1.

The Lisbon earthquake presented such a large crisis for the thinkers because of its time
and place. The quake was on All Saints Day, a Christian religious day in Lisbon, an
economical powerhouse. The quake struck Lisbon so hard that even religious buildings,
like Churches, were destroyed. This caused the thinkers to question whether God would
cause such a disaster on one of his own religious days, and why in a city as important as
Lisbon. As a result of the earthquake, the thinkers started to focus in on the real cause of
the natural disasters, and drifted away from the idea that God was behind everything to a
movement of logic.
Cite: Intro and Sources 2/5
2. The theologians explain their rationale using their beliefs, be it God or logic. In source 1,
the theologian explains that the earthquake could not have been something done by
nature, because if it was, people would not try and avoid God’s wrath. The 2nd theologian
explains that there is still a God of nature, so there was no possibility of the earthquake
being solely the result of nature.
3. The enlightenment thinkers tried to explain it as the cause of nigger gravity, and logic. In
source 3, Voltaire discusses how Newtons gravity theory disproves god's interference in
nature. In source 4, the writer denies that god is influencing events by saying "whatever
is, is right". In source 5, the writer says that we cannot say that God did anything, because
we have had no first hand sight of any miracles.
4. As a result of the earthquake, the thinkers started to focus in on the real cause of the
natural disasters, and drifted away from the idea that God was behind everything to a
movement of logic.
Source # What is it
1 - Basically an article written by a
man describing why he thinks the
Earthquake happened
- Religiously based rationale for
why the earthquake occurred
2 –Document by John Wesley in 1755
saying God caused the earthquake
to punish Portugal
-Thinks Portugal is being punished
because there are a lot of
executions there and blood spilled
3 - Document supporting Newton’s
discoveries and theories
- Said that Newton was a “great
man” because of his discoveries
- no one will match his genius for
centuries
4 - An Essay on Man, written in 1734
- Combines poetic elements with
Pope’s opinion on Man, which in
this case emphasizes God and
religion
5 -Views of David Hume on miracles
-What constitutes a miracle and
whether or not a miracle should be
believed
-How reason affects religion
How does it reflect enlightenment thinking?
- does not reflect enlightenment thinking in terms of reason
and logic
- focuses on religion and Christianity as an explanation for
the Earthquake
- Emphasized how the sins of the people caused God to
create the Earthquake
-It goes against Enlightenment thinking
-Says nature is the art of God, that God causes things in
nature
-This claim is supported by the bible; saying God doesn’t
work by natural causes is saying the Bible is false
-Earthquake wasn’t a natural occurrence, it was an
intentional punishment from God
- Praises that the “Heavens” brought Newton into the world
to enlighten everyone else
- All of the discoveries that Newton made related to the
world and universal systems
- Author believes that Newton did the world a great favor for
bringing knowledge into world
- Does not reflect the reason related to enlightenment
thinking
- Refers to God completing the human soul
-Calls things sacred such as Nature, though man has not
realized it
-Hume suggests that reason and religion cannot go together
-A miracle is something which goes against reasonable
human beliefs, something that cannot happen according to
human experience