Time for a sofa upgrade? Introducing Anibay sofas, where designer style meets budget-friendly prices.
Anibay brings you the ultimate in furniture innovation with a modular design that allows you to rearrange your space effortlessly. Perfect for both small and large spaces, Anibay is the only machine washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy.
Liquid simply slide right off. Designed for custom comfort, our high-resilience foam lets you choose between a sink and feel or a supportive memory foam blend. Plus, our pet-friendly stain-resistant fabrics ensure your sofa stays beautiful for years. Don't compromise quality for price. Visit washablesophas.com to upgrade your living space today. Sofas start at just $699 with no risk returns and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Get up to 60% off plus free shipping and free returns.
Shop now at washablesophas.com. Authors are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. You know how we're always talking about what's next? Well, I found it. It's called Formula E. Forget everything you think you know about racing. This isn't just cars going fast. It's like a supercomputer on wheels. The tech is insane. And the drivers?
They're like chess grandmasters at 200 miles per hour. You've got to see it. Trust me. You'll be hooked. Follow Formula E live on Roku.
Next race, Miami, April 12th. Get this, adults with financial literacy skills have 82% more wealth than those who don't. From swimming lessons to piano classes, us parents invest in so many things to enrich our kids' lives. But are we investing in their future financial success? With Greenlight, you can teach your kids financial literacy skills like earning, saving, and investing. And this investment costs less than that afterschool treat.
Start prioritizing their financial education and future today with a risk-free trial at greenlight.com slash iheart, greenlight.com slash iheart. Hey, it's me, Paige DiSorbo, and I'm so excited to share my new shoe collection at DSW filled with my favorite styles and trends for spring. Because if you know me, you know I'm kind of obsessed with shoes. And by kind of obsessed, I mean head over heels. You're going to love these shoes.
So snag super cute styles like cute flats, fun heels, and cool sneakers from the Paige DiSorbo collection right now at your DSW store or dsw.com. I'm Molly Roberts, and I'm Drew Goins. Each Friday on impromptu, we talk through the questions we can't stop thinking about. Do we need to rethink how much we drink? Why are companies really asking workers to come back to the office?
Does boycotting a business actually work? Should we quit social media? We're here when the news gets personal and the headlines hit home. Join Molly and me every Friday on impromptu from Washington Post Opinions.
Find impromptu wherever you get your podcasts. And we return to our American stories. Up next, a story on the personal life of one of our most important founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. A true Renaissance man, Franklin was an inventor, a politician, a publisher, and an all around important thinker who shaped and conditioned the American history. He was the first American historian to write a book. He was the first American historian to write a book. He was the first American historian to write a book.
He was an important thinker who shaped and continues to shape American thought and life. But what about his faith? Here to tell the story of Ben Franklin's faith life is Dr. Darrell Hart, an associate professor of history at Hillsdale College and the author of Benjamin Franklin, Cultural Protestant. You'll also hear from Dr. Thomas Kidd, giving a lecture on the subject of the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University back in 2019.
Let's start with Dr. Darrell Hart. I don't think he was religious in a conventional sense. For most of his life, Franklin had traditional Christian inquirers, especially family and friends, who asked him about the state of his beliefs and the state of his soul. In the last few weeks of his life, though, one more inquirer came on the stage. Franklin had known Yale College President Ezra Stiles ever since Yale granted Franklin an honorary master's degree in 1753 in honor of Franklin's electrical experiments.
Stiles realized that Franklin was near death. Quote, you have merited and received all the honors of the Republic of Letters and are going to a world where all sublanary glories will be lost in the glories of immortality, Stiles wrote him. I wish to know the opinion of my venerable friend concerning Jesus of Nazareth. Reverend and near sir, you desire to know something of my religion.
Here is my creed. I believe in one God, creator of the universe, that he governs it by his providence and that he ought to be worshipped, that the most acceptable service we render to him is doing good to his other children, that the soul of man is immortal and will be treated with justice in another life, respecting its conduct in this. These I take to be the fundamental principles of all sound religion. As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion the best the world ever saw, but I apprehend it has received various corrupting changes, and I have some doubts as to his divinity, though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon having never studied it, and I think it needless to busy myself with it now when I expect soon to have an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble, for I am now in my 85th year very infirm. In spite of his qualms about traditional Christianity, he saw no harm, however, in its being believed.
