--/I took the one less traveled by, /And that has made all the difference.” Some people may argue that the roads less traveled are the ones taken by nonconformists while the easier, more traveled roads are taken by conformists. The metaphor of Robert Frost’s poem can be seen in Arthur Miller’s play about the Salem witchcraft trials, “The Crucible.” In the play the reader is introduced to characters that are non-conformist and other characters that are conformist. Through the actions taken by these characters, the reader can conclude that conformity is either a good thing or a bad thing.
A main theme in the short story is greed and its consequences. Tom, a miserable man, is approached by the Devil, also called “Old Scratch”, and he is offered wealth and riches beyond his wildest dreams. In return for this he sells his soul to the Devil. All characters in the story have flaws and none of them are necessarily “good” as each of them are greedy and will go to great lengths to benefit themselves. Tom's desire for wealth is his ultimate catalyst throughout the story and it is what eventually draws the Devil to him. The Devil called to Tom promising “great sums of money buried by Kidd the pirate... All these were under his command, and protected by his power."(pg 9) knowing this would interest him. Through this you can see the Devil tempting Tom with the wealth he craves so much. His own greed being his damnation when he tells a customer "The devil take me...if i have made a farthing!"(p22). Because as soon as he says this the devil comes to collect his dues.Tom's desire for wealth led to the murder of his wife, the selling of his soul, and ultimately his own death. The Devil and Tom Walker is a textbook example of why the temptation of greed should be avoided. Showing how though it may benefit you in the present eventually its consequences will catch up to
The classical school of criminology is foundationally based upon the history of crime and punishment. Throughout history, crime was dealt with in an extremely harsh and inhumane manner. Criminals and suspected criminals were quartered, burnt at the stake, tortured, and subjected to other forms of extreme violence. These methods were used to get a confession or punish people for even minor crimes such as theft. The people of the Enlightenment period of the late 1600 's paid attention to this behavior and this is why a
Freedom of thinking, a different way of seeing things can be hard for some. In George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan, the Inquisitor gives a powerful speech, which demonizes Joan and her heresy. The Inquisitor uses his speech to persuade the church of Joan of the arc’s heresy. In his entreaty, he uses many rhetorical strategies such as ethos, pathos, and logos. He even uses similes and analogies to make his case. The Inquisitor keeps an intense and serious tone throughout the speech, while the situation being a grave one. He makes the plea a dying matter as if Joan killed someone.
1. Shaw and Barry distinguish two different forms of utilitarianism. What are these two forms? Briefly describe each and use examples.
People have many different views of what justice is and how it should be handled. Because of human nature many times attempted justice becomes injustice. In the play The Crucible, Arthur Miller explores the themes of injustice through an incorrect accusation of witchcraft in the Puritan town of Salem in 1692 and in the famous speech A Plea for Mercy delivered on September 24, 1924 by Clarence Darrow, Darrow pleas for mercy of two boys who are guilty of a heinous crime. Although both have very different circumstances, they both are opposing an oppressive regime because in both works they are fighting against unnecessary bloodshed and how following other people’s example is not necessarily a good thing.
“The Scarlet Letter” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and “The Crucible” written by Arthur Miller are two pieces of literature written around the same era. They were written in the early days of the Massachusetts colony. Both of the pieces of literature have many similarities including the theme, setting, conflicts, and some major plot elements. But the two pieces of literature are also very different. They both use have a common theme but are completely different stories. Each of the plays tell a different portrayal of the effects of sin on the protagonist, how they deal with the situation, and also how they will be effected by their choices made throughout the play.
The main message in Christianity & Liberalism is what the only object of faith is Christ. Machen composes his book into doctrine, God and man, the Bible, Christ, Salvation, and the Church; he shows all of this doctrine should be directly connected with the faith in Christ. If not, he declares that that should not be Christianity. In chapter 1 and 2, Machen emphasizes that how maintaining traditional doctrine is important. The reason for that is classical conservatives tried to keep the doctrine upon the Bible; however, classical liberalism attacked the traditional doctrine because Machen points out that liberal theologians and preachers want to interpret the truth from the point of a human. Machen even warns that the liberalism is shaking the faith in Christianity. In other words, it could be proper understanding that the liberalism rebelled against the truth and God’s word.
In Tom Walker, he was a notorious church goer, and would act like he was a devout christian man, when in reality he was only concerned about what he had. There was not a ‘saving grace’ in this story. In Daniel Webster, Stone was only worried about his crops and livestock, and how he did not have enough food for his large family. There was not a important role of religion in Daniel Webster. The difference of importance of religion can describe what the authors were trying to portray in the
All communities run successfully with qualities of fairness and equality. The well-being of the citizens depends on the support and guidance they receive from those with power and influence in their society. When the people become corrupt and start having intentions that do not contribute back to the community, the society will fall apart and be unable to maintain balance and stability. In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible the reader sees examples of injustice inflicted on the victims within the plays through the people with power within the community. The Christians in The Merchant of Venice mock Shylock the Jew
intended to instruct the audience in the Christian way and attitudes to life. The morality play is essentially an allegory written in dramatic form. In the fourteenth Century, morality plays were mainly based on the seven deadly sins as in everyman with each character representing each sin. Everyman centers around allegory. It focuses on the allegorical representations of moral issues with the inclusion of figures that represent abstractions of the issues that are confronted.
* Suggest themes to minimise moral implications (e.g. understanding how the offender had to do what he did)
If one were to ask the American public about their views of Christians, what response would one receive? We can imagine that there would be a great variety of answers. However, most people might say that, in general, Christians are not very different from everybody else. This is a problem. There are many people who claim to be Christians whose lifestyles do not reflect their beliefs. The problem with this situation is that it gives non-Christians the wrong impression of Christianity. Christians need to live their lives in a way that reflects what they claim to believe.
Yet while the play seems to offer a very basic Christian message—that one should avoid temptation and sin, and repent if one cannot avoid temptation and sin—its conclusion can be interpreted as straying from orthodox Christianity in order to conform to the structure of tragedy.