In Go Tell It On the Mountain, James Baldwin discusses the power that can be found in secularity and religion. The novel begins with John Grimes waking up to his fourteenth birthday in Harlem, 1935. The entire novel lasts a few days, but as the story progresses, Baldwin uses extensive flashback chapters to chronicle the lives of John's father , Gabriel Grimes, and his aunt Florence, detailing their experiences and how they shaped them into who they are in the present time. As the novel progresses, John's experiences with the church and in the city, along with his memories of Gabriel and Florence, make it clear that there are two sources of power that can be found in the novel. Through their experiences, James Baldwin establishes that humans can achieve power and greatness in secularism, not just through religion and God. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay John's observance of churchgoers outside the store where his father preaches reveals to him the power that human beings can wield. Every Sunday, after the end of the school service, he goes to the Baptism of the Fire Temple for the Sunday morning service. During a particular Sunday service: Brother Elisha begins a song on the piano and gradually the other priests begin to play other instruments. The faithful begin to sing and as the service heats up, John observes how people moved by their passions begin to dance and sing: Someone moved the chair a little to give them space, the rhythm stopped, the singing stopped stopped, only feet stamping and hands clapping were heard; then another scream, another dancer; then the tambourines began again, and the voices rose again, and the music began to spread again, like fire, or flood, or judgment. Then the church seemed to swell with the Power it held, and like a planet rocking in space, the temple reeled with the Power... (8) James Baldwin uses the pronoun "it" when describing the power of the church in conjunction with the powers of biblical destruction: fire and flood, to show that the power of God also resides in human beings; the Church grew through the power of its inhabitants, their music as powerful as God's command of destruction. Furthermore, just as God is capitalized, things in relation to God are also capitalized. The “Power” in this quote is capitalized, signifying that the Power exercised by worshipers is directly parallel to the divine Power exercised by God. The name of the church is also “The Temple of the Baptized of Fire,” in contrast to the usage of the word "Church" with which the characters in the novel refer to it. A temple is generally a place of pagan worship, not of a single deity. The word temple is used differently from the purpose for which it was created; Baldwin's use of Temple rather than Church in naming the place of worship implies that the worshipers who sing and dance with such passion, believing themselves to be under the influence of God, are in reality influenced by their own communal power. The faithful and John are unaware of this power at this time, but the world around them is affected by it. Additionally, John witnesses a character in a movie that makes him realize the potential of becoming powerful entirely unrelated to God. John spends part of his birthday in the city, climbing the hills of Central Park and observing white people wandering around. John, feeling rebellious and tired of his father's condemnation of all things irreligious, sees a theater and hesitantly goes in to watch a movie. As the film continues, John sees a woman on the screen that he captivateshis interest quickly. She lives in England and has a terrible disease, yet she is indomitable and goes around her numerous boyfriends, manipulating them and taking their money. Watching her cruelly reject a student in love with her, he realizes: nothing has tamed or broken her, nothing has touched her, not even kindness, not contempt, not hate, not love. He had never thought about prayer. It was unimaginable that she would bend her knees and crawl across a dusty floor to someone's altar, crying for forgiveness... She had fallen from that high state that God had intended for men and women, and he made her fall glorious because it was so complete. John couldn't have found it in his heart, if he dared to look for it, no desire for redemption for her. (33) James Baldwin's juxtaposition of the words “fall” and “glory,” a negative and positive word respectively, demonstrates his belief that human beings can achieve magnificence by doing the opposite of what was expected of them. He was untouchable and strong, despite his reluctance to bend to another; she had rejected the distinct place God intended for men and women, yet her fall was “complete,” meaning she was fulfilling herself in a way that the other would not be. Establishing that power can be gained without “crawling across a dusty floor to someone's altar,” Baldwin also identifies disconnection with the kindness, contempt, hatred, or love of others, as a way to become strong . This is in direct contrast to how prayer was described in Florence as “to forget everything and everyone except Jesus; to let out from the heart, like water from a bucket, all the bad thoughts, all the thoughts of oneself, all the malice towards one's enemies" (60). John says that he lacked "any desire for her redemption," and he liked that she had all this power, but more specifically how her power came from no one but herself (33). Florence standing up to Gabriel reveals the power dynamics in religion and secularism. After returning home, John finds his brother Roy cared for by his aunt Florence and his mother, after being stabbed in a knife fight. Gabriel accosts John and tells him that this was caused by "the white people that you like so much" (40). Florence jumps to John's defense, saying it was both Roy's fault and hers for trying to cut the white boys' throats. Gabriel, enraged, threatens her: "'I've already asked you,' his father shouted in frightening exasperation, 'to stop talking... do you want me to slap the side of your head?' 'You slap me,' he said with an equally fearful placidity, 'and I guarantee you won't do any more slapping in a hurry'” (41). Gabriel is consistently described as the most important symbol of religion and faith: “The hand of God was upon him, who was the anointed of the Lord” (97). The power of God can be seen in Gabriel. James Baldwin uses the dynamics of Florence and Gabriel's relationship to demonstrate that secularism is as powerful as religion. This moment means more than just an aunt protecting her nephew. Gabriel is the Lord's anointed, a man with a power that few other characters in the novel have. Yet Florence stops him easily and carelessly, proving that her power is equal to his. Florence is a woman steeped in secularism, she has not prayed for most of her life, but she is still the same as Gabriele. Gabriel's “fearful exasperation” was matched by Florence's fearful placidity. The use of the word “guarantee” also instills a feeling of confidence in Florence's threat; it would no doubt make Gabriel regret his actions if he ever tried to raise his hand against her. James Baldwin.