John Winthrop A Model Of Christian Charity

A Model Of Christian Charity's Irrelevence 1179 Words 5 Pages

Times have changed since the Puritans came to America in 1630. Our culture’s values have changed from strict, religious morality to uninhibited and loose. Religion is no longer a major part of most of our lives. John Winthrop, the leader of the Separatists who left England for the New World in 1630, was the governor and religious model of the colony. His sermon A Model of Christian Charity was designed for a community of 700 Puritan ideologists. The sermon emphasizes God’s total power. People in modern times have realized that God doesn’t punish them for keeping their surplus or making a profit. People no longer fear God’s wrath the way they did 400 years ago. A Model of Christian

Winthrop expects people to reject the concept; he counters the potential argument. According to Winthrop, a man who continues to save instead of giving his surplus to a neighbor in need is “…worse than an infidel who through his own sloth and voluptuousness shall neglect to provide for his family.” Many of the Puritans believe that those who didn’t have the foresight to save deserve the consequences. People who were smart enough to save for the future deserve their stored goods. Giving up your own food for someone else is worth it in Winthrop’s mind. He says, “For first he that gives to the poor, lends to the Lord and He will repay him even in this life a hundredfold to him or his.” The Puritans devote most of their lives hoping to undergo the conversion that proves they belong in Heaven. Knowing the rewards that would await them in Heaven would be more than an acceptable incentive for people to give. Winthrop also threatens the colonists with the possibility that unused storages will be eaten, stolen, or ruined by thieves, bugs, or rust. He tells the colonists, “The first is that they are subject to the moth, the rust, the thief.” With the horrible storage conditions and “savage” Indians surrounding them, the Puritans would have accepted his statement very quickly. Finally, Winthrop tells the

The eyes of all people are upon us.” He believes his colony should become a model for other Christian communities around the world. People would use the community as an example for other godly experiments. All the colonists have in the New World is their religion, so knowing the journey would inspire religious fervor in others would make them feel more than worthy. Winthrop tells the people, “…when He shall make us a praise and glory that men shall say of succeeding plantations, ‘may the Lord make it like that of New England.” The colonists had recently emigrated from their home, risking everything to create a Puritan colony that would bring them closer to God. Hearing that their adventure would be an inspiration of historical proportions would be very comforting to them. Winthrop also declares, “...we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” Winthrop knows that the colonization of New England will be important to the future generations. By telling the colonists the sheer importance of the settlement, he hopes to invoke a good spirit in all of the Puritans. He hopes that the sermon will make them act even more religiously and become a golden, idealistic community. John Winthrop wants to inspire the settlers to their hearts. He wants them to do everything they find God’s