One of the utmost ideological thinkers in American History could be Emerson. Ralph Waldo Emerson has influenced the thoughts and practices of all of the readers of his work. His literature is credited with changing the way people viewed their religion and their place on earth. His writings hold deep roots in religious thoughts that at the time were considered extremely radical. The irony of Emerson’s work is that the skepticism that removed him from the church is what one of the most pronounced themes became across his essays.
Joe Webb, author of this article, terms the success of Emerson’s work as “an army of followers devoted to a transcendental reflection of God manifested in the daily surroundings of nature.” (514) Emerson’s texts captivated …show more content…
In fact, Webb believes that they are so closely related “that a discussion of one almost necessitates a discussion of the other.” (515) Emerson and Paine found their beliefs through different methods, but their end standpoint was extremely similar. Paine’s views on religion are best described as a Deist Theory of religion. As Emerson comes to discover his own beliefs, he will be led in a similar direction. Instead of relying on proof of God like other Christians at the time did, Emerson and Paine looked to creation as enough evidence of God’s …show more content…
Many people were not happy that the church was being challenged. They didn’t like that their personal beliefs were being looked down upon, especially when Emerson and Paine questioned Jesus. The two scholars’ believed that he was the greatest man to ever live on Earth, but they split from the general population by not believing in his divinity. Many Americans though that the writings of Emerson and Paine crushed hope that they had for a life after death. In his essay “Nature” Emerson describes how through life he discovered that nature and Jesus are both representations of God. Nature is beautiful like God, and Jesus is as close to human like that God can become. Paine looked at Jesus’s birth and death with a more reasonable approach. “Paine believed that the Church, however, had for many years ignored the principles taught by Christ, instead using the stories of his miraculous birth and death to justify the imposition of its own awful self-perpetuating tyranny on its subjects” (522) Paine would rather follow the teachings of Jesus directly, than follow the interpretations found in the Church and
Joe Webb, author of this article, terms the success of Emerson’s work as “an army of followers devoted to a transcendental reflection of God manifested in the daily surroundings of nature.” (514) Emerson’s texts captivated …show more content…
In fact, Webb believes that they are so closely related “that a discussion of one almost necessitates a discussion of the other.” (515) Emerson and Paine found their beliefs through different methods, but their end standpoint was extremely similar. Paine’s views on religion are best described as a Deist Theory of religion. As Emerson comes to discover his own beliefs, he will be led in a similar direction. Instead of relying on proof of God like other Christians at the time did, Emerson and Paine looked to creation as enough evidence of God’s …show more content…
Many people were not happy that the church was being challenged. They didn’t like that their personal beliefs were being looked down upon, especially when Emerson and Paine questioned Jesus. The two scholars’ believed that he was the greatest man to ever live on Earth, but they split from the general population by not believing in his divinity. Many Americans though that the writings of Emerson and Paine crushed hope that they had for a life after death. In his essay “Nature” Emerson describes how through life he discovered that nature and Jesus are both representations of God. Nature is beautiful like God, and Jesus is as close to human like that God can become. Paine looked at Jesus’s birth and death with a more reasonable approach. “Paine believed that the Church, however, had for many years ignored the principles taught by Christ, instead using the stories of his miraculous birth and death to justify the imposition of its own awful self-perpetuating tyranny on its subjects” (522) Paine would rather follow the teachings of Jesus directly, than follow the interpretations found in the Church and