God had always been good to him, and Franklin saw no reason to think that God's kindness would stop when he died, and die he did on April 17th, 1790. He left the enigma of his faith unresolved. In the study of religion, but also among religious people themselves, you'll often hear people talk about somebody being an observant Jew or an observant Roman Catholic. Those would be people that follow the practices of the religious tradition, and the people that don't, but are kind of part of it culturally, who sort of have it in their bones in the way that they still think about the world, even if they're not observant.
People talk about those people as being cultural Roman Catholics or cultural Jews. We don't use it as much with Protestants, but I do think it's the case that Franklin, among other founders, would fall into that category. Somebody who didn't necessarily go to church, although I think he did a little bit with his wife, Deborah, because he did rent a pew for the family at Christ Church in Philadelphia. But he had a sense that there was a God. He had a sense that morality was important, that people would be rewarded in the next life according to their good works or according to their misdeeds. So he had a kind of ethical outlook very much shaped by Protestantism.
I think the key to understanding Franklin's faith is the indelible imprint of his childhood, Calvinism. The Protestant in which he grew up in Boston and carried with him in some ways to Philadelphia. Josiah, my father, married a young and carried his wife with three children into New England in New England about 1682, where they expected to enjoy their mode of religion with freedom. By the same wife, he had four children more born there, and by a second wife, 10 more. This was common for women to die and men to remarry, and so he had children with two women. In all 17, of which I remember 13 sitting at one time at his table, who all grew up to be men and women and married. Franklin was the 10th. I was the youngest son and the youngest child but two, and was born in Boston, New England.
My mother, the second wife, was a bayah. His father was a candle maker, just a tradesman, like Franklin himself would become. And his father was active in the local church.
It was pretty much expected that you would be. And he had kinds of responsibilities in the city of Boston that were both civil and religious in the sense of looking out for people to make sure they were following good ways of living and the like. Franklin writes about reading scripture in the home and singing psalms in the home. He was ingenious, could draw prettily, was skilled a little in music, and had a clear, pleasing voice, so that when he played psalm tunes on his violin and sung with all, it was extremely agreeable to hear. He had a mechanical genius, too, but his great excellence laid in a sound understanding and solid judgment in prudential matters, both in private and in public affairs.
In the latter, indeed, he was never employed. The numerous family he had to educate in the straightness of his circumstances, keeping him close to his trade. But what I remember well is his being frequently visited by leading people who consulted him for his opinion in affairs of the town or of the church he belonged to and showed a great deal of respect for his judgment and advice.
He was also much consulted by private persons about their affairs when any difficulty occurred and frequently chosen as an arbitrator between two contending parties. Puritan piety could be pretty intense. Franklin's home was of a more moderate Puritan stripe, but still life was very much oriented around the church as it was for all Bostonians. Franklin, his parents, wanted to send him eventually to Harvard and have him trained to be a pastor, but it doesn't seem that it really stuck.
But still, he was well steeped in this sort of typical Protestant views. And then when he went to Philadelphia, eventually, he tries to go to church, he tries to go to the Presbyterian church, as he writes about in his autobiography. He didn't really care for the kind of preaching that he found there. Though I seldom attended any public worship, I still had an opinion on the church's propriety and of its utility when rightfully conducted, and I regularly paid my annual subscription for the support of the only Presbyterian minister or meeting we had in Philadelphia. He used to visit me sometimes as a friend and admonished me to attend his administrations, and I was now and then prevailed on to do so, once or five Sundays in a row. Had he been, in my opinion, a good preacher, perhaps I might have continued, notwithstanding the occasion I had for the Sunday's leisure in my course of study, but his discourses were chiefly either polemic arguments or explanations of the peculiar doctrines of our sect, and were all to me very dry, uninteresting, and unedifying, since not a single moral principle was inculcated or enforced.
