In act 2, Reverend Hale visits John Proctor's home to carry out personal investigations concerning citizens who have been mentioned during the proceedings. Reverend Hale begins investigating Proctor's Christian character by questioning him about his rather poor church attendance record. Reverend Hale brings up John's attendance record and asks him why he only attended Sunday service twenty-six times in the past seventeen months. Proctor responds by saying that his wife was ill for the entire winter before he elaborates on his negative perception of Reverend Parris, who John believes is a selfish, materialistic man. Reverend Hale also questions why Proctor's third child has not been baptized, which concerns the minister. After John Proctor fails to recite each of the Ten Commandments and mentions that he does not believe in witches, Reverend Hale experiences serious doubts about Proctor's Christian nature. In act 3, Proctor is also criticized in front of Salem's authority figures for plowing his fields on the Sabbath after Reverend Parris brings up his poor church attendance record again.
There are a number of insinuations and accusations made against John Proctor's faith.
The first accusation against John Proctor is that he does not attend church services regularly. (He says that this is because he does not enjoy listening to Reverend Parris complain and does not like Parris generally.)
Not all of his children are baptized. (Proctor defends his position by saying that he does not believe Reverend Parris to be holy and would not like Parris to touch his son.)
Proctor works in the field on the Sabbath day. (Proctor defends his position by saying that his fields failed to produce well for years and only recently have begun to show promise of increasing yield. If he does not do the extra work, he will not be able to see the increase; to feed his family.)
In The Crucible, what two pieces of evidence regarding his Christian nature are presented against Proctor?
In Act Two, Reverend Hale visits John Proctor's home to carry out his own investigations to better understand Salem's community and questions several aspects of Proctor's Christian nature. He begins by questioning John's poor church attendance record. Hale mentions that John only attended church twenty-six times in seventeen months and Proctor defends himself by saying that his wife was sick. Hale also questions why only two of John's three children are baptized. Proctor responds by expressing his contempt for Reverend Parris and mentions that he does not see the light of God in him, which is why he has not had his third child baptized. Hale then makes Proctor recite the Ten Commandments and John forgets the commandment prohibiting adultery, which concerns Reverend Hale.
In Act Three, Proctor addresses Deputy Governor Danforth and Judge Hathorne, who also question his Christian character. Danforth also questions John's continual absence during Sunday services before Ezekiel Cheever mentions that he also plows on Sunday, which is considered an offensive act.
In The Crucible, what two pieces of evidence regarding his Christian nature are presented against Proctor?
In Act Two of “The Crucible”, Rev. Hale comes to the Proctor’s house to question them since Elizabeth Proctor’s name had been mentioned in court and she may be the next to be accused. Hale questions a few different things about the “Christian character” of John Proctor. One of the aspects that Hale questions is the fact that only two of their three children have been baptized. John Proctor’s response to this is that he does not want Rev. Parris to touch his children because he “does not see the light of God in the man.” A second aspect that Hale questions is the amount of times that John Proctor has gone to church in the past six months – apparently he has not been there enough. Also questioned is the Proctor’s knowledge of the Ten Commandments and the fact that Proctor plows his fields on Sundays which is looked down upon in the Puritan community.
What two pieces of evidence are brought out against Proctor in regard to his Christian nature?
There are probably more that two, but initially in Act One, a sizeable faction of Parris's congregation questions his moral authority and true religiousity because of his perceived mercenary nature (as evidence, see the exchange in Act One over his salary and the argument over the deed to his house). They question his Christian nature because of his ownership of slaves (Tituba is his slave) and because he is compelled to call for outside help, in the form of other preachers, to deal with the accusations of withcraft in his community.
What two pieces of evidence regarding his Christian nature are presented against Proctor?
The answer to your question is in Act Two. Hale goes to the Proctor home to tell them Rebecca Nurse has been charged with witchcraft and to warn the Proctors to get their religious lives in order. Rebecca's arrest shows how out of control the situation has become, since she is a respected, wealthy member of the community.
Hale questions why Proctor rarely attends church on Sunday, citing that Proctor has missed services "twenty-six time in seventeen month". Proctor defends himself, saying Elizabeth was sick, and he prayed at home when he couldn't go to church. Then Proctor admits his dislike for Parris, telling Hale about the golden candlesticks that Parris insisted the church have instead of the pewter ones the church had always had.
The second issue Hale brings up is that only two of Proctor's three sons have been baptized. Proctor answers Hale that "I like it not that Mr. Parris should lay his hand upon my baby. I see no light of God in that man. I'll not conceal it." It's ironic, however, that when Proctor is asked by Hale to cite the Ten Commandments, he forgets the one regarding adultery.
This scene also occurs just before Elizabeth is arrested for witchcraft.
What two pieces of evidence regarding his Christian nature are presented against Proctor?
In Act II, Hale comes to question the Proctors about their Christian character. At that time, Proctor is suspicious because he does not go to church regularly and he cannot say all the ten commandments. He ironically forgets the one prohibiting adultery.
In Act III, Proctor goes to the court with Mary Warren in an attempt to prove that Abigail is a liar. It backfires on him when Mary Warren turns against him in her fear, and accuses Proctor of being with the Devil. Proctor also screams out, "God is dead", out of his sheer frustration with the proceedings. During the Puritan time period where government and religion were one in the same, this would have been considered blasphemy and treason.
See eNotes Ad-Free
Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.
Already a member? Log in here.