The Grand Inquisitor Analysis

Deists valued brain over heart, and were more logical thinkers. They did believe in God, but they would analyze and look over the Bible, God, and Jesus with more of a logic and reasoning point of view. Some of their fundamental beliefs were people were born with goodness, separation of church and state, the revolution, and skepticism. In the autobiography, Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson, Deism is expressed through his perspective. Throughout his autobiography, he includes deistic views on religion. “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with inherent and inalienable rights” (Jefferson, 141). Jefferson believes that all men have rights that God gave them, that no man can take away. Deists disagreed with the compilation of church and state, because they knew that not only that there are many religions and beliefs, but the church and state would have different opinions on political issues. “...a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation,” (Jefferson, 141). In which the church and state shall be separate yet strong. Although Deists believed in God, they chose logic over heart. The religious standpoints did gradually changed from the 1500s to the 1800s because old religions and ways of life start to

Erikson explains that to most English people of the 16th century, Puritans became an annoying sect of rebels. Overbearing and unrelenting, many detested the exaggeration of conventional values that the Puritans displayed. Feeling restricted by the formalities of the Church, Puritans quickly became deviant in the eyes of society. By moving to Massachusetts Bay, Puritans hoped to create their own ideas of what is “right” and “wrong”, much like any community attempting to set boundaries. However, problems arose when laws were to be mandated in a Biblical sense. God could not sit at a pulpit in a courtroom, so then how would a strictly religious group maintain itself? As Erikson states, “one of the surest ways to confirm an identity, for communities as well as individuals, is to find some way of measuring what one is not”. From this, they developed a keen sense of Devil distinction – that is, ways in which the Devil presented himself through the behaviors of individuals.

Religion had a powerful impact on Puritans lives. Many Puritan people had faith in a supreme being, God, and the teachings of his Divine Son, Jesus Christ. They’d assume that if you weren’t a good Christian they would suffer in hell, but if you were one would be saved by god. An example would be in the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” the speaker strongly describes about how being a bad Christian has its consequences and the good things that come of being a good Christian. “Many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.”(152)This explains how they had a strong feeling towards god’s ways. By being concerned about their religious life and being good Christians.

In the year 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence due to the unfair treatment of the American colonist from the King of Britain. In the document, Jefferson used the expressions, “unalienable rights” and “self-evident truths”. Jefferson uses these expressions to explain all people are equal the day they are born are created equal, and certain rights should not and cannot be taken away from them. All men have the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which is given its validity through the belief that all men come from the same creator. The author also uses pathos and logos to clarify the importance of the American independence by stating facts with a passionate tone of voice throughout the document. While

Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of

Thomas Jefferson believed that all Americans should have the "freedom of language and sentiment…as derived from the laws of nature" . In his most famous document, the Declaration of Independence, he stated "that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain [inherent and] inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" . Jefferson was a strong advocate of a bill of rights within the Constitution. In a letter to James Madison, he says that he "did not like…the omission of a bill of rights providing…for freedom of religion [and for] freedom of the press" . Jefferson was in favor of religious freedom because it did him "no injury for [his] neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god" . Jefferson wrote the Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom which essentially stated "that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion" . He summarizes his feelings in letters to both Elbridge Gerry and Edward Carrington, where he writes that he is "against all violations of the constitution" because "the basis of our governments should be the opinion of the people, [and] the very first object should be to keep that right" .

God and religion made a long lasting impact in the New England colonies. Many of New England’s political views were greatly influenced by Puritan beliefs in what they thought was sinful or did not agree with. They believed that no decisions should be made without god (doc. A). Puritans also said “…we will willingly do nothing to the offence of the church…” (doc. C), which meant the puritans would never do anything that went against the church. This included actions that they thought were morally wrong such as premarital pregnancies. A preacher by the name of Roger Williams, believed god did not require

In the 1630s to 1660s, the Puritans strong belief in god and its upholding shaped the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s development. The colony was fully based on the Puritan’s view which painted their religion and it effected the lifestyle. The Puritans were a highly religious group that believed god’s will was the absolute. As shown in document 3, it states how the church is always right and nothing should be done to offend it. This shows the grasp of the Puritans hold toward god because this was a statement of the church’s membership and so it should display their beliefs.

