The king was supposed to be chosen by God to rule the people in the way he commanded. The king was the closest thing to God on earth and the people of royalty generally ruled closely with the church. As the monarchy's rein started to come to an end, the church's tight grip on the citizens slowly started to loosen. With the implication of democracy, the church lost all real power to make laws and actually govern the people. The church still held power over peoples' morals, but without the monarchy's to enforce it the church's found their power decreasing.
“Yet one cannot call it virtue to kill one's citizens, betray one's friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; these modes can enable one to acquire an empire, but not glory.”(Machiavelli 35) “ God our Father hasmade all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing.” (Luther 13) This quote truly shows how strongly Luther felt about faith and the connection to God with no middle man. He thought that the fact that the Catholic Church said you had to confess to a priest so they could talk to God for you was wrong and takes away from your faith. Machiavelli sees virtu as the traits necessary for a prince to acquire to be able to succesfully run a state. “ And above all a prince should contrive to give himself the fame of a great man and of an excellent talent in every action of his.” (Machiavelli 89) In Chapter XVIII “ Of Cruelty and Mercy, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved Than Feared, or the Contrary” Machiavelli lists in his writing traits to be a succesfull Prince. He expresses how it is better to be feared rather than loved and to recognize the people around you and in
First he decreed an edict of toleration, which in essence greatly appealed to the Christians who were a minority in his empire, as it allowed them to practice their faith without government persecution. Secondly Constantine returned all church property which had been seized during the persecutions and also patronized the Christian church by diverting the imperial funds from the many different pagan cults to the church. Constantine also appealed to the Christian church in matters of doctrinal disputes that had risen in the church as a sort of mediator between the conflicting groups attempting to unite the church as one. This was done by funding and presiding over numerous councils and meetings attempting to have a united church, this must have greatly influenced the bishops of the Christian church. With the Donatist controversy Constantine eventually appealed to them using force, attempting to persuade them to Catholic Church.
Penance played a major role in crusading it served as a motivation for most of the pious crusaders. Many crusaders believed that the only reason to go on crusade was because “Christ wills it” so therefore the pope was giving indulgences for people who went in the crusade. These indulgences weren’t exactly clear on what they detailed Urban says “Al who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of god with which I am invested.”1 However this original call to crusade roused many people people who wanted to earn their penance and save their souls. “when these things had been done, while all prostrated themselves on the earth and beat there breasts one of the cardinals named Gregory, made confession for them, and they were given absolution for all their sins.”2 This absolution the crusaders where able to receive would motivate them and many others some who did not even have the permission of their priest to go and crusade to take the cross and fight in the crusade.
In other words the goal of each individual should help the society prosper. In fact, in his “Modell of Christian Charity” Winthrop compared the society to a human body, where each individual is a “ligament” that helps the body function. That’s why it was common for puritans to think that if just one member will commit a sin, the whole society will suffer. So everybody was supposed to know their place and every aspect of each persons life was overlooked by other members of the community. It is also very important to understand the role of man and women in the society, their relationships and hierarchy.
This is a perfect example of the mindset these cruel slaveholders embodied. If a slaveholder felt as though he was not in control for but a minute’s time, he was willing to do anything in order to re gain his supreme power. I believe this is why so many slaves were murdered at times. In response to this event, Douglass states, “One of the bloodiest and most foul murders goes un-whipped of justice and uncensored by the community in which he lived” (Douglass 39). Not only were the murdered unpunished, but also the communities were “uncensored”.
The Three Influential Authorities on Martin Luther’s Life Martin Luther had many influences and important authorities in his life but the main ones were his parents, the abbot of the monastery (who represented the church) and the Bible. Martin Luther was one of the worlds most famous change makers. He was the person who fueled the great change during the Renaissance, otherwise known as: The Reformation. When Martin Luther first joined the Catholic Church, he would follow every rule and regulation that was set out for him. He would never disobey these rules and orders, because if he did, Martin Luther could be kicked out of the church and this was the one thing he did not want.
Moral integrity is the idea that people should live by god’s rules but also by their own principles. Giles is a great example of integrity being more meaningful to the accused than even something as serious as life. He is willing to be stoned to death in order to save his integrity by simply, never pleading guilty or not. Giles is so determined to save his integrity, that his last words included “more weight” (Act IV, 186) as the stones violently press his chest. Integrity seems to be an important factor in the lives of the people, and also in the church.
In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” Flannery O'Connor shows us that in some situation the very humans that preach the good lord's name everyday will throw away all their teachings in a instance to save their own life. While in “On Her Catholic Faith” she tells us why her faith is unwavering and that she will never disbelieve, which important because the whole point in religion is to trust God's choices. A religious belief should not be broken easily considering if you slightly dis believe what the holy book tell you it could mean you spiraling into a demon infested hell hole. In the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” we see that religion doesn’t turn out to be the most important thing to the grandmother after all. Throughout the story you perceive her as a very religious person, someone who would never give up her faith.
During the Renaissance time period, religious beliefs and views were considered a major role in society. The conscience of those living in the time, was often being judged by God. Evil could be interpreted in ways dealing with your belief in God and what powers and laws he had for the people. Thomas More is faced with a cross roads of whether to take the route of joining the King and risk betraying God’s rules of marriage, or to take sides with the church and believe in God and respect his authority of ruler of the nations. Thomas More takes the side of the church and follows the idea that God judges the consciences of all, and if one is against God, then that person could be considered evil.