Unlimited Submission” is revered as one of the most influential texts of the American revolution even though it never directly mentions the colonies revolting against King George III. Mayhew camouflages his message by discussing a broader idea; if Christians should suffer under an unjust and sinful ruler. This discussion could be applied to almost any ruler but by discussing the resistance of King Charles I he links it to British rulers; which would cause people to draw parallels between King Charles I and King George III. These parallels are furthered in the conclusion; Mayhew is complimenting King George but even mentioning King George III in a positive light but after listening to this whole sermon people were sure to think about this sermon
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His delivery is successful due to the religious rhetoric he uses and the analogies he uses. He is successful in his mission to argue that Christians do not have to submit to an unjust ruler because he used religious rhetoric. By using religion as a tool for revolution Mayhew is able to reflect on ideas that were not favored at that time period. Religion was very important to those living in the 18th century and it was easier to use religion to convince people of something. If he did not mask his ideas in religion people wouldn't have listened to him, but people wanted to be good Christians; they wanted to fulfill their christian duties and go to Heaven. Mayhew made resisting and overthrowing a bad leader a new Christian duty in his sermon. In 1750 people didn't have to resist the King yet but Mayhew was preparing them for the future. Due to religious devotion during the revolutionary period the colonist had to think that God was on their side and wanted them to declare independence. If Mayhew never wrote this sermon the revolution probably would have still happened but it would have been delayed by questions of what God wanted. With “unlimited submission” to look back upon the colonists were able to enter the revolution with confidence that God approved of their actions; without “unlimited submission” the course of American history would
His delivery is successful due to the religious rhetoric he uses and the analogies he uses. He is successful in his mission to argue that Christians do not have to submit to an unjust ruler because he used religious rhetoric. By using religion as a tool for revolution Mayhew is able to reflect on ideas that were not favored at that time period. Religion was very important to those living in the 18th century and it was easier to use religion to convince people of something. If he did not mask his ideas in religion people wouldn't have listened to him, but people wanted to be good Christians; they wanted to fulfill their christian duties and go to Heaven. Mayhew made resisting and overthrowing a bad leader a new Christian duty in his sermon. In 1750 people didn't have to resist the King yet but Mayhew was preparing them for the future. Due to religious devotion during the revolutionary period the colonist had to think that God was on their side and wanted them to declare independence. If Mayhew never wrote this sermon the revolution probably would have still happened but it would have been delayed by questions of what God wanted. With “unlimited submission” to look back upon the colonists were able to enter the revolution with confidence that God approved of their actions; without “unlimited submission” the course of American history would