Benjamin Franklin once wrote in a letter to Ezra Stiles, President of Yale University:
"As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and his religion, as he left them to us, is the best the world ever saw, or is likely to see...
"But I apprehend it has received various corrupting changes, and I have, with most of the present dissenters in England, some doubts as to his divinity; though it is a question I do not dogmatize upon, having never studied it, and think it needless to busy myself with it now, when I expect soon an opportunity of knowing the truth with less trouble."
It is not surprising to see Franklin expressing doubt as to the divinity of Jesus. We know that orthodox Christianity was being questioned in his day and that the prevailing theology was Deist, with no room for the supernatural.
It is admirable to see his reluctance to "dogmatize upon" Jesus' divinity. How can he, he says, since he has never studied it in depth for himself?
Such a level of epistemological humility is refreshing to see. And appropriate.
Franklin wrote this letter on March 9, 1790. And when he theorized that he would "soon" have the "opportunity of knowing the truth" about Jesus' exact nature "with less trouble" than extensive study, he was, of course, hinting at his own death.
And that "soon" proved a matter of weeks. Franklin passed on April 17th.
Now, I'm guessing that many modern American evangelicals would confidently predict Franklin's destination in the afterlife as being a place of punishment rather than reward - simply for questioning Jesus' divinity.
But that's because in this age we seem to believe that people are saved by proper doctrine.
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