Benjamin Franklin: Objective Views on His Life and Achievements

To me, Benjamin Franklin was a man of endless achievements. As I was reading through his biography in our literature book, his achievements never seem to have an end. After the talk we had about Benjamin Franklin in class, about how he pushed himself to learn and develop his thinking, the fact that he set an example for his fellow countrymen by promoting hard work, professionalism and thrift, made me realize that hard work and dedication really pays off in life. I think the main reason Franklin was as successful as he was, was due to his consistency with education. He was always a step ahead of others and this enabled him to establish his own views and opinions about the way of the world.

What I think is most fascinating about his writings are his views on religion, especially when he writes that Jesus Christ is not the son of God but merely a man with the greatest morals the world ever saw or has seen. I admire his courage of not even having such strong opinions, but stating them in his writings. Talking about Jesus not being the son of God, which is one of the most essential and central ideas of Christianity, would not be very appreciated by most Christians. But Franklin was not an oppressor and recognized and respected people that viewed Jesus as the son of God. He stated that he saw no harm in people believing that Jesus is the son of God, only if it had good consequences. I think his multi-dimensional ways of thinking has its ground in the fact that he was forced by his father during an early age to study to become a minister.