Erasmus vs Luther; Discourse on Free

Erasmus vs Luther; Discourse on Free Will Essay The Erasmus-Luther Discourse on Free Will begins with the Diatribe concerning free will, written by Erasmus. Luther then refutes Erasmus Diatribe with The Bondage of the Will. The question being debated is whether man is in control of his own will, or whether everything is preordained by God, thus leaving man without free will. Their diverging philosophies have been interpreted as being the basic difference between Catholic and Protestant positions regarding free will. This debate offers two very conflicting views, although both philosophies were basic principles in their respective religions. Erasmus builds his argument without a solid foundation; like building a house without a foundation, it can easily crumble. Thus, Luther convincingly attacks Erasmus Diatribe. Erasmus holds that man is left with the choice of doing either good or evil. It is mans choice and therefore, free will exists. In the opinion of Erasmus, the freedom of the will in Holy Scriptures is as follows: if on the road to piety, one should continue eagerly to improve; if one has become involved in sin, one should make every effort to extricate oneself, and to solicit the mercy of the Lord. Two conclusions concerning Erasmus beliefs can be drawn from this statement; firstly that man can himself find repentance and secondly that God is infallible, meaning that a person engages in evil acts with his own will. The definition of free will given by Erasmus is the power of the human will whereby man can apply to or turn away from that which leads unto eternal salvation. While addressing the topic of Adam and Eve, Erasmus states, In man, will was so good and so free that even without additional grace it could have remained in a state of innocence, though not without help of grace could it attain the blessedness of eternal life, as the Lord Jesus promised his people. Erasmus, therefore, believes eternal salvation is attainable with the help and mercy of God, but Erasmus also believes that Adam and Eve caused man to have original sin. Erasmus goes on to write, In those without extraordinary grace the reason is darkened, but not extinguished. Probably the same occurs to the power of the will: it is not completely extinct but unproductive of virtuous deeds. In short Erasmus believed that man has free will and therefore is punished or rewarded according to the choices he makes. He backs his argument with many quotes from the scripture but so does Luther, thus the argument shifts, and the sense of scripture is the debate. Luther, who wrote The Bondage of the Will to refute what Erasmus had written in the Diatribe, disagrees; stating that man does not have freedom of the will. In the first few pages, Luther proclaims The Holy Scripture is no skeptic, and what He has written into our hearts are no doubts or opinions, but assertions more certain and more firm that all human experience in life itself. Furthermore, he goes on to say The essence of Christianity which you (Erasmus) describe is without Christ, without the Spirit, and chillier than ice Luther immediately implies that Erasmus has not been saved. Luther abhors those who claim to be self-reformers, once again contradicting Erasmus. You say: Who will reform his life? I answer: Nobody! No man can! God has no time for you self-reformers, for they are all hypocrites. The elect who fear God will be reformed by the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the quote that best exemplifies Luthers position is as follows: Thus the human will is like the beast of burden. If God rides it, it wills and goes whence God wills; as the Psalm says, I was a beast of burden before thee (Psalm 72:22) If Satan rides, it wills and goes where Satan wills. Nor may it choose to which rider it will run, nor which it will seek. But the riders themselves contend who shall have and hold it. This philosophy contends that both good and evil are worked by a higher being. Both authors in this work make reference to Judas and his betrayal of Christ. Both parties acknowledge the foreknowledge of God, but Luther proclaims that God willed it. Thus the Protestant faith grew on the principles of predestination and the absolute belief that the scriptures are to be interpreted literally. At no point does Luther ever stray from the central point of his refutation, proving Erasmus wrong by presenting the conclusive evidence needed. Erasmus, on the other hand, never really plants his feet in this argument. Erasmus covers his tracks by changing the terms of the debate throughout his work. For example, Erasmus fails to define the limits within which the reader should think that the will is being acted upon. One can not conclude that Erasmus does not fully believe what he states in his Diatribe, but he admittedly discloses I have always preferred playing the freer field of the muses, than fighting ironclad in close combat. Erasmus proclaims that their debate is in the sense of scripture, yet how can one who defends free will pigeonhole the interpretation of the reader? Luther is much more direct in laying out his arguments and criticizes Erasmus for stating a bare definition without explaining its parts. The debate has very much become a personal matter by the time Luthers discourse commences. There is no mutual agreement whatsoever, thus it is easy to see why the views of Catholics and Protestants were so divergent. Erasmus is clearly trying to convince his readers, most particularly Luther, that free will does indeed exist. Luther continues to stay his course and states that God wills all. Everything is preordained, evil included. Of the assertions, Luther simply states one must delight in assertions to be a Christian at all! While Erasmus seems leery to take a firm stance in his debate, he is changing the circumstances of the debate, which clearly is an attempt to prevent Luther from pinning him down in Luthers The Bondage of the Will. After thoroughly refuting everything Erasmus has stated, Luther proclaims that Erasmus has asserted nothing but made comparisons . Whether there be complete merit in either mans philosophy, Luther has quite convincingly made Erasmus position appear flawed.

