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How Did Benjamin Franklin Influence His Religious Beliefs

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Benjamin Franklin was a Christian Theist. He believed there was one God and that He was all powerful and good. In his autobiography he tells about his religious growth as he gets older. Franklin did have flaws in his faith and he was very self-absorbed and competitive, this would influence the way he saw God and how he would try to gain his salvation with actions. “My Parents had early given me religious Impressions, and brought me through my Childhood piously in the Dissenting Way. But I was scarce 15 when, after doubting by turns of several Points as I found them disputed in the different Books I read, I began to doubt of Revelation itself.” (1.88). Franklin’s parents influenced him religiously. They had respect of God and felt they had …show more content…
“And now I speak of thanking God, I desire with all Humility to acknowledge, that I owe the mention'd Happiness of my past Life to his kind Providence, which led me to the Means I us'd and gave them Success.” (1.2). Franklin writes about God’s goodness and his blessing and how He led him to success. He also thanks God and wants to tell people how He blessed him. He showed humility in that way. “It was wonderful to see the Change soon made in the Manners of our Inhabitants; from being thoughtless or indifferent about Religion, it seem'd as if all the World were growing Religious; so that one could not walk thro' the Town in an Evening without Hearing Psalms sung in different Families of every Street.” (3.20). Franklin may not have thought the change in society was a good thing (wonderful at the time didn’t actually mean the same thing it does now) but he was open-minded and supportive of it. To conclude, Benjamin Franklin had doubts in The Bible that started with his parents beliefs and actions. He was very generous and giving of his resources. He regularly gave to the church. He was grateful of his opportunities and knew that it was God who led him to his achievements and

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