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“The Puritans: Fanatic or Not?”
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Manjinder Bhatti 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 believed that people must engage with God internally, and truly grip and capture the essence of his religious scripture. One might infer that if one is to be a true follower of God, one must be do God justice rightfully and justifiably. According to John Winthrop, in "A Modell of Christian Charitie," the “m... ... middle of paper ... .... He said the most important thing is that people read the bible, engage in their faith, act unified, work humbly, support each other, and refuse to work falsely with God. All of John Winthrop’s ideals, in his sermon, reflect a biblical and philosophical standpoint on a typical good human being. Regardless of how people feel about God, whether they believe in him/her, people should realize that the Puritans were very religious people, merely attempting to do God justice. They wanted to be left alone, free to live their lives vicariously through God. John Winthrop’s sermon indisputably became famous as a result of political and religious indifference. Many people didn’t believe in what the Puritans were all about, but regardless, John Winthrop sought to solidify Puritanical viewpoints and defend their main ideologues and ideals about God and his religious teachings.
A Puritan lawyer, John Winthrop, immigrated to New England because his views on religion were different from those in England. Even though Puritans are Protestants, Puritans tried to purify the English Church. In 1630 on board of the Arabella on the Atlantic Ocean on way to Massachusetts, he wrote “A Model of Christian Charity” which gave his views on what a society should be. ‘…the condition of mankind, [that] in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity, other mean and in subjection….[Yet] we must knit together in this work as one man.’ (Doc. A). In this he is saying that men may be different but to make a new world work, they must work together. All through his speech he mentions God. For example, he opens his sermon with ‘God Almighty in his most holy and wise providence…’. This shows that in New England, the people were very religious.
They believed they had the right to worship and govern themselves in whatever manner they pleased. Puritan freedom did not include religious tolerance or individualism. John Winthrop 's speech highlighted the concept of what Puritan freedom was. He believed in a civil society where through God 's path stability would be found. Socially, it can be summarized to two ideas, natural liberty vs. moral liberty. Natural liberty was said to be corrupt because it meant doing what you pleased, whereas moral liberty meant only doing what was right. One actions were reflected based upon their position in society. The higher up one was ranked social the more "moral" their actions were and vice versa for actions defined as
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).
John Winthrop was a Puritan and one of the leading founders in the Massachusetts Bay Colony who gave the speech “Model of Christian Charity” in 1630 while aboard the Arbella on the way to Salem. In this speech, Winthrop mentions many values and morals he believes people need to follow in order to survive. One value he mentions is that people should “rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together”. Winthrop is really explaining that he wants everyone to be one unit and believe the same things in terms of God. Anne Hutchinson, who was under the rule of Winthrop, held many meetings where she taught false information of the bible. Hutchinson gained a lead and eventually people who went to her meetings stopped attending church. This upset Winthrop because even though he strongly wanted people to follow the views of the Puritan beliefs, he moreso wanted people to view him as a leader. This is seen in the court trail between Anne Hutchinson and John Winthrop. Winthrop shows his need for being in charge when he says to Hutchinson “We see no rule of God for this. We see not that any should have authority to set up any other exercises besides what authority that hath already been set up…” From this quote, it is clear that even without Winthrop’s strong morals in play, his need for authority is evident by the way he addresses Hutchinson’s case. Because of the desire for
The church and Christian beliefs had a very large impact on the Puritan religion and lifestyle. According to discovery education, “Church was the cornerstone of the mainly Puritan society of the 17th century.”( Douglas 4). Puritan laws were intensively rigid and people in society were expected to follow a moral strict code. And because of Puritans and their strict moral codes, any act that was considered to go against this code was considered a sin and deserved to be punished. In Puritan theology, God h...
When the Puritans came to New England, they came to settle with a clear society in mind. Not only would this society be free from the persecution that they endured in Old England; it would be free to create what the leader of the religion referred to as a "perfect" society. In their attempt to escape the persecution they had come so accustomed to, they set up their own rigid belief system based on the inclusion of the human soul and the exclusion of everything else as being unimportant (Wolff 14). The belief system of the Puritans allowed