Earnest Hemingway Essay -- essays research papers fc

Earnest Hemingway As one of the 20th century's most important and influential writers. His writings drew heavily on his own experiences for his writing. His writing reflected his trouble with relating to women and his tendency to treat them as objects, as he had four marriages and countless affairs, highlighting his theme of alienation and disconnection. Now here is why he is what he is by writing about what he was. Ernest Miller Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, to Dr. Clarence Hemingway and Grace Hall Hemingway. Oak Park was a mainly Protestant, upper middle-class suburb of Chicago that Hemingway would later refer to as a â€Å"town of wide lawns and narrow minds" (Gerogiannis 188). The second among six children, Ernest spent the first two years of his life dressed as a girl by his mother. She called him â€Å"Ernestine† and fantasized that he was the twin of his older sister, as she dressed them both in matching dresses and gave them similar hairstyles (Rozkis 233) As he grew older, however, his father stepped in and insisted that Ernest be â€Å"raised like a man,† teaching Ernest how to behave and introducing him at a young age to hunting, fishing, and boxing, all activities in which he would stay interested for the rest of his life (Gerogiannis) It is perhaps this early start at questioning his manliness and his father’s attempts to drive any femininity out of him that instilled his characteristic obsession with proving his masculinity throughout his life. Schlusemeyer 2 Hemingway received his schooling in the Oak Park public school system. In high school he was mediocre at sports, joining the football, swimming, basketball, and water polo teams and serving as the track team manager (Nelson 5). He began his journalistic career writing for the school paper, the Trapeze, where he wrote his first articles and often humorous pieces in the style of Ring Lardner, a popular satirist of the time. After graduating in the spring of 1917, against the wishes of his parents, he forwent college and took a job as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. It is here that the seeds of his unmistakable staccato writing style were planted as he followed the rules of the Star’s stylebook exactly. â€Å"Use short sentences,† it said. â€Å"Use shor... ...Modified August, 1999. Viewed April 20, 2005. http://www.ernest.hemingway.com Ernest Hemingway in Oak Park, Illinois Last Modified 2004. Viewed April 21, 2005. http://www.ehfop.org Gerogiannis, Nicholas. "Ernest Hemingway." Dictionary of Literary Biography: American Authors in Paris. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1982. 187-211. Meyers, Jeffrey. Hemingway: A Biography. New York: Harper & Row, 1985. Nelson, Raymond S. Ernest Hemingway: Life, Work, and Criticism. Fredericton, N.B., Canada: York Press, 1984. Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time Last Modified January, 1998. Viewed April 21, 2005. http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/hemingway/index.htm Rozkis, Laurie E. Macho, Macho Man: Ernest Hemingway. New York: Pearson Press, 1999. The Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum Last Modified 2002. Viewed April 20, 2005. http://www.hemingwayhome.com Timeless Hemingway. Last Modified January, 2005. Viewed April 20, 2005. http://www.timelesshemingway.com

