Who Was Benjamin Franklin Religion Essay Example

Who Was Benjamin Franklin Religion Essay Example Who Was Benjamin Franklin Religion Paper Who Was Benjamin Franklin Religion Paper Benjamin Franklin s thoughts on God and human nature were significantly different from the puritan norm at the clip. A While Franklin saw God as a good and wise Godhead, the Puritans feared Him as an Godhead being. A The Puritans saw human nature as the ultimate conduit for wickedness, while Franklin believed that worlds as merchandises of God were good at bosom. A Franklin believed in a God discrete from both adult male s activity on Earth and the puritan ideal of who He was, and in worlds non as slaves to transgress and salvation, but as Masterss of their ain fate. Puritanism was a really widely held belief system in the early settlements. A direct descendent of Calvinism, Puritanism had strong roots among a huge figure of the settlers throughout early American colonies. As a religious order of Christianity, they believed in the bible as the word of God, and Jesus as God s boy. It was common for Puritans of the clip to fear God and look at all bad luck that befell them as penalty for their wickednesss. And as it struck my manus, so it struck my bosom ; for I all of a sudden rose up and went into a wood ; and there I cried bitterly, and now concluded that God, God had found me out. ( Dane, 4 ) The puritan God can about be seen as a oppressive leader ; one who strikes fear into the Black Marias of His topics, yet demands their love and regard. Franklin s semi-present creator-God was clearly different from that of the penalizing superintendent of the Puritans. Franklin was one of few freethinkers at the clip. It is said that had he published his free thought tract 30 old ages before, he would hold risked imprisonment and executing in the British Empire. The norms of the clip, the Puritans, were an overpowering bulk. The puritan God was ever at that place, ever watching over his creative activities. As John Dane repeated from his female parent, aˆÂ ¦Go where you will, God he will happen you out. ( Dane, 2 ) The Puritans spent their lives with the of all time present impression of God s wrath hanging over their shoulders. Franklin s God was non the same entity. He was the Godhead, and that to Franklin was every bit far as His relationship with adult male went. God did non animate adult male to compose the books of the bible, nor did he direct His Son to decease on a cross for adult male s wickedness. aˆÂ ¦after d oubting by bends of several pointsaˆÂ ¦ I began to doubt of Revelation itself. ( Franklin, 5 ) Franklin s God gave adult male life and free will, and so gave him the reigns to command his ain fate. The puritan construct of human nature was based on the thought of original wickedness. Original wickedness is a term used to depict the Bible s narrative of Adam and Eve eating the fruit from the tree of good and evil under enticement of Satan. Puritans believed that because of this original wickedness, worlds are all inherently corrupt and impure of head ; because adult male is born into wickedness, it is impossible for him to get away it. Your best responsibilities are tainted, poisoned, and mingled with some wickedness, and hence are most abominable in the eyes of a holy God. ( Wigglesworth, 4 ) In the eyes of the church, the lone redemptive quality of human nature was that they themselves were made by God. They were obedient to God and His word because they were afraid of his penalty. The lone hope the Puritans had in life was that they might be chosen in God s eyes as worthy of salvation. Franklin saw the nature of worlds in a really different visible radiation. While he did look to God for wisdom and penetration, he believed that adult male could be good without God. He came to this decision non with faith, but with intellect and logic. He created a list of 13 virtuousnesss that he believed could convey a adult male to moral flawlessness. These excessively were non created with any peculiar spiritual religious order in head, but instead with the thought that all people could break themselves through them. aˆÂ ¦that barbarous actions are non hurtful because they are out, but forbidden because they are hurtful, the nature of adult male entirely consideredaˆÂ ¦ ( Franklin, 15 ) He believed that immorality or morally incorrect actions were incorrect, non because God said so, but because they were hurtful to humanity. Human nature by itself was non corrupt, and it was possible for a adult male to be genuinely good. Franklin s beliefs on human nature were different in many ways than that of the Puritans. While the Puritans saw adult male as basically evil from construct, Franklin saw adult male as able to make his ain fate. While both parties believed in God as being of import to the life of work forces, Franklin saw his importance as more of a usher, and less as a rigorous way like that of the Puritans. The Puritans had merely one manner to accomplish completion in life ; to gain God s salvation. Franklin believed that as adult male tried to be a better individual, he was accomplishing his fate in life. aˆÂ ¦tho I neer arrived at the flawlessness I had been so ambitious of obtainingaˆÂ ¦ I was, by the enterprise, a better and happier adult male than I otherwise should hold been if I had non attempted itaˆÂ ¦ ( Franklin, 14 ) The Puritans did non believe this was the instance, as good plants to them intend nil if God did non give favour. Your good responsibilities can non salv age you, yet your bad plants will curse you. ( Wigglesworth, 4 ) The separate parties thought of human nature was straight affected by their several thoughts of God. The Puritans believed in a God that was almighty and all embracing. They thought of themselves as unworthy animals without intent, and merely with the favour of God did they have any opportunity of felicity on this Earth or after it. aˆÂ ¦everyone sinned in Adam and everyone deserves ageless deathaˆÂ ¦ ( Wigglesworth, 4 ) Franklin saw a God that was less involved in the lives of work forces. He put much more accent on the worth of a individual s plants and enterprises, and less on whether or non this individual had been chosen by God. aˆÂ ¦there was in [ my strategy ] no grade of any of the separating renters of any peculiar religious order. I had intentionally avoided themaˆÂ ¦ that it might be serviceable to people of all religionsaˆÂ ¦ ( Franklin, 15 ) Both group s ideals were founded in belief, and were clearly different because of the differences in the belief of each several God. Equally much as the Puritan ideals were similar to that of the freethinker Benjamin Franklin, the differences of each religion is what defines them. Franklin believed in a God based in logic, while the Puritans God was founded in religion and tradition. From this belief in separate Supreme beings, separate belief in human nature arose ; the Puritans believing in Human nature as immorality and Franklin believing in it as independent and merely. Franklin found that the way to righteousness could be obtained through good plants that bettered humanity ; while the Puritans believed that merely rigorous attachment to the guidelines set Forth by God could convey redemption. Each point of position has its ain foundations and each gives historians a different yet every bit relevant position on life in the early American settlements.

