Abstract
Anne Hutchinson was derided for rhetorical purposes. She was accused of breaking the 5th amendment in the puritan’s colony which by she was banished from the colony. During trial she said that god spoke to her. John Winthrop didn’t like her theological conclusions and that’s why he banished her. Religion professor Stephen prothero says “Anne Hutchinson is the future in a religious tolerance. Also seeing the difference in the 17th century understand that” god is speaking to each us” and the contemporary America spirituality. Also her religious experience and George Whitefield’s understanding of “inward change”
Anne Hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson was daughter of an Anglican minister that sailed over seas from England to Massachusetts in 1634. They joined the puritans in Massachusetts. Anne Hutchinson led meetings at her home for prayers and studying the bible. She talked about the importance of doing good things rather than receiving god’s forgiveness of our sins to be saved. The puritan’s ministers were offended by the way her discussions led to and preaching. John Winthrop found out and didn’t like it so he wanted to put Anne Hutchinson on a trial. Hutchinson was accused of breaking the 5th amendment, “honor thy father and thy mother”. Anne said that good spoke to her soul directly. Ministers found her guilty and was sentenced to imprisonment and was banished from the colony. In the 19th century Anne Hutchinson was seen as a heroine of religious freedom. Also in
Puritans believed that salvation comes by god’s grace. Their beliefs were based on the ‘covenant of grace’ which meant to preach or teach otherwise is heretical. They were very strict on their beliefs. Their beliefs were similar to the orthodox Christians. Since Anne Hutchinson was accused over theological balance others were too, in which this created the antinomian controversy in
The Salem witchcraft trials of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts can be considered a horrendous period in American history, yet is also viewed as the turning point in what was considered acceptable in a contemporary society. In a documentation of a trial against a woman named Sarah Good, the reader is able to see the way in which such an accusation was treated and how society as a whole reacted to such a claim. Sarah Good fell victim to the witchcraft hysteria because she was different, and that fear of her divergence from the Puritan lifestyle led to her eventual demise.
Anne Hutchinson was a remarkable colonial woman who first came to Massachusetts in the fall of 1634. She is less remembered for her contributions in the new world as a wife, mother of fourteen, and midwife to many than for her eventual trial and banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I was interested in writing a paper on a colonial woman and chose Anne Hutchinson after a "Google" search turned up a very good review on a recent book about her life. I have been intrigued by the fact that the Puritans came to America to practice their religion freely, yet allowed no freedom to question their doctrine. The book, American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans, is an excellent examination of this lack of religious freedom and the life of a woman that intersects it.
How was Anne Hutchinson's trial an ordeal for her and how was it an ordeal for
The Puritans were "Christians," in that they believed in Jesus Christ yet some may argue that they did not lead "Christian" lives. These fanatics seemed to obssess over a major tenet of their religion, that being "Pre Destination." That is, God Himself chose those destined for eternal salvation in the beginning of time, long before our conception and birth. This pre-ordained number is considerably miniscule, which, at times, the Puritans seemed to ignore.
The Puritans were mainly artisans and middling farmers by trade and in the wake of the reformation of the Church of England, left for the colonies to better devout themselves to God because they saw the Church of England as a corrupt institution where salvation was able to be bought and sold, and with absolutely no success in further reforming the Church, set off for the colonies. English Puritans believed in an all-powerful God who, at the moment of Creation, determined which humans would be saved and which would be damned (Goldfield 45).
Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views.
She believed that: "1.One can feel one's salvation and is filled with the spirit of God after conversion. 2.One needn't be learned in the Bible or in the Puritan writers in order to be saved. 3.The ministers are all under the covenant of works, except John Cotton, who is under the covenant of grace.4. Inner light is the guarantee of salvation.5. All responsibility for salvation is placed on Christ. 6.Every person has the ear of God if only he or she would ask for it, and listen to the answer. 7.Indian slavery is wrong - people of all skin colors are of one blood. 8.Sunday shouldn't be set aside as the Lord's Day because every day is the Lord's day. 9.Christians will have new bodies when they get to heaven.10.Predestination is unfounded.11.Prayers should not be memorized, but inspired by love for God, waiting on Him.12.Holy Spirit dwells within each Christian like a personal union.
...ve Indians. From the copious use of examples in Winthrop's work, and the concise detail in Rowlandson's narrative, one can imbibe such Puritans values as the mercy of God, place in society, and community. Together, these three elements create a foundation for Puritan thought and lifestyle in the New World. Though A Model of Christian Charity is rather prescriptive in its discussion of these values, Rowlandson's captivity narrative can certainly be categorized as descriptive; this pious young woman serves as a living example of Winthrop's "laws," in that she lives the life of a true Puritan. Therefore, both 17th century works are extremely interrelated; in order to create Winthrop's model community, one must have faith and closely follow Puritan ideals, as Rowlandson has effectively done in her A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.
