Weak Student Response To Assignment 1

Example of weak student response to assignment 1.
Title?
This article consists of religion, weaponry, and tyranny. To whom the article is written
are the people who are being ruled at the time. It seems to be highlighting the allowed freedoms
that citizens should be claiming, in the case of tyrannical acts by their King. This article also
seems to focus on the big question of why religion and the laws of God are important. It also
reflects how religion and fear of the wraith of God can impact a subject’s view of his or her own
rights under the rule of a King, who has divine right, but takes advantage of his power. Religion,
specifically Christianity, is no longer a controversial subject, as it is the main religion of this area
at this time. This article also explains why subjects of rulers would undergo tyranny, due to their
devotion to God, and therefore their King.
The article starts out by asking the question: “Must subjects obey princes who issue
orders counter to the Law of God?” Those subjects ruled by kings and princes in the sixteenth
century consider the King to have divine right, and therefore looked at him the same way they
looked at God. The subjects, therefore, must always obey the King or Prince, otherwise it is seen
as if they are going against the will and laws of God, even if that same King or Prince is taking
advantage of his power. This is where it becomes easy for a tyrant to emerge. If a King
supposedly is acting by the will of God, his subjects are bound to follow every rule and
command, in fear of the wraith of God. If a subject also does not follow the rule of the King,
they are subjecting themselves to possible accusations of rebelling against Christianity.

The article asks another question: “May private individuals resist with arms?” The article
then proceeds to argue that a private individual has no ties to God or religion, because they have
no divine power bestowed upon them. These private individuals also do not play a big role in
Christianity, besides being members of the church. The article uses examples, such as Moses,
Ehud, and Jehu, who each were normal citizens, but each carried out God’s word, because they
were called upon by him. The article seems to argue that citizens need to figure out which is
God’s word and which is not, then figure out when it is correct to go against the word of the
King and resist his commands and rules, without going against the will of God.
The article then asks another question: “Is it permitted to resist a prince who oppresses or
destroys the commonwealth? To what extent, by whom, in what fashion, and by what right?”
The article then states that now, both the people (by vote) and God chooses the king. Previous to
this, kings were given their kingdoms, bestowed to them by God. The fact that the people used to
put so much emphasis and importance on divine right, allowed for the king’s to abuse their
power, because they could blame their actions on the will of God. However, as now the people
have more of a say, their kings are brought down from their high pedestal and have less room to
abuse their power and become tyrannical. Kings are no longer allowed to turn themselves into a
king or is able to rule without a body of subjects, nor is he born a King, so is much harder for a
son or cousin of a King to claim the throne as rightful heir. Kings become tyrants when they
abuse power by taking it forcefully, if they were never voted in by the people at all, yet still
claim they have power over the people, or if they go against God’s laws (and Christianity’s) and
does not have divine right, but still attempts to rule.
The article points out that being a king is a right, and that he is not guaranteed to rule.
The article also argues that natural law informs the people to defend and conserve their rights
and freedoms that the king can affect. Civil law, on the other hand, is when a society is given
concrete laws and are governed by them. The article takes into account not just natural and civil
law, but also other laws of the people, when he is determining what makes a king a tyrant. The
article also explains that all of these laws not only help to determine tyranny, but also creates
borders, countries, and unity within a region. The article argues that if a tyrannical ruler
eventually decides to take it upon himself to govern the people democratically and he does have
claim to the throne, then the people he governs should obey him. The article explains that not
every ruler is perfect, and even good kings can accidentally abuse their power once in awhile and
act tyrannically temporarily, due to poor judgment. If a king, however, decides to go against the
people, by infringing upon his citizens’ rights on purpose, then he is a tyrant and is not just
acting tyrannically for a brief period of time.
I believe that this article is written to inform citizens about if their King is acting
tyrannical or not. It includes the fact that most citizens at this time believe that everyone should
follow the commands of the King, because he has a divine right, and if one resists, then they are
going against Christianity, and with be crucified for it by the rest of the society. The writer seems
to argue that citizens need to pay closer attention to when a King’s actions are in the right (God’s
will), or if he in fact is taking advantage of his power and using force upon his subjects.
Marker's comments.
Dear Student,
Your paper takes us through the details of the document relatively well. The main problem you
ran into was in being too descriptive and not telling me what you think about the source. You
needed to go beyond the source and offer some original insight. In your conclusion, you begin
to get to your opinion and an argument – that the source explains how to tell if a ruler is
tyrannical within a Christian framework. This could have been an excellent way to interpret the
source.
Your writing was indicative of your lack of argument. The active voice would serve you much
better and help you take charge of your argument, instead of using the passive voice or
constructions using “seems.” A much more serious problem was your lack of citation. You
CANNOT quote a source without saying where you got it from – that is plagiarism! I don’t think
you did this on purpose, but if it happens again, you risk receiving a failing grade.

Weak Student Response To Assignment 1

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Example of weak student response to assignment 1.

devotion to God, and therefore their King.

they are subjecting themselves to possible accusations of rebelling against Christianity.

does not have divine right, but still attempts to rule.

acting tyrannically for a brief period of time.

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