An Honest Doubter By Elizabeth Deutsch Earle: Poem Analysis

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Skeptical Agnostic Elizabeth Deutsch Earle was a sixteen year-old that was first introduced to the This I Believe series in the 1950s. Her essay, “An Honest Doubter”, describes her questioning belief in religion. She feels a bit like an outcast because at her age, almost every teen has already chosen a religion except for her. Because of her curiosity and inability to just accept any made religion and its doctrines, Deutsch is constantly searching for beliefs to guide her in life. By not possessing any religion, she gathers bits and pieces of morals from various religions and philosophies to make up her own life values that she still continues to form. Deutsch’s interesting way of finding meaning in life is much more admirable and rational than people…show more content…
Did the creator of the universe create the heavens, seas, humans, and the sun in six days? When I was younger, these stories weren’t just stories but factual history to me. But I went through a phase of total disbelief and rejection of anything that is Catholic. One time, my mom urged me to go with her to a Catholic seminar where this special group of Catholic nuns and priest only visit San Jose once in a while. It wasn’t mass but I vaguely remember it was more of a long, intense session of prayer. One of the nun seemed like a bit of a psychic-being able to decipher what some people were thinking about. As everyone lined up at the altar afterward to receive the holy bread, about half of the people that received it, fainted right after. Included in that group of people was my mom. She told me only a few people who truly believed in the Lord and in deep prayer would reach the same spiritual experience. I tried and tried to be in deep prayer and told myself that I believed in the God Almighty. Nonetheless, I was getting nowhere. I suppose I can never get that religious experience that so many did. I was always doubtful-just like Elizabeth

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