I was not a Christian, I was a Christian, I was a Christian, I was a Christian, I was a Christian, or enforced, their aim seeming to rather make us good Presbyterians than good citizens. At length he took for his text that verse of the fourth chapter of Philippians, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, or of good report, if there be any virtue or any praise, think on these things. And I imagined in a sermon on such a text we could not miss of having some morality, but he confined himself to five points only. One, keeping holy the Sabbath day, two, being diligent in reading the holy scriptures, three, attending duly the public worship, four, partaking in the sacrament, five, paying a due respect of God's ministers. These might be all good things, but as they were not the kind of good things that I expected from the text, I despaired of ever meeting with them, was disgusted, and attended his preaching no more. My content might be blemable, but I leave it without attempting further to excuse it, my present purpose being to relate facts and not make apologies for them.
When we continue more of this story of Benjamin Franklin's faith here on Our American Stories. Let's be real. Life happens. Kids spill, pets shed, and accidents are inevitable. That's why you need a washable sofa that can keep up. Our sofas are fully machine washable, inside and out, so you can say goodbye to stains and hello to worry-free living. Made with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics, they're kid-proof, pet-friendly, and built for everyday life. Plus, changeable fabric covers let you refresh your sofa whenever you want.
Need flexibility? Our modular design lets you rearrange your sofa anytime to fit your space, whether it's a growing family room or a cozy apartment. Plus, they're earth-friendly and trusted by over 200,000 happy customers. Starting at just $699, it's time to upgrade to a stress-free mess-proof sofa. Visit washablesofas.com today and save. That's washablesofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. You know how we're always talking about what's next? Well, I found it. It's called Formula E. Forget everything you think you know about racing. This isn't just cars going fast. It's like a super computer on wheels. The tech is insane. And the drivers?
They're like chess grandmasters at 200 miles per hour. You've got to see it. Trust me. You'll be hooked. Follow Formula E live on Roku.
Next race, Miami, April 12th. Texting privacy policy and terms and conditions posted at textterms.us. Texting rules for occurring automated text marketing messages.
Message data rates may apply or place stop, top, doubt. Consult a doctor prior to use. Wow, you look amazing.
What have you been doing? I'm sure you've heard of Ozempic, Wegovi, and the other GLP-1 medications, right? Well, I found this great company called Zelfie. If you qualify, their providers can prescribe medications like Ozempic and Wegovi and other GLP-1 medications that are 80 to 90% less expensive, all 100% online. I can get GLP-1 medications for 80 to 90% less and do it all online?
No doctor's office or pharmacy? Yes, Zelfie can provide semaglutide or terzepetide, the active ingredients in Ozempic and other expensive GLP-1s, but for 80 to 90% less and shipped directly to your door. How do I get started with Zelfie? Just send them a text. Text DREAM to 200-300 to get started today with Zelfie.
Get the same active ingredients in Wegovi or Ozempic, but for 80 to 90% less and 100% online. Don't wait. Text DREAM to 200-300 right now for a link to your exclusive offer. Text DREAM to 200-300. That's DREAM to 200- 300.
DREAM to 200-300. Did you know that parents rank financial literacy as the number one most difficult life skill to teach? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app for families. With Greenlight, you can send money to kids quickly, set up chores, automate allowance, and keep an eye on what your kids are spending with real-time notifications.
Kids learn to earn, save, and spend wisely, and parents can rest easy knowing their kids are learning about money with guardrails in place. Try Greenlight risk-free today at greenlight.com. For period protection you can put on and forget about, nothing beats NYX leak-proof underwear, North America's number one leak-proof underwear brand. Let's face it, life can be unpredictable, but your leak-proof underwear shouldn't be. That's why millions of people choose NYX for periods, for light leaks, for everyday freshness.
NYX undies are super comfy, super absorbent, and made to handle whatever your day throws at you. Day two of your period? Covered. Your daily run? No problem. That big sneeze? You know the one.
Yep, we've got you. And with styles like bikinis, boy shorts, thongs, and high rise, plus sizes from extra small to 4XL, NYX makes it easy to find your perfect fit. Say goodbye to stress and leaks and say hello to undies that work just as hard as you do, no matter the leak. Find the style and level of protection you want at nyx.com and use code FLOW15 for 15% off. That's knix.com code FLOW15 for 15% off.
NYX, for your leaks, for your life. And we return to Our American Stories, and with the story of Benjamin Franklin's faith. When we last left off, we learned that Franklin didn't consider himself religious by the standards of his time, but he did have a strict moral code, which we'll shortly learn about. Let's return to the story.
