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2020-04-21
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Puritan Analogy: Faith and Doubt

Summary:

A Battle between two plants, doubt and faith and their impact on a man. A compare and contrast between having faith and having doubt and the consequences of such. What happens when man doubts God's abilities and loses his faith in himself and Christ?

This is just an assignment I had a while back in APLang and I thought that I would share.

Notes:

I don't completely remember the assignment, but here's what I could find:
based off of an extended analogy by Jonathan Edwards and John Bunyan
"Write a one-page extended analogy on it [Pilgrims Progress] in the styles of Edwards and Bunyan"
Original date written - October 8, 2019

Work Text:

     Thus a man showed me two plants, one Faith, and one Doubt. Faith thrived always, while doubt struggled to survive. For whenever Faith believed and had trust in himself and did as he was told to do when created, he grew taller and more extravagant, and God would be very pleased with him. As for whenever Doubt would show disbelief in himself, he would wither away and loose leaves and God would be very displeased with him. One day, Faith asked Doubt, “Why must you always be negative?” Doubt responded helplessly, “For I cannot help it, it is not my fault, there is no way of avoiding this curse!” As he spoke, he started to wither away into the ground and turn unpleasant colors. I asked the man, “Why doth he wither? For he is right, there is no way of avoiding doubt!” The man looked at me blankly, “Are you so foolish as to believe such things?!” I stared upon him in wonder, then continued to watch as the plants conversed. “You even doubt your ability to be more positive!” Are you that sinful?” Doubt responded, “I do not believe that I am too sinful.” And he lost more leaves. As I watched the two plants converse and argue, I realized what the man wanted me to know, and  I turned to him, “He doubts his ability to be positive and to believe, but he does not understand how to do be positive.” the man nodded, “That is right, but whom will teach him how?” “I am not sure, I certainly mustn't.” “And why must that be?” “Because I do not know how, but I would like to help him.” “You fool, you certainly do know how to help him, but you fear what is to come if you do.” I could’ve helped him, but I didn’t, so as I stood by, Doubt said one last negative phrase, “There is no way of this curse being lifted from me, I am too lost, God would never save me!” And as he spake his last words, he withered away into nothing, and Faith wept as he watched him wither. The man turned to me, “See since you did not have faith in God, and believed that you did not have the ability to save him, he withered away and is now lost forever!” And as the plant had withered away, so did I, for I doubted myself and God, believing that I could not save him, and I, as Doubt has, is lost forever.