Question

read the passage.
excerpt from an exposition upon the 13th
chapter of revelation
adapted for educational purposes
by john cotton
john cotton was an influential civil and religious
leader in the massachusetts bay colony during
the seventeenth century. in this excerpt from an
exposition upon the 13th chapter of revelation,
cotton explains the importance of limiting
governmental power because human beings are,
by nature, corrupt. at the same time, cotton
asserts that human beings cannot be allowed
total freedom or liberty because of their
corruption
in authority must be limited
by providing examples from the natural
world in which too much power has led
to destruction and chaos
by comparing the task of controlling
humans abuse of power to controlling
the forces of the ocean
by showing how unrestrained freedom
and liberty is harmful to human beings
and the natural environment
by describing how gods influence over
the forces of nature could be applied to
leaders who break boundaries

Explanation:

The problem is about analyzing a literary passage (from John Cotton's work) and determining the author's argumentative approach. The subfield of Literature (under Arts) applies as it involves textual analysis, understanding literary arguments, and how authors structure their reasoning (here, about limiting power/freedom due to human corruption). The correct option should align with the passage's focus: Cotton argues against unrestrained freedom/liberty because of human corruption, so the third option ("by showing how unrestrained freedom and liberty is harmful to human beings and the natural environment") matches.

Answer:

by showing how unrestrained freedom and liberty is harmful to human beings and the natural environment