Here again is Dr. Thomas Kidd, speaking at the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University in 2019, followed by Hillsdale College's Dr. Darryl Hart. As a teenager, it's true he abandoned his parents' Puritan beliefs, but that same traditional faith kept him from getting too far away. So he didn't necessarily go to church. He used Sundays to do reading and study because it was one day that he didn't have to work, and Franklin did have an incredible work ethic. He was the original Horatio Alger who worked himself up by his bootstraps. One of the most influential interpretations of Franklin's religion appeared in Max Weber's classic study, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
And for Weber, Franklin was a near perfect example of how Protestantism, drained of its doctrinal particularity, fostered modern capitalism. He was first and foremost a printer and publisher. He took over a newspaper in Philadelphia that had been around. There weren't many newspapers in the colonies in those days, but he took that over and had a very successful run as a publisher, not merely of newspapers, but of books and journals and pamphlets. His almanacs were also very successful, widely distributed, even though there were many other almanacs. Almanacs back then were sort of like our smartphones.
I mean, people kept diaries in them, dates of anniversaries and birthdays and whatnot. Anyway, Franklin was in that market. So he's a very successful businessman. And along the way, he helped to establish in Philadelphia a variety of civic organizations like the first hospital in North America, the first lending library in Philadelphia, at least an academy that eventually became the University of Pennsylvania, one of the Ivy League institutions. He helped establish a fire company.
He raised the militia in the 1740s because the residents of Philadelphia were worried about the French, all sorts of plans for cleaning up sidewalks and installing street lamps. He was an inventor, bifocal eyeglasses. He invented a wood-burning stove that was supposed to be safer to prevent fires. He also invented lightning rods.
So he had all of that going for him before he retired at the young age of 42. And that's a kind of carryover of the so-called Protestant work ethic, not because Protestants worked harder than Roman Catholics or Jews or other people. But back in the 16th century, people like Martin Luther argued that ordinary activities in the world, ordinary work in the world, even in the home, mothers changing diapers. This was work that was dignified, that honored God, and that was part of the so-called priesthood of all believers. And Franklin, I think, carried that Protestant conception of work with him. And I don't know how much he necessarily thought about it in theological categories, but the work ethic that he exhibited, I think it's possible to explain from his Protestant background. You know, I think a lot of people also know Franklin for the virtues that he pursues. The intense piety of his Puritan parents acted as a kind of a tether spiritually, intellectually, restraining Franklin's skepticism. He would stretch his moral and doctrinal tether to the breaking point by the end of a youthful sojourn he made to London. And when he returned to Philadelphia in 1726, he resolved to conform more closely to his parents' ethical code, because he really sowed his wild oats in London, and he ended up broke and, you know, lots of problems. I do teach every year his autobiography, which has his plan for moral perfection or improvement, and keeps a little chart in a kind of OCD way, which I find amusing and also kind of silly. But he was a guy who liked to calculate things. I made a little book in which I allotted a page for each of the virtues. I ruled each page with red ink, so as to have seven columns, one for each day of the week, marking each column with a letter for the day. I crossed these columns with 13 red lines, marking the beginning of each line with the first letter of one of the virtues, on which each line and in its proper column I might mark, by a little black spot, each fault I found upon examination to have committed respecting that virtue upon the day.
And the virtues that he pursues there are a mix of ancient and Christian. One. Temperance.
Eat not to dolness, drink not to elevation. Two. Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself.
Avoid trifling conversation. Order. Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time.
Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve. Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself. Waste nothing. Industry.
Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions. Sincerity. Justice. Moderation. Funniness. Chastity. Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates. You know, I think that general program, again, has a lot of Christian morality behind it.
This is relevant. I mean, Franklin was a contemporary of the Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards. They were born roughly the same time.
I think Edwards was 1703, Franklin 1706. Anyway, Edwards, who was a very intense, zealous, Protestant preacher, in addition to being a theologian, in his youth, he also had a scheme for a kind of moral perfection or moral improvement. And in many respects, it resembles Franklin's. It's striking to me that both of these men, even though with very different understandings of Christianity, did something similar.