10 Leadership Assignments

10 Leadership Assignments There are numerous  components to leadership, and many of them are written about frequently. In fact, I wrote a blog five years ago, Would You Follow You? Top 10 Ways to Be a Leader, where I listed my top 10 picks of leadership qualities. A lot of these traits would still be on my list. What’s missing  from the  list, however, is practical advice on  how to  improve in those highlighted  leadership  areas. For instance, if you are not delivering clear, consistent communication, what can you do to start doing so? If you are not leading with vision, what will get you there? It’s easy to read lists and say â€Å"that’s great†- but how will you change your behavior to increase your effectiveness? The Assignment Way of Living At the Wright Foundation for Human Potential, where I do the bulk of my leadership training, I have discovered what’s called the â€Å"assignment way of living.† At any given time, I am working on anywhere from two to four assignments. Of course, having assignments is not useful unless you DO them, and I’m usually a pretty responsible student, so I do them as much as possible. Being a great leader, and living into all the qualities that make a leader, takes doing your homework. The cool thing about this is that homework can be fun and even nourishing! In the group I’m currently working with at Wright, each of us has a leadership assignment to further our growth. I thought I would share these with you so that you can get a sense of how the â€Å"assignment way of living† can further your own growth as a leader. Alpha. This one sounds best for people whose names begin with the letter â€Å"A† (e.g., Alpha Annie). But it works regardless of the first letter of your name! The Alpha assignment will be good for you if you are someone, perhaps a project manager, who wants to be an outstanding planner- and be so good at planning that others follow your example. It includes planning for breakdowns and having contingency plans in place. Gone Viral. This assignment will help you if you want to generate more enthusiasm and increase your ability to energize a group, mobilizing them toward goals and a mission. You will start giving more recognition to others, thus garnering their support and investment. Both Sides of the Telescope. This assignment requires looking at yourself inquisitively and as accurately as possible, at the same time as you look at others. This action creates mutuality and also a clear picture of your own skill gaps and the skill gaps of others so that steps can be taken to fill them. Then of course, you take those steps. Happy Customers. This one is pretty straightforward. Its purpose is to help you anticipate, elicit, and respond effectively to objections! When you do this, you become more capable of keeping customers happy when inevitable objections arise. In-the-Moment Visions. This is my assignment and it’s meant for someone whose job it is to set agendas and guide people. One trick here is to have a clear vision for myself that I share with my team. I had known it was important to set visions for projects and to create visions for other people. But I’m discovering that when I share my own vision for myself with others, they often want to support me in making that vision a reality. O.V. (Points of View) on the Scene. This assignment is helpful for increasing your influence. By presenting your own point of view, your can persuade others to shift their thinking and action- even in difficult and pressure-filled situations. Good Done. Complete daily tasks and deliverables on time and on budget. The vision here is to meet goals and deadlines consistently, and anticipate when a goal will not be met so you can apply alternative plans to meet the goal. Scan Report (In Out). In this assignment you work on scanning for problems as well as synergies to determine what is wanted and needed. Done well, this assignment will make you the person the team turns to as an antenna to get a read on the pulse of the team. Busy Honey Bee. The honey bee assignment encourages you to be thorough and do your due diligence. You will be on top of details and set standards for others to follow. Losada Colada. I had this assignment last year. Someone with this assignment becomes more inspiring by saying at least 3 positive things for each negative thing she says. People start to like her more and want to please her more. This is by no means a complete list of leadership assignments. The possibilities are truly endless and I encourage you to have fun with creating assignments and assignment names that will move you toward your leadership goals. - An Invitation If you want to get a more comprehensive introduction to the â€Å"assignment way of living,† I encourage you to attend the Foundations Training at the Wright Foundation for the Realization of Human Potential in Chicago. Contact me through the form on my site and I will provide you with a code to come to the weekend at no cost.