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Benjamin Franklin Chapter 2 Section 3

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Section 3: A Religious Man It is important that Benjamin Franklin was a religious man for a number of reasons. Many of his stated beliefs are similar to those of the freemasons. I, myself, have been around a lot of freemason men and women, so it’s really easy to recognize his various references to King Solomon and even some direct quotes he recited from him. For example, Franklin included in his autobiography, “And conceiving God to be the fountain of wisdom, I thought it right and necessary to solicit his assistance for obtaining it; to this end I formed the following little prayer, which was prefixed to my tables of examination, for daily use” (FRANKLIN, Chapter 9). A direct quote referenced when Franklin says, “O powerful Goodness! A Bountiful …show more content…

Accept my kind words to thy other children as the only return in my power for thy continual favors to me” (FRANKLIN, Chapter 9). He refrained from mentioning anything about freemasonry specifically in his autobiography, because it was strictly forbidden and was a part of his obligation to the organization to uphold this rule. Franklin acknowledges that there is a greater being when he says, “I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity: that he made the world, and govern’d it by his providence; that the most acceptable service of God was doing good to man; that our souls are immortal; and that all crime will be punished, and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter” (FRANKLIN, Chapter 8). Franklin also shows he is religious when he admits to praying in his autobiography and states, “I had years before compos’d a little Liturgy, or form of prayer, for my own private use (Viz., 1728), entitled, Articles of Belief and Acts of Religion. I returned to the use of this, and went no further to the public assembly. My conduct might be blameable, but I leave it, without attempting further to excuse it; my present purpose being to relate facts, and not to make apologies for them” (FRANKLIN, Chapter

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In his writing a theme that is most prevalent is that of the American dream. Although not coined that yet, as the United States didn’t exist at the time. But right from the beginning Franklin speaks to the fact that he created his success and fortune from nothing but hard work, and intelligence. When describing Franklin’s Autobiography as a primary source, it is important to note that this theme of the American Dream. Most famously from the Declaration of Independence preamble, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” ( Dec. of Ind. Pre.).

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Franklin was brought up in a Christian household, but he abandoned the religion and took interest in scientific principles. Franklin could be viewed as a liberal because he aligned equality and open-mindedness values. The quote could refer to a historical event such as slavery because Franklin considered slavery as fundamentally immoral, so he freed his slaves in the

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He doesn't want the people to think he is of higher power and that he will ignore them if someone tried to talk to him. But he is a man, just a normal human being like everyone else, who you can turn to to talk about anything you want. He will listen to what you say and he will smile and be happy about it. "... " Ben Franklin, "...", seems made of flesh rather than of marble, addressable by nickname, and he turns to us from history's stage with eyes that twinkle from behind those newfangled spectacles. He speaks to us, through his letters and hoaxes and autobiography, "..." with a chattiness and clever irony that is very contemporary, "...

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Franklin stresses the importance of having respect towards others religions. He states, “...respect to all, with an opinion that the worst had some good effects”, emphasizing that while a particular religion may not be correct in our eyes, it still could have “good effects” for society as a whole (Andrews, 133). Franklin had a more positive view on the effects of religion for society, whereas Paine would describe it as a heresy, but that “they have the same right to their belief as I have to mine” (Paine,

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The English created their country based on their Anglican views while Franklin focused on reason, not religious revelation. He “never accepted the bible as divine revelation” which demonstrates his belief that the Bible does not change one person just by reading it, nor did he believe “in the divinity of Christ” which a true English Anglican would never say . Franklin focused a lot on science and creating new inventions. The English were constantly using religion within their society, while Franklin “decided that religion was not a subject worth disputing in public” which further pushed himself away from the English thinking, and more towards the freethinking American side . Franklin was very critical of religion as well, stating that “a virtuous Heretick shall be saved before a wicked Christian” which in this time period, was very against what the English church preached, and Franklin’s beliefs are a main reason why “he never belonged to any

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He did not practice or embrace all aspects of religion and this was very off-putting to people at the time. Franklin believed that the only way to truly serve god was to do good by your fellow man. Franklin did not believe that we are at the hands of an angry and complacent god, who will only be satisfied by true grace. (Which was the common belief back then) He also tied his belief of private virtue to civic virtue.

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The importance of Ben Franklin has been told all throughout history, along with the famous $100 bill with his face on it. Drafting the Declaration of Independence, foudning universities and libraries, the post office, shaping policies in the U.S., publishing newspapers, making advances in science, and letting us use bifocals and using lighting for electricity. Even if this man never finished school, he did much reading and experiments that help us out today. The reason why I chose to write about Benjamin Franklin was because he was a very important Founding Father and it’s important for people to learn all about

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This therefore proves and validated his assertions about one’s ability to justify one’s actions through reasoning. Franklin’s assertions can be proved in many other historical events and aspects of society, most notable being slavery in the United States, tax evasions, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Slavery is something that existed for many, many years around the world

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Benjamin Franklin lived from 1706 to 1790, and understood that the world is enriched when people completed selfless acts of good. Franklin displays his beliefs when he gives bread to the

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Franklin tells the readers about his parents bringing him to church as a child, and him never being very amused with the teachings. He states, “I began to doubt of Revelation itself. … In short, I soon became a thorough Deist.” (pg.

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He uses several allusions in order to bring other events and people to mind. Franklin wants to “...Imitate Jesus and Socrates” (143). He is also basing his methods of self-examination on Pythagoras’s. These historical figures are well-known by the general public. Mentioning these figures helps audiences know that Franklin wants to be wise, kind, and humble, and that he also is going to be orderly and self-reflective.

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Franklin made it a huge part of his life to continue bettering his education and himself. Due to Franklins determination, he became a very successful politician along with so much more. Lastly, religion was another large part of Franklin’s book, he speaks thoroughly about his thoughts on different religions and his search for what he truly believed in. Despite leaving his religious group and stating that he doubted the Revelation he still stated that he had respect for other religious groups and supported the

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He talks about things from the “establishment, that which [he] first formed, called the Union Fire Company” (Franklin 82) which was a big deal back then to inventing a new fireplace. He writes about his good deeds because Franklin wants to show what good Americans can do. His son would probably not have care as much, but the general public would care how Americans can prosper. Part three is all about how he prospered, how he lived the ‘American Dream’ Some believe that Benjamin Franklin wrote about his good deeds because he wanted to show Great Britain how great America was. He wanted to show that they could grow and prosper, that the Americans do not need Great Britain to survive, that they are fine by themselves, maybe ever

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Franklin claims that he has been living long enough to see errors that he made, therefore as he grow older, he tend to “doubt of [his] own judgment” because nobody is perfect due to his past experiences (43). The informations that Franklin presents is to show his reputation that he is not perfect, also his constitution but he is open minded and willing to make what is best for the people. The perspective errors of the constitution have, is being “sacrificed to the public good” meaning all the flaw that constitution have will not be reveal to the people (44). Franklin is very passion about what is best for the people and their happiness, furthermore his characteristic is very respectful toward the citizen and the congress.

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I am currently in my third year of undergraduate study at Clayton State University. I am studying to obtain a B.A. in Music Education. Due to my aspiration to become a teacher, I have ample experience in working with people of all backgrounds to achieve a common goal. Through tutoring, I have gained experience in working with children and adults alike to solve problems and introduce helpful resources. I have also gained experienced in performing excellent customer service through working in fast food and catering environments.

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