And it makes me think that in New England Protestantism, or also known as Puritanism, that this was a common practice among people who wanted to improve their lives, to keep a journal, and have some kind of plan, a scheme for moral improvement. That similarity between those two figures of very different persuasions religiously, you could argue that Franklin's ideas about morality and ethics came from a Protestant background. He knew he needed to have a moral code, so he wondered, could he craft a Christianity that was centered on virtue rather than on traditional doctrine, and avoid alienating his parents at the same time? More importantly, could he, over the long term, convince the evangelical figures in his life, his sister Jane, and the revivalist George Whitefield, that all was well with his soul?
And he would have more success convincing his sister than George Whitefield. And we've been listening to Dr. Thomas Kidd and Dr. Darryl Hart tell the story of Benjamin Franklin's faith. And clearly, the Protestant background of his upbringing had a lot to do with Franklin's work ethic, his values, his obsession with religion, and his obsession with ethics, and of course, the Protestant work ethic. It springs right from Luther's idea that work is dignified and honored by God, and Franklin carried that idea with him all the way to the end.
The story of Ben Franklin's faith continues here on Our American Stories. Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? Wash away your worries with Anabay. Anabay is the only machine washable sofa inside and out, where designer quality meets budget-friendly prices. That's right, sofas start at just $699. Enjoy a no-risk experience with pet-friendly, stain resistant, and changeable slip covers made with performance fabric. Experience cloud-like comfort with high-resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing.
The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity, and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime. Shop washablesofas.com for up to 60% off site-wide, backed by a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping or restocking fees, every penny back. Upgrade now at washablesofas.com.
Offers are subject to change, and certain restrictions may apply. You know how we're always talking about what's next? Well, I found it. It's called Formula E. Forget everything you think you know about racing. This isn't just cars going fast. It's like a supercomputer on wheels. The tech is insane, and the drivers?
They're like chess grandmasters at 200 miles per hour. You've got to see it. Trust me, you'll be hooked. Follow Formula E, live on Roku.
Next race, Miami, April 12. Texting privacy policy and terms and conditions posted at textterms.us. Texting rules for occurring automated text marketing messages.
Message and data rates may apply. Reply, stop, drop, drop. Consult a doctor prior to use. Wow, you look amazing.
What have you been doing? I'm sure you've heard of Ozempic, Wegovi, and the other GLP-1 medications, right? Well, I found this great company called Zelfie. If you qualify, their providers can prescribe medications like Ozempic and Wegovi and other GLP-1 medications that are 80% to 90% less expensive, all 100% online. I can get GLP-1 medications for 80% to 90% less and do it all online?
No doctor's office or pharmacy? Yes, Zelfie can provide semaglutide or terzepetide, the active ingredients in Ozempic and other expensive GLP-1s, but for 80% to 90% less and shipped directly to your door. How do I get started with Zelfie? Just send them a text. Text DREAM to 200-300 to get started today with Zelfie.
Get the same active ingredients in Wegovi or Ozempic, but for 80% to 90% less and 100% online. Don't wait. Text DREAM to 200-300 right now for a link to your exclusive offer. Text DREAM to 200-300. That's DREAM to 200-300.
DREAM to 200-300. For period protection you can put on and forget about, nothing beats NYX leak-proof underwear, North America's number one leak-proof underwear brand. Let's face it, life can be unpredictable, but your leak-proof underwear shouldn't be. That's why millions of people choose NYX for periods, for light leaks, for everyday freshness.
NYX undies are super comfy, super absorbent, and made to handle whatever your day throws at you. Day two of your period? Covered. Your daily run?
No problem. That big sneeze? You know the one.
Yep, we've got you. And with styles like bikinis, boy shorts, thongs, and high rise, plus sizes from extra small to 4XL, NYX makes it easy to find your perfect fit. Say goodbye to stress and leaks and say hello to undies that work just as hard as you do, no matter the leak. Find the style and level of protection you want at NYX.com and use code FLOW15 for 15% off. That's K-N-I-X.com code FLOW15 for 15% off. NYX, for your leaks, for your life.
We've all done it. You see a headline but don't have time to read the whole story, or there's so much news you're not sure what is worth your time. I'm Colby Ekowitz, co-host of Post Reports, the weekday afternoon podcast from The Washington Post. Post Reports brings you what's relevant and revealing, breaking stories, politics, wellness, culture. Each episode goes beyond a headline for the context you need.