Mary Rowlandson’s memoir The Sovereignty and Goodness of God was indeed a compelling, thorough and praise worthy piece of literature. Rowlandson, not only recollected a chapter of her life, she delivered a solid visual of the circumstances during Metacom’s War. Rowlandson being a minister’s wife, a Puritan and pious women, gives us her journey with the Indians. Without any hesitation she narrates the journey she experienced and in the following essay, I will be discussing portions of her journey, and the significance of religion in her life.
During the 17th century religion was a major them of American writing. The difference between these New World Puritans and the Old World Roman Catholics and church of England Anglicans, the obstacles the settlers faced in the New World, and their own personal struggles with faith made this subject inevitable. Bradstreet portrays her struggles with death, life, and faith in the poems” Before the Birth of one of her Children” and ‘’Here Follows Some Verses upon the Burning of our house 1666” As well as her letter “To My Dear Children’’. Rowlandson in her text “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Rowlandson” provides an account of her captivity at the hands of Indians. Both authors are good examples of Puritan thinking as both depict their personal struggles and solutions they found as good
The Puritans were a group of 16th and 17th century Protestants, who were not only hindered in their ability to reform the Church, but also inhibited in England by laws controlling the exercise of religion. The Puritans adamantly believed that Elizabeth I was unsuccessful in her attempts to simplify and regulate forms of worship. The Puritans were extremely religious and didn’t believe in anything that was not “god-like.” They came to North America to escape religious persecution, and in their hearts, they believed they alone were truly steadfast to God and his philosophical ideals and theories. The Puritans were religious extremists who believed they were going to be the sole inhabitants of heaven. According to them, everyone else was going to hell. This belief stemmed from the idea that they followed the Bible and interpreted everything, and everyone else, in particular, as devils. The Puritans believed that people made a covenant with God, and in doing so, established an understanding that people should conduct their lives freely, but more importantly, according to God’s criterions. It’s ones understanding that if one wants to establish a faith in god, one should follow commitments. It’s the responsibility of the worshipper to understand the consequences associated with disobeying God’s rules, and if he/she doesn’t listen, he/she will suffer the ultimate price, and god will turn against him/her.
The Puritans didn't have all the luxuries we have today. They were told many things by preachers such as Jonathon Edwards, who lit a candle of fear in their minds. If I was alive to hear Edwards preach, I'd certainly have to question myself. He preached that God holds us in his hands and he can make or break us. If God decides it so, he will let us go and we will fall from his hands to nothing but Hell. Certainly no one wants to go to Hell. So, the Puritans tried to better their lives, and go by rules or "resolutions." They believed if they followed these resolutions, even though their fate was predetermined by God, they could live a life of good and maybe prove they are meant to go to Heaven.
The “Trial of Anne Hutchinson” written on 1637, was during the period where women are to subject to the man. Hutchinson being a woman did affect her trial. This is seen in the trial with Governor John Winthrop. He mentioned that she had done things that are not “fitting” for her sex. Not only did she get into trouble with the churches, who were headed by man, but was also accused for promoting her opinions that salvation is God’s gift that does not need to be earned. On the other hand from John Winthrop’s “Speech to the Massachusetts General Court” in July 3, 1645, he describes about two kinds of liberty, natural and moral. “Natural” liberty was liberty to do good or evil; it is based on one’s opinion. This form of liberty is less inconsistent
The Sovereignty and Goodness of God is a primary source document written in the 17th century, by a well-respected, Puritan woman. This book, written in cahoots with Cotton and Increase Mather, puritan ministers, tells the story of her capture by Indians during King Phillip’s War (1675-1676). For three months, Mary Rowlandson, daughter of a rich landowner, mother of three children, wife of a minister, and a pillar of her community lived among “savage” Indians. This document is important for several reasons. First, it gives us insight into the attitudes, extremes, personalities and “norms” of the Puritan people we learn about in terms of their beliefs, and John Calvin’s “house on a hill”. Beyond that, despite the inevitable exaggerations, this book gives us insight into Indian communities, and how they were run and operated during this time.
Up until the early 17th century, American literature was chiefly about politics, religion, and recorded events. These writings were very dry and lacked insight into the everyday lives of the authors. To put into writing any individual spiritual reflections that strayed away from the religion of the colony could be dangerous at that time; possibly resulting in banishment from the colony or worse. Likewise, any writing that did not serve at least one of the purposes listed above was considered to be a waste of time that would be better spent praising God. Anne Bradstreet defied the rules of her time by writing about whatever she wanted including personal thoughts, reflections, emotions, and events. Bradstreet was the first to write about personal matters, which is her greatest literary contribution in early American literature.