Page 88- Franklin references James 2: 15, 16.
"15 If a brother or a sister is in a nakes state and lacking the food sufficient for the day, 16 yet a certain one of you says to them: "Go in peace, keep warm and well fed," but you do not give them the necessitites for [their] body, of what benefit is it?"
James 2: 17 provides the meaning behind this illustration:
"17 Thus, too, faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself."
Do you think Franklin had this meaning in mind when he included this illustration? Is he taking the illustration out of context to give it a different meaning?
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2 comments:
I don't think Franklin was referring to faith but rather to any virtue. He used this reference to illustrate the weakness of telling a person how to behave but not telling them how to get there (which is what most religions do).
Somewhat unrelated, I really liked that he gave the tools to perfecting oneself. It reminded me of the path to becoming an arhat in Buddhism.
That's a really interesting comparison. And its an interesting reference, because Franklin's use of it inherently puts a burden on him, because he is essentially staking the reputation of his autobiography on the remainder of his life. If he fails to uphold these virtues, then he is a symbol of the death of faith, or any virtue.
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