Jonathan Edwards, Walt Whitman and Benjamin Franklin had their own views and relationships with God. It’s obvious that there is a huge gap in belief between the three writers, each conveying their own spiritual beliefs in their writing. While Edwards was highly concerned about religion, Whitman on the other hand was not concerned at all. Franklin had his own spiritual beliefs that were different from the others.
Jonathan Edwards was born in Connecticut in 1703 and was raised in a household with strict religious beliefs. He was ones that was highly concerned about religion. Edwards’s writings were that of sermons that put fear in the hearts of his listeners. He wanted to win as many souls as he could to Christ. In addition, his writings mainly focused on God and his power. He was deeply involved in ministry and was faithful to his beliefs. Edward’s worked hard to try to convince his congregation to join in him in his religious beliefs. Additionally, he worked hard
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Whitman was not concerned with what was called traditional religion. He expressed that the poet was the new priest and he thought religion was negative and too confining. Although he speaks negative of religion, Whitman poetry echo’s that of biblical undertones. For instance, in his poem “Song to Myself,” he speaks of how we come from soil, in which the bible speaks of us being made from the dust of the ground. Whitman considered himself as a “bardic probhet,” in which he was breaking away from the traditional way of British poetry. He tried to link religion with contemporary ideas on American culture. Additionally, Whitman wrote several poem about sex that cause him to receive rejection from others and negative critical reviews. Whitman poems were racy and consisted of biblical undertones. However his controversial style of writing gained the attention of many