Atheism

John Bunyan writes The Pilgrim’s Progress to assert his beliefs about proper Christianity. Throughout his novel, Bunyan constantly uses his characters’ actions and words to show readers what he believes to be the correct version of Christianity. He publishes The Pilgrim’s Progress during the Protestant Revolution, a time when people start to think for themselves and choose their own beliefs. Consequently, Bunyan’s novel judges non-Lutheran faiths and glorifies his beliefs in what may be an…

Mad Men In the 1700’s, there were a plethora of different religious beliefs ranging from atheism to Puritanism. Benjamin Franklin was among those who had mixed beliefs. His religious views, as stated in his “Letter to Ezra Stiles,” can mostly be considered Deistic. Franklin believed there was punishment at the beginning of the afterlife to attone for immoral behavior on Earth. He also believed that God did not intervene on Earth, but solely governed His creation by His Providence and His…

The question that is so mystical...“Is there a God?” Religions of all sorts are based on some formation of a God or Goddess. But, then there are the beliefs of no existence, nor intellectual concern of belief. Throughout history humanity has gained insight of experiences or evidential beliefs of a path that follows the path, in the righteous footsteps of a God. The questions of God’s existence, raise different views of one’s belief. Religious arguments arise from the questions of God’s form,…

In this paper I will discuss the charges Meletus brings against Socrates in Plato’s Apology and the arguments that Socrates provides in his defense. Then, I will evaluate these arguments by considering what they establish, how they work, and, ultimately, whether or not they succeed in showing that Socrates is not guilty of Meletus’ charges. Meletus brings two charges against Socrates: (1) “Socrates is guilty of corrupting the young,” and (2) “of not acknowledging the gods the city acknowledges,…

Although he wrote Mere Christianity, Lewis was not always a Christian. Lewis grew up in a Christian home, but through the pain and suffering he walked away from his faith and turned to atheism. Ultimately, his belief in atheism did not last because he realized that there is a God. Instead of trying to defend atheism, he began doing broadcast talks about the idea of pain and suffering that highly interested him. The idea of pain and suffering intrigued him because of the awful sites he …

Percy B. Shelley, was a British author who started a journey to rebellion; starting with himself. Shelley began practicing atheism once he left home around the age of 12. Once his family learned of his religious practices they soon disowned them. Shelley then went in a downward spiral, he was opposed to anything that dealt with God and the bible. Shelley's whole world was then turned upside down due to him not following the path that his family set for him. Shelley's life was very different from…

Scottish Enlightenment In his book, Reading the Scottish Enlightenment: Books and Their Readers in Provincial Scotland, author Mark R.M. Towsey set out to discover the history of reading and how popular books by the likes of David Hume and William Robertson were received in 18th century Scotland. Towsey delves into historical library catalogues in hopes to uncover the impact that certain books had on readers lives and personal beliefs in order to gain perspective on how readers from different…

C.S. Lewis was an incredibly gifted author of his time. Most of Lewis’s literary works such as The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity are considered timeless works of success because of the literary elements Lewis used that made his works so prominent. The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity are significant novels because both contain certain elements, symbols, and meanings that continue to strongly impact society. Lewis also wrote his novels through personal feelings and…

Small Town Religion Growing up in a very small town with many different churches there was always something going on at one of them. On Wednesdays after school, you could find me at the Baptist church, but on Sundays find me at the United Methodist church for youth group ice cream dates. In the summer, I would travel to Turner Falls for a Baptist church camp, but also travel to Hinton for a Methodist church camp. Both of my parents were raised Baptist so obviously raised my younger sister…

A Teenager’s Search for Meaning Book Review Marjoire Corbman, the author of “A Tiny Step Away from the Deepest Faith”, was only fifteen when she wrote a letter to Frederixa Mathewes Green describing to him her searching journey that brought her to Jesus and Christianity. Mathewes, at first thought the letter must have been a fraud, as no mere teenager could have written with such depth, understanding and character. To his utter amazement Mathewes was incorrect and, in so being, was…