Benjamin Franklin- Deism

Deism is know as the "knowledge of God based on our application of reason on the designs/laws found throughout nature. (Welcome to Deism) From reading passages from the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, it seems clear that Benjamin Franklin was a Deist. It did not seem that he had a strong sense of religion in his life, but instead believed that people in their innermost being were bad, and that good deeds would not go unrewarded (Franklin). Franklin created a list of thirteen virtues that he vowed to strive to attain in his life. That shows that Franklin was taking matters into his own hands, and instead of letting God have control in his life, he was going to try to define the outcome of his future. And also, he set his own virtues to live by. Although many of the virtues were Biblical values, Franklin did not choose to live by values of a certain religion, but instead combined beliefs and implemented his own beliefs to serve as his moral code in life. In the thirteenth virtue, Franklin states, "Humility-imitate Jesus and Socrates" (Franklin 150). Although, he did want to model his life after Jesus, he did not state that his belief in Jesus went further than acknowledging that Jesus was a good man, like Socrates. This leads me to believe that Franklin was not a Christian, which is in line with the belief that he was a Deist. Also, he wants to follow the example of Jesus and Socrates, which shows that he does not have any one certain religion that he is dedicated to, but rather he is aware of God, but does not have beliefs of one certain religion more than another.

Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography tells of a Proverb that he held true to the values of in his life. He recalls the proverb from his father. The proverb is "Seest thou a man diligent in his calling, he shal stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men." (Franklin 143). Franklin still refers to the Bible ( a Christian book) even though he is a Deist. However, instead of applying all of the lessons from the Bible to his own life, he simply picks and chooses which of the things that he think will benefit him, and he uses those things in his life to live by. Deism is supposed to improve progress in society in helping people live their lives with goals and moral standards in mind, and allows people to decide what the truth is to them. (Welcome to Deism). Personally, I believe that this simply is a religion that cannot possibly be correct. It does not make sense that everyone can choose what works for them. If each person gets to choose the standards that they live by, that implies that there is not truth. Which I refuse to believe. What is true for me, cannot be different from what is true to you. It can't work like that. There has to be one truth.

Franklin, Benjamin, and John Bigelow. The Autobiography and Letters of Benjamin Franklin.London: Ward, Lock, 1891. Print.

"Deism Defined, Welcome to Deism, Deist Glossary and Frequently Asked Questions."Welcome To The Deism. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.