Christianity and 18th Century British Literature

3342 Words7 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The role of christianity in the develpment of british literature

Christianity and 18th Century British Literature

"...no matter what kind of pleasure may await his senses, unless it serves exclusively the glory of God, he needs to cut it off of him, giving it up out of his love towards
Jesus Christ..."1

I.

Taking its time to establish a radically theological point of view, this essay aims to apply it to the body of novel literature in 18th century England, probing and inquiring it whether it is in support of Christianity as laid down in the New Testament or not. It assumes the stance of an advocate of "the narrow path", the strict and unforgiving measuring scale of those few taking the Christian way of life truly seriously. Thus, the arguments and deductions featured herein - which are the actual purpose of the piece - may well strike materialist and novel-advocate minds as unnotable and subjective. The author, on the other hand, is firmly convinced - on the grounds of faith - that the conclusions to come are as objective as it is possible, being based on the revelations of the Holy Trinity. All views and opinions featured are his own except where signified.

First of all, we may start the discussion with an analogy that sets the mood and aligns the frame of mind to the possible uncommonness of the argument system to be introduced. The images of this analogy will also come handy later and might ease the essay's overall understanding for those unaccustomed to the exclusively religious take on life.

Picture, if you will, a high wall and thousands of bricks it is comprised of; now picture one of the single bricks coming to life, finding itself as part of the wall.
This brick in the wall is unable to measure the dimensions of the structure it was built inside. In case it could come loose and jump out of the wall with the help of a supernatural force, it might be frightened at the sight of the oppressive building it used to support for long - and vow never to return to it, but serve its saviour instead.

The only means of establishing a distance between the Truth and human culture's tailormade 'truth' we indulge in does not seem to be any of the traditional manmade tools for extracting and gathering knowledge: psychology, sociology, philosophy and their clever alloys leave us running in circles when seeking the cure for all the ominous signs and phenomena in our society.

Show More
Related

  • Jessica Hollon's 'Hydrotherapy At Alcatraz'

    400 Words  | 1 Pages

    The walls are decomposing and breaking, insinuating escape but in all reality, it is the walls that have kept

    Read More

  • Julian Of Norwich Concerning Liturgical Language Analysis

    2270 Words  | 5 Pages

    Julian of Norwich lived during a time of great fear dominated by economic and physical hardships, feudal era of control, fear of death from the bubonic plague, corruption within the church’s hierarchy and doubt and insincerity was rampant amongst believers. Living a simple existence she depende...

    Read More

  • Perspectives on the Book of Job

    3550 Words  | 8 Pages

    René de Chateaubriand, François.  The Beauties of Christianity.  The Hebrew Bible In Literary Criticism.  Ed. and Comp. Alex Preminger and Edward L. Greenstein.  New York: Ungar, 1986.  445.

    Read More

  • Christianity in Early-Modern Europe

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    The role of religion in early-modern Europe (from about 1400 to 1700) religion remained an essential ‘lens’ through which members of this period viewed their lives and the world around them. The influence of religious outlooks was always important during this time period. This can be seen through Cabeza de Vaca’s Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America, Michel de Montaigne’s On Cannibals, and the political works of philosophers Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. These authors’ works can only be understood and put into proper context with an understanding of the religious lens through which they wrote.

    Read More

  • King James and Catholocism

    2916 Words  | 6 Pages

    Traditionally, historians have felt that Catholicism was hopelessly fractured at the time of James’s accession to the English throne. Whig historians felt the Elizabethan settlement had set the fate of English Catholicism and Catholicism would soon dwindle away . However, this preliminary evaluation is flawed because the role of English Catholi...

    Read More

  • Witchcraft in the 15th century

    2105 Words  | 5 Pages

    In conclusion, though I have shown support for the religion theory most of all in this paper, I do believe that it was not one aspect that set this craze off. Many different theories overlapped to form this tragic and lengthy period of England’s history. Obviously, from the notes we’ve taken in this class, we realize that religion did and always will play a major role in England, or any other country for that matter. Perhaps from this spectacle of unnecessary death, we can learn that any institution, given too much power can, even unwillingly, prove dangerous.

    Read More

  • The Christianization Of England: The Transformation Of English Christianity

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 8th century, Europe lacked the cohesion that it once possessed during the time of Roman Empire. Barbarian Kings had taken control of different regions of Europe, including England. Due to this the former Western Roman Empire no longer had the singular identity that it once held. While England may have no longer held a Roman identity, England did continue to hold a Christian identity, which eventually became an identity connected to the Roman Church. While the Christianization of England can be attributed to many connections, and people, I would argue that the mission of Gregory, and the Synod of Whitby were pivotal points in the development of a distinct Roman Christian Identity in England and that this identity helped to change the

    Read More

  • Jewish Synagogue Visit

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    Upon entering the room, I noticed a long white lattice fence in the middle of the room. It was a partition d...

    Read More

  • Religion In The 18th Century

    273 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the eighteenth century, many people believed that society could not function properly without religion, even though the thought of the time was heavily based off of antireligion. The popular and institutional religion differed greatly in the eighteenth century. Churches still remained to be a big part of everyday life. Parish church kept records of births, deaths, and marriages, provided charity for the poor, supervised whatever primary education there was; and cared for orphans. Catholic and protestant churches were conservative institutions that upheld society’s hierarchical structure, privileged classes and traditions. Protestant religions were considered to be more conservative the wealthy people ran them,

    Read More

  • Medieval Piety

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    Religion in the Middle Ages takes on a character all of its own as it is lived out differently in the lives of medieval men and women spanning from ordinary laity to vehement devotees. Though it is difficult to identify what the average faith consists of in the Middle Ages, the life told of a radical devotee in The Book of Margery Kempe provides insight to the highly intense version of medieval paths of approaching Christ. Another medieval religious text, The Cloud of Unknowing, provides a record of approaching the same Christ. I will explore the consistencies and inconsistencies of both ways to approach Christ and religious fulfillment during the Middle Ages combined with the motivations to do so on the basis of both texts.

    Read More

  • Kathy Prendergast 'Introduction To The Gothic Tradition'

    1523 Words  | 4 Pages

    In what follows, my research paper will rely on an article by Kathy Prendergast entitled “Introduction to The Gothic Tradition”. The significance of this article resides in helping to recapitulate the various features of the Gothic tradition. In this article the authoress argues that in order to overturn the Enlightenment and realistic literary mores, many of the eighteenth century novelists had recourse to traditional Romantic conventions in their works of fiction, like the Arthurian legendary tales (Prendergast).

    Read More

  • The English Reformation

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    Though there was no driving force like Luther, Zwingli or Calvin during the English Reformation, it succeeded because certain people strived for political power and not exactly for religious freedom. People like Queen Elizabeth I and Henry VIII brought the Reformation in England much success, however their reasons were based on self-gain and desire for political power.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Christianity And Islam

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    Religion is an organized collection of beliefs and cultural systems that entail the worship of a supernatural and metaphysical being. “Religion just like other belief systems, when held onto so much, can stop one from making significant progress in life”. Together with religion come traditions that provide the people with ways to tackle life’s complexities. A subscription to the school of thought of great scholars

    Read More

  • The Renaissance and Humanism

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    Grierson, Herbert. Cross-Currents in 17th Century English Literature: The World, he Flesh, and the Spirit. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958.

    Read More

  • Comparing Christianity And Buddhism Salvation

    979 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Century of Theological and Religious Studies in Britain, 1902–2007 by Ernest Nicholson 2004 pages 125–126

    Read More

More about Christianity and 18th Century British Literature

Open Document