English

(250 words for this):

Remember that your goal is to write an argument in which you interpret textual evidence to reach a conclusion about the text under consideration.
Think of your SP as a mini-essay and write it accordingly. Use all the conventions of standard academic writing: capitalization and punctuation, complete sentences, well-formed paragraphs, and so on. Whenever you employ textual evidence, be sure to provide a citation so that other learners may follow up on your ideas.
Once youve completed your SP, think about the contributions of the other participants in the forum. Find one or more that make you think more deeply, or with which you disagree, and write a Response Posting (RP).
Remember that although RPs are very short, you should pay attention to your writing in them. Do not write them the way you would a text or an email. Use proper capitalization and punctuation, and form complete sentences. Provide a citation for any textual evidence you use.
For a full description of my expectations for Substantive and Response Postings, see the Discussion Forum Expectations document in the This Course module.  For more information on writing about literature and writing academic arguments, see the Useful Resources module.

Both The Book of Margery Kempe and The Second Shepherds’ Play express deep religious belief and are clearly aimed at audiences aware and supportive of the religious doctrines they express.
In what ways do these texts nevertheless cast doubt on religious doctrines?  
Begin your posting with one short (1-2 sentence) passage from each of these texts.
Then explain how those passages may be read as casting doubt on religious doctrines, and compare and contrast the passages’ methods of conveying their ideas.
To clarify: you don’t have to believe that the texts ultimately undermine or contradict these doctrines; your goal is to consider how they might nevertheless do so.

The more specific you can be in your consideration of textual evidence, the better.

(150 words responding to this):
– Explain what do you think of his answer
– Do you agree?
Etc…

All her desire was to be admired by people. She would not be warned by any chastisement nor be content with the goods God had given her, as her husband was, but always wanted more and more (Kempe, 409)
And a house full of brood, and she drinks without care (Anonymous, 8)

Both texts present the notion that one can be sinful and still get off without extreme punishment, making it seem that the existence of God implementing divine retribution is a questionable concept. Seeing that in Margery Kempe it is shown that unlike her husband, she is quite greedy, greed being one of the 7 deadly sins. The sin of gluttony is also presented in The Second Shepherds Play as it is told that a woman is drinking with no purpose but to satisfy herself rather than tending to her duties. God and religion were presented to people initially as unquestionable facts. However, reading these texts must’ve pushed some to question, if not the existence of God, his true power and necessity. If Gods creations sin, and God does not punish them, then what is his true purpose?

The Shepherds’ play suggests that God will forgive sins and slight punishment will be implemented. Sure, Mak is slightly punished in the end, being put with the sheep, but other sins are presented with no divine retribution whatsoever. In Margery Kempe, Jesus forgives her for her sins, and she is then rid of any guilt. These texts question what is truly sinful, and counter the repercussions of the bibles list of deadly sins. These works rewrote what it is to be religious, questioning if God is really one to punish sinful humans tremendously.