The Puritans wanted to remove all practice and rituals of Catholicism from Europe. John Winthrop and fellow Puritans were frustrated with religious activities in England, “All other Churches of Europe are brought to desolation and or sinnes”. He believed that the Church was corrupted and that the lord “Frowned upon us, doe threatens us fearfully”. Winthrop believed that England was invaded by evil and ran by a corrupted Government, and that the roots for religious learning were being disturbed. They feared to live in such sinful society, because they believed that God predestined people to salvation and others were damned for the rest of time.
Before the plague death was accepted and welcome. Now it was look upon as something to fear. “Some of the people were upset with the priest because they only would see the rich for money and they could not cure the plague as they had promised. (Religious Impact, 11-14-2005). In some cases it causes people to change to more extreme forms of religion like the flagellants, this was a movement that called for them to beat themselves for punishment.
Religious Intolerance in American History The stories that fill our history books and that are taught by teachers across this country today, oftentimes read like storybook fairytales with regard to important historical events in American History. Many may be surprised to learn that our history, surrounding matters of religion, is marred with controversy and depraved behavior that nonetheless shaped our country and made it what it is today. Thomas Tweed maintains in his book Retelling U.S. History that “To teach a history that excludes large areas of American culture and ignores the experiences of significant segments of the American people, is to teach a history that fails to touch us, that fails to explain America to us or to anyone else”
The gods believed that they were so intolerable that they express that, “sleep is no longer possible by reason of babel” (“Gilgamesh, The Flood Story” 23). The gods believed them to be loud and pesky, and found no solution fitting other than termination through inundation. The Bible’s account of the reasoning for the flood is much more in-depth and has a more deeply rooted meaning. God saw that there was evil in man’s heart, and He knew that to fix this problem meant to abolish man. While the Sumerian gods believed that people were pests, the Christian God believed people were becoming naturally evil.
The statement, “And when a man seriously reflects on the idolatrous homage which is paid to the persons of kings he need not wonder, that the Almighty, ever jealous of his honor, should disapprove of a form of government which so impiously invades the prerogative of heaven” (Paine 5) reveals the idea of the colonists’ morals. Paine states that if people are worshiping a king it is a sin, because it would be defying God since he should be the only ruler and one to idolize. God would be furious with the colonists because they are disobeying him. This would make the colonists fearful of not being loyal to God which would result in them disliking the idea of a king. Since a major part of the colonists’ lifestyle is religion, this is an effective technique because people do not want to defy God.
He also makes it seem like everything is crumbling around Paul, and destroying all hope of survival and return to normal life for anyone who had experienced the front line. This is very different from pro-war poetry, which makes war seem fun. Something Remarque does either subconsciously or very well, is to make you feel sorry for the German and Central Powers’ soldiers, and to grow a subliminal hate for the allied soldiers, no matter who’s side you came in on. The Textbook also does this well, but in reverse. The Textbook gives off a sense of dislike towards the Central Powers, and made them seem primitive and destructive for no reason.
His fickle favor toward his servants, and not to mention his family, proves his inconsistency and instability. Although appointed by the gods, his reign has exposed the abused and misused privilege of representing the gods in his earthly position. King Creon’s irrational edict stated that any man who dares to bury Polyneices would suffer death by stoning. Is it a mere human’s prerogative to determine another man’s eternal fate? Because Antigone had nothing left to live for, while knowing the sentence of stoning, Antigone defied King Creon’s edict in order to fulfill her duty.
Before Dimmesdale kills himself, he admits his sin to the whole town. Also, Dimmesdale receives treatment from Hester’s husband, Chillingworth, who knows their secret, and is trying to get revenge on them both. Chillingworth ends up realizing that he is going insane with trying to get revenge and believes that he has sinned more than both of them. The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne uses satire to poke fun of the Puritan attitude toward sinning and the punishments of sinning. The reader learns from the text that the Puritan religion looked down on the idea of sin and punishes sinners harshly.
Their decision to turn away from God-despite living in paradise because of him- created the first evil and gave rise to original sin, something all humans are born with (According to Catholicism.) The misuse of free will in turning away from God leads to obsession to worldly objects such as money. It is important to note that Augustine does not believe money is evil, he believes obsession with money, and any other secular object for that matter, draws away from God and leads the soul to sin. With obsession, as is human nature, comes addiction. Augustine believed that addiction was excessively evil, and as well as being a sin, conflicted with the process of free will.
John Blake writes about his interview with pastor, Andy Stanley, in his article “A New Challenge for Andy Stanley.” In the article, Stanley says, “What preachers once taught as biblical truth-slavery is sanctioned by God; women aren’t allowed to preach; gambling and dancing are sins-is now rejected by many churches.” This not only confirms that America’s society does change to accommodate other beliefs, but also that these changes can be good things. The Civil War proves my previous point that these changes don’t always come easily. Today, we are faced with the tension of integrating minority religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism into a Judeo-Christian society due to ignorance and fear of Muslims. We can only speculate what the future holds for these groups and American Society. However, based on what I know of our nation’s history, I expect great things in the end.