"A Hymn to God the Father" by John Donne is an insightful poem that addresses the speaker's unease caused by the sins he has committed throughout his life and the inner battle to relieve his fear of death. The speaker is supposedly John Donne because he was on the verge of death when writing this poem and was deeply religious during the latter part of his life. Donne's simple and precise wording in combination with the rhythmical consistency creates an atmosphere that is serious, sincere, and direct, leaving little to interpretation and expressing his dedication to God with earnest passion. The poem itself reads like a prayer, sharing with the reader insights into what it is to be human, the nature of wrongdoing and the subsequent guilt, and the very human fear of death.
The poem "A Hymn to God the Father," although assumed to be spoken by John Donne, could have been inspired by his thoughts but ultimately written for all of humanity. Therefore, the purpose of the vague and general use of language when describing his sins, as seen in lines one and two: "WILT Thou forgive that sin where I begun, / Which was my sin, though it were done before?", could have been to give insight to other people as to what one might think about on the verge of death, especially if one shared the same belief in Christianity. The poem itself is a general view of a life through the description of its sin, beginning with the original sin of being human, continuing with the sins he committed throughout his life and led others to do too, and ending with his fear that when he dies he will not be brought into heaven. In this poem, the speaker (possibly a general representation of every person) pleads for absolution from guilt and the hope that there is life for him beyond this.
Donne writes with a very regular style, the first four lines of each of the three stanzas in iambic pentameter, the following line in iambic trimeter, and the last line in iambic dimeter.
God is seen in three ways, The Father, Son and The Holy spirit. ... They do not believe in a God. ... Their religious books contain stories, prayers, hymns and poems. The most important books are; "the Vedas, which are the oldest writings about life and duty, the Upanishads which are hymns and poems and the Ramayana which contain poems." ... He is the father of the Jewish people. ...
Although he was more likely to be exposed to the religious beliefs of his father, Amenhotep III, the existence of Akhenaten's god the "Aten" or the "Sun disk," posed many centuries before Akhenaten took to the throne. ... Akhenaten's grandfather, Thutmose IV, father Amenhotep III and Ramose all used the term prior to Akhenaten taking the throne. ... The relationship between Akhenaten and the Aten can easily be translated from "The Hymn to the Aten," also known as the "Great Hymn to the Aten." There is evidence in this hymn about the love that Akhenaten had for the Aten. ... Akhenaten...
(5) The Gloria, once the celebrant pronounces the words of absolution, the ancient hymn of praise to God is sung as a way to thank God for his mercy... (6) The opening prayer or collect, the prayer of the celebrant collects all the prayers of the assembly and offers them to the Father. (7) The first reading is usually from the Old Testament. ... Singing of a hymn starts the mass. ... The beginning hymn is not always the same. ... The hymn "Gloria", which is a constant hymn that is sang in all masses can be dated back to the sixth century. ...
Zeus was considered, according to Homer, the father of the gods and of mortals. ... When Zeus grew to maturity, he forced Cronus to disgorge the other children, who were eager to take vengeance on their father. ... As husband to his sister Hera, he is the father of Ares, the god of war; Hebe, the goddess of youth; Hephaestus, the god of fire; and Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth. ... It is believed that, with the development of a sense of ethics in Greek life, the idea of a lecherous, sometimes ridiculous father god became distasteful, so later legends tended to present Zeus...
(Agamemnon suffered for the sins of his father, Aegistreus, the sins of the father had been passed down to his descendant, his son.) ... This is recognizable in The Homeric Hymns: Hymn 2: to Demeter and the story of chaos. ... The dispute between the god's confirmed the Greek's notion that the gods "think exactly like humans; their actions are just as unpredictable" (Pomeroy t al al.84). ... For instance, the reason for why the seasons occur aetological function is displayed in The Homeric Hymn: Hymn 2: to Demeter. ... As seen in the Odyssey, the Homeric Hymns and the Ores...
It is being filled by the grace of God so that you know that you are loved by God and he forgives and reconciles you. ... That is that God created people not to be sinless. ... For example in Arabic countries women obey anything a man says if they are the husband or father. ... Some hymns are then sung followed by the "Sermon". ... There could have been more hymns sung by the congregation that in the Roman Catholic service, but the liturgy itself was quiet familiar in terms of the words used. ...
Francis of Assisi Francis believed in the simplicity of life, poverty, and humility before God. ... His history shows that his father was a wealthy merchant and that Francis was planning on following in his father's footsteps. ... The friars preached the life of Christ and Francis used his skills and love for the Lord to write prayers and hymns. ... Francis really felt that nature, all God's creations, were part of his brotherhood. ... In one famous story, Francis preached to hundreds of birds about being thankful to God for their wonderful clothes, for their independence, and f...
The most prevalent themes in the Bible are very simple: believe in God, follow the Word of God, this is the way to eternal salvation, to the Kingdom of God or Heaven. ... In the Old Testament, references to obeying God were often in two specific kinds of contexts: when people had done wrong and God told them they would suffer for not obeying Him and when God was making promises to people who obeyed Him. ... "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest my self to him" (John 14:21). ....