Find Post Reports now, wherever you're listening. And we return to our American stories and the final portion of our story on Benjamin Franklin's faith. When we last left off, an important relationship in Franklin's life was alluded to, a professional relationship with evangelist George Whitfield. That relationship would say a lot about Franklin's relationship with religion.
Let's continue with the story. Here again is Hillsdale College's Dr. Darryl Hart. The evangelist revivalist George Whitfield, who was also an Anglican priest, associated with what people call the first great awakening. I prefer to call it the first pretty good awakening, but Whitfield was just an incredible figure. He was an itinerant traveling preacher, traveling on horseback, preaching oftentimes twice a day, preaching outside with no amplification other than his own voice and his own being to project himself. Some would get the impression that he was just a mob orator who appealed to drunken minors, but this was far from being the case. He was equally popular with the gentry and the great in the land.
Take, for instance, the well-known actor David Garrick. Garrick said he could melt an audience from euphoric joy to tears merely by saying and pronouncing the word Mesopotamia in different ways. Incredible speaker and Franklin was intrigued by Whitfield and went out to listen to him and there's a famous part of his autobiography where he admits that Whitfield was so persuasive that I happened to attend one of his sermons in the course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a collection and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money in gold. As he proceeded I began to soften and concluded to give the coppers. Another stroke of his oratory made me ashamed that and determined me to give the silver and he finished so admirably that I emptied my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all. He emptied his pockets all of it into the plate as it went by and also he mentions he charts how Whitfield could speak probably to 25,000 people. He had a loud and clear voice and articulated his words and sentences so perfectly that he might be heard and understood at a great distance. I had the curiosity to learn how far it could be heard by retiring backwards down the street towards the river and I found his voice distant till I came to Front Street when some noise in that street obscured it. Imagining then a semicircle of which my distance should be the radius and that it were filled with auditors to each whom I allowed two square feet, I computed that he might well be heard by more than 30,000.
This reconciled me to the newspaper accounts of having preached to 25,000 people in the fields and to the ancient histories of generals haranguing whole armies of which I had sometimes doubted. But he and Whitfield also had, they had a business relationship. Franklin published a lot of the evangelist diaries and other works.
He also published a lot of the critics of Whitfield. Franklin could make money off both sides but they corresponded. Whitfield when he visited would stay with Franklin sometimes.
There was even talk in the 1740s when the colonists were thinking about adding a new colony inland more. They were talking about Ohio as a potential colony to the west and Franklin wrote to Whitfield about maybe we should start this colony together. So that even though Franklin didn't share Whitfield's pretty intense Protestant faith, they were friendly, cordial and Franklin recognized a lot of positive benefits that came from Whitfield's time in America. Franklin was a kind of skeptical guy about some of the claims especially the supernatural or miraculous aspects of Christianity. Many recent scholars have taken Franklin at his word by describing him as a deist. The odd thing about deism to me at least is that there was no deist club with people, a constitution and bylaws and a set of beliefs and you got a membership card when you went through some kind of examination. Some said they believed in the Bible as originally written.
Others doubted the Bible's reliability altogether. Some deists believed that God remained involved with life on earth. Others saw God, yes, as the cosmic watchmaker winding up the world and then letting it run on its own. In that technical formal sense, I don't think Franklin was a deist but I don't think many people were. Deist doesn't quite capture the texture or trajectory of Ben Franklin's beliefs. But he did have views that you could argue were compatible with deism which is that there's a God, the immortality of the soul, people are responsible for their actions and they will be judged in the world to come for those actions.
And so it's kind of a moral program and it has God in the picture. It's not so much that he didn't like parts of Christianity and the parts of Christianity that he didn't believe. Things like the deity of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the miracles that Christ performed, they just weren't believable to him. I think he might have found them somewhat charming and the people who believed in those parts of it somewhat charming just as I think he was kind of charmed by Islam at times and other religious groups that he would read about.
Voracious curiosity. But he just, he didn't believe it and he knew in some ways that to be a decent Christian you had to believe those things. That's what he didn't believe but I wouldn't put it in a hostile way. He liked a lot of the other stuff and he really related well to prominent Protestant people from his time and era. For Franklin, the point was never just belief but virtuous action. In his code of doctrinalist moralized Christianity, he became the founding father of perhaps the most pervasive kind of spirituality in the western world today.
