Christianity is expressed in the writings of Emily Dickinson from a personal perspective which relates to a person’s separation from the modern-day church, along with organized religion. Dickinson’s poems 1577 and 236 challenges the importance of religious sanctions and beliefs, such as attending a church service in “Go to Church on the Sabbath”, as seen in poem 236, and an interpretation of the Bible in poem 1577. This reveals that individuality can affect a person’s faith and commitment to the religious world. Dickinson encourages freedom and versatility of the religious world claiming that the importance of these spiritual objects is self-determined as opposed to following organized religion.
Dickinson’s two poems challenge the importance …show more content…
Not only is this poem an example of hypocrisy from Dickinson, for those that attend church, she also attacks the church service itself by stating, “The sermon has never been long” (84). Dickinson ensures that being a Christian is a lifelong commitment, which is not something temporary like a church service. This justifies her confidence in her salvation by claiming that a church’s service is a momentary thing as opposed to not attending it. With this confidence, one’s faith can dwindle because Dickinson encourages that it is unnecessary to attend service to be saved. She focuses more on what happens outside the church. Clearly, the idea of attending church was taken into consideration and she had attended at least one service. But this seems unnecessary to the poet. Dickinson appears frustrated with the modern-day church, which has determined her feelings toward it. Therefore, she embraces her religious freedom. Along with modern day people, church service has been minimized of its importance for multiple reasons like Dickinson’s, encouraging them to embrace individuality with the religious …show more content…
In poem 1577, Dickinson challenges the importance and meaning of the most symbolic people and stories of the Bible. The Bible has been around for centuries and has been interpreted multiple ways. Ironically, Dickinson’s interpretation expresses it as a common book. She calls it “an antique Volume- written by faded men” (97), which degrades the Bible of its significance. The Bible is minimized to a regular story with regular characters. She relates important characters and gives basic descriptions of important figures in the Bible, such as Eden, Satan, and David, which makes it more personal and less religious (97). For example, she calls “Judas the Great Defaulter” and “David a Troubadour” (97). The comparisons showcase Dickinson’s religious freedom because her personal interpretation of the Bible is unlike someone that believes it is held to a higher standard. It is ironic because Dickinson grew up around the Bible being the center of everything in school and in her household as a child, but her interpretation lacks the symbolic importance that everyone else had, such as her family and
Dickinson’s two poems challenge the importance …show more content…
Not only is this poem an example of hypocrisy from Dickinson, for those that attend church, she also attacks the church service itself by stating, “The sermon has never been long” (84). Dickinson ensures that being a Christian is a lifelong commitment, which is not something temporary like a church service. This justifies her confidence in her salvation by claiming that a church’s service is a momentary thing as opposed to not attending it. With this confidence, one’s faith can dwindle because Dickinson encourages that it is unnecessary to attend service to be saved. She focuses more on what happens outside the church. Clearly, the idea of attending church was taken into consideration and she had attended at least one service. But this seems unnecessary to the poet. Dickinson appears frustrated with the modern-day church, which has determined her feelings toward it. Therefore, she embraces her religious freedom. Along with modern day people, church service has been minimized of its importance for multiple reasons like Dickinson’s, encouraging them to embrace individuality with the religious …show more content…
In poem 1577, Dickinson challenges the importance and meaning of the most symbolic people and stories of the Bible. The Bible has been around for centuries and has been interpreted multiple ways. Ironically, Dickinson’s interpretation expresses it as a common book. She calls it “an antique Volume- written by faded men” (97), which degrades the Bible of its significance. The Bible is minimized to a regular story with regular characters. She relates important characters and gives basic descriptions of important figures in the Bible, such as Eden, Satan, and David, which makes it more personal and less religious (97). For example, she calls “Judas the Great Defaulter” and “David a Troubadour” (97). The comparisons showcase Dickinson’s religious freedom because her personal interpretation of the Bible is unlike someone that believes it is held to a higher standard. It is ironic because Dickinson grew up around the Bible being the center of everything in school and in her household as a child, but her interpretation lacks the symbolic importance that everyone else had, such as her family and