Jefferson makes an appeal to logos, otherwise known as logic, by claiming, “Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish, and to institute new government” (19). American Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson, firmly believes if the government that is created to protect the rights of the people is not fulfilling its job, it is only right for the people to establish a new government. To Jefferson, the government's role is to insure that people can live their lives, not dictate how they do it. He also claims that, “They are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (Jefferson 18). Many of his emotional appeals are to call for a sense of sympathy from the colonists and the British crown. His words are carefully selected in an attempt to set up a sense of frustration within the colonies. The Declaration of Independence contains numerous uses of rhetoric strategies for

In Puritan belief, life was planned according to God, and a society worked to live out that plan. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was a closely integrated group that worked together to fulfill the wishes of a larger community. Puritans religious beliefs produced ideas that God’s will was to lead a community based on peace. God had set high expectations for a happy and trustworthy community. However, if a community did not live up to the expectations, God would destroy the community. Therefore, Puritan leaders felt the need to enforce strict rules so Puritans could not disobey the ideals. If anyone did not conform, they were called an “impostor” who did not belong in the community. If Puritans allowed freedom of worship, dissenters would not be banished from the community because all ideologies could potentially exist peacefully. The only time dissenters existed were in communities that limited freedom of rights.

Puritan teachings were influenced by Calvinist theology, leading to the “dismissal of idolatry and a focus on images drawn from scripture and everyday life.” The Puritans stressed the importance of community, as it was centered on the church and members were encouraged to report the sins of others in order to keep the community pure as a whole. As John Winthrop explained, “the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, explained in his letter written on May 22, 1643:” “Our civil Government is mixt: the freemen choose the magistrates each year and assist [them] in making of laws, imposing taxes, & disposing of lands… Our churches are governed by Pastors, Teachers, ruling Elders & Deacons, yet the power lies in the whole congregation.” The Puritans also had strict attitudes and superstitions that lead to religious extremism and false accusations. They believed in “absolute sovereignty of God” and placed considerable emphasis on scripture. It was “against the law not to attend church” and any other religion was attributed to Satan, whom the Puritans thought had profound influence on the weak individuals in society (women and children). The importance of having a righteous community influenced the Puritans to turn each other in for sinning, causing paranoia among community members.

These goals that the Puritans strived to achieve both at home and abroad placed a great amount of stress on the people and community. They were always working for their model society and for them their true leader was God. “Puritans believed in the

The Puritans goal in New England was to create the perfect pure society where nobody sinned and God ruled completely. They attempted this by making laws about and regulating every aspect of life in the colony. To achieve this, the church needed to rule the colony. And if the church ruled the colony, only the real Puritans could be part of the church. They believed only a minority of the population pure enough to be a part of the church. In reality very few people were ever able to give enough evidence that they had completed their part. As a result, two-thirds of the population failed to qualify as church members. The Puritans enacted many laws to keep the non-Puritans living religious lives. They created an official whose only job was to check up on ten families daily to see if anything out of the ordinary was happening and to make sure everyone who was able went to church. Their idea was that everybody, even if they weren’t part of the church, should be very religious. Therefore they created their laws with principles based on the Old Testament. They dreamed of a society where everybody followed the laws and lived a peaceful, god-fearing existence. To make this dream realizable, the Puritans created severe penalties for breaking the laws. These ranged from whipping and being thrown in the stocks for minor offenses, to banishment and death by hanging for serious ones. To be a good Puritan one had to work hard all

Puritan believers are taught to live a strict lifestyle and to adhere to the word of God. This is why the ramifications of sinful behavior are punished by God.

The puritans believed in the doctrine of a “calling” to do God’s work on Earth. One could only be a part of the church clergy if they had experienced a conversion and followed the doctrine of the “calling”. However, Puritans were not tolerant to others that did not share the same religion or beliefs as them.