Somebody who didn't necessarily go to church but I mean he had a sense that there was a God. He had a sense that morality was important. He had a kind of ethical outlook very much shaped by Protestantism. The importance of the Bible which is like well kind of duh, don't all Christians believe in the importance of the Bible? Well they do but the Protestants emphasized it in some ways more which then sets into motion other aspects of Protestant values.
One of those the importance of reading and reading the Bible it's not as if other Christians such as Roman Catholics didn't believe in reading the Bible but there were fears among Roman Catholic clergy about if the lady gets a hold of the Bible will they get their own ideas and begin to think contrary to the church in certain ways. Protestants didn't want the genie to get out of the bottle either but their way outside of the Roman Catholic church was to promote the Bible, promote reading and also then in Protestant worship sermons long long sermons are a big part of it which also means that Protestants were attached to words to ideas perhaps in ways different from Roman Catholics or maybe some other groups who would be attached to liturgies or ceremonies or even art and some as if Protestants didn't value art but it just didn't have as large a part of Protestant devotion. So the importance of ideas, importance of words, importance of reading, the importance of business and work those would all be Protestant values and again they almost fit Franklin to a T and you know we live in a world over 300 years removed from Franklin and over almost 500 years removed from Protestant Reformation and so many of those values that I mentioned we sort of take for granted in the world of American business and American society and middle-class life we take parts of that so for granted that we sort of lose a sense that they weren't always the way that Europeans and British operated and Protestantism encouraged it. I'm not saying it's solely responsible for it but even somebody like Max Weber the German sociologist saw in Protestant understandings of God and salvation and Protestant understanding of vocation that is serving God in your ordinary activities he saw in this Protestant outlook ways that energized modern economics and modern politics so those are some of the Protestant values even though they sound very much like ordinary values that a lot of people who aren't Protestant also share. And a terrific job on the production, editing and storytelling by our own Monty Montgomery himself a Hillsdale College graduate and a special thanks to Dr. Darrell Hart an associate professor of history at Hillsdale College and the author of Benjamin Franklin Cultural Protestant. Also a special thanks to Dr. Thomas Kidd giving a lecture on the subject for the Centennial Institute of Colorado Christian University back in 2019.
The story of Benjamin Franklin's faith here on Our American Stories. Tired of spills and stains on your sofa wash away your worries with Anabay. Anabay is the only machine washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget-friendly prices. That's right, sofas start at just $699. Enjoy a no-risk experience with pet-friendly stain-resistant and changeable slip covers made with performance fabric. Experience cloud-like comfort with high resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing.
The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime. Shop washablesofas.com for up to 60% off site-wide backed by a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping or restocking fees. Every penny back. Upgrade now at washablesofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. You know how we're always talking about what's next? Well, I found it. It's called Formula E. Forget everything you think you know about racing. This isn't just cars going fast. It's like a supercomputer on wheels. The tech is insane and the drivers, they're like chess grandmasters at 200 miles per hour. You've got to see it. Trust me, you'll be hooked. Follow Formula E, live on Roku.
Next race, Miami, April 12th. Are you still quoting 30-year-old movies? Have you said, cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now. It pays to discover.
Learn more at discover.com slash credit card based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. There's an efficient way to get caught up on a lot of news. It's called The Seven from the Washington Post. It's a newsletter and podcast. Whether you're reading or hit play, you get seven stories you need to know and you can consume it all in just a few minutes. The Seven is out every weekday morning by 7 a.m. Eastern. I'm Hannah Jewell. I'm one of the writers and I host the show. Find The Seven podcast wherever you're listening.
The newsletter link is waiting for you in the show notes. Behind every successful business is a vision. Bringing it to life takes more than effort. It takes the right financial foundation and support. That's where Chase for Business comes in.
With convenient digital tools, helpful resources, and personalized guidance, we can help your business forge ahead confidently. Learn more at chase.com backslash business. Chase for Business.
Make more of what's yours. The Chase mobile app is available for select mobile devices. Message and data rates may apply. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member F.D.I.C. Copyright 2025. J.P. Morgan Chase and Company.