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Fear is one aspects of human life that can make or break the life of a hero. Being a leader entails a lot in ones life and there are various things that come with leadership. In the ancient set up, leaders normally went to war and they had to come back home having fulfilled their mission. While away, they met or rather faced several challenges that made them either strong or fade away. Kingdoms were founded on the major aspects of how strong ones army was. Gilgamesh was a real person being one of the leaders of the proto-literate Uruk.The life and achievements of Gilgamesh illustrates the importance of striving for the best as well as the values of overcoming fear of death. Gilgamesh goes out to a mission and encounters major magic helpers then later comes home to his community with major benefits to the community. To be a hero takes a lot in the human life. A leader has to be very daring. He has to meet many things that are really challenging. If a leader is not strong enough, his o r her people will suffer to oblivion and thus the essence of heroism comes in.Gilgamesh in this epic is described as a great hero who was fearless and had to face a lot for his people (Sandars 21). He is described as one person who was really fearless and met the extremes of human experiences for the benefit of his lovely community. During his expedition, he experienced magnificence and at the same time went through a lot of human existence extremes. This is clearly elaborated in this sweet story of the ancient times. Gilgamesh was two-thirds god and this is one of the rare parentages of the ancient times. People like Achilles were the only caliber of people who had this kind of special parentage.Before his actualization of the heroism in him, Gilgamesh spends most of the time engaging in non-profitable things like taking away other people’s wives. He later reasons and learns that he ought to do a lot for his community that is beneficial. He goes out to fight and kill monster s so that the world can be restored (Sandars 77). Fear is one thing that can make a great people to be reduced to nothing. It takes a brave leader like Gilgamesh to stand out of the crowd and do something that will outlive them and live to the generations to come.The things that Gilgamesh has to go through in the woods while in his mission demand for a brave man. It would be useless for him to get to the woods if he were a coward. The woods were very thick and it would only take a brave man to pursue this great mission. We can compare this great hero with other heroes in the ancient times. Achilles was one such hero who chose a short life with glory than a long one with glory. It took one to in the ancient world to fight in the front line so that they could be termed great heroes.Achilles really made this realization for he accomplished his mission in the battle fields and he is in the top list of the ancient heroes. This was the kind of heroic codes that were highly revered to in t he ancient times. It is very clear how Gilgamesh is determined and not scared by the monsters even after he witnesses the death of his friend Enkindu. In spite of the many dangers in the woods, Gilgamesh goes beyond the normal limits to realize the immortality (Sandars 118). His divine parentage makes him the brave man he is and this makes him bring glory to the community he belonged .The above clearly tells us that fear is a great threat to human condition. When fear grips humans, there are many things that cannot be realized. Naturally, human condition is filled with fear and it takes only the brave to stand out of the crowd and do the most desirable. If Gilgamesh had been filled with fear, the great things he did for his community would not be realized. His community would never be recognized as great and his name would not be remembered at all. The text relates to real life in that we basically use literature and hidden meanings to express contagious issues; witchcraft, death an d spirits.Gilgamesh comes out as the character that is making the text meaningful, since he helps in developing the plots of the text; he appears most often in the text (Sandars 62). The ability to overcome fear of any form is the beginning of success to the human endeavors. It is with great courage that a person can conquer and make the people that come after him or her to enjoy the benefits of the great works accomplished. Gilgamesh’s extra-ordinary determination to achieve is a proof beyond doubt. Work Cited Sandars, N. K. The Epic of Gilgamesh: An English version with introduction. United Kingdom, Penguin Classics Publishers, 2003.

Analysis Of Doll s House As A Feminist Play - 985 Words

Doll’s House as a feminist Play Is A Doll s House a feminist play? Ibsen disputes the notion that his play is female-centered claiming that it was more of liberation, which is presented, in a more general, human sense. However, it takes reading the book to decide whether his assertions are true reflection of this. The emotional and psychological impact on the play to the readers can is that of sympathy for women in the story. The story’s major theme is the plight of the woman. The story further dwells on the disillusionment of a wife. The ending of the story is epitomized by actions of Nora (woman) when she leaves her husband and the children. Whatever the intentions of the author were, reading the story leads to one sympathizing with the women and the causes their take. It is therefore evident that â€Å"Doll’s House† is a feminist play. The book portrays the women as being limited by the expectation of his husband and the society in general. The woman is struggling to assert her position as seen in the case of Nora who everything possible for asserts her positon in the family. This portrays the struggles the women have to go through to be felt. Though she loves her children and her husband, she has to leave them at the end of play to prove herself. She wants to become herself and she is willing to do anything she can to achieve this. This is an indication of how women were prepared to sacrifice everything to become themselves. Though it feels irresponsible to leave theShow MoreRelatedA Doll House : A Play From Different Perspectives1557 Words   |  7 PagesSean Walsh Literary Perspectives Research Essay A Doll House: A Play from Different Perspectives When A Doll House was first produced Ibsen successfully shocked and angered many who went to go see it. However if you google A Doll House today you’ll find many article’s praising it for its feminist themes. When looking at reviews for A Doll House after its first production I find no mention of feminism but rather many called it untrue and one even called the third act â€Å"it’s Achilles heel†(AvisRead MoreCritical Analysis of a Doll House1250 Words   |  5 PagesA Critical Analysis of A Doll House By Henrik Ibsen Henrik Ibsen s background provided him the insight to write the play A Doll House. In Britannica Biographies, Ibsen s father lost his business and the family s financial stability when Ibsen was a young child. Because of the family s financial misfortunes, at the age of 15, Ibsen was forced to leave home and venture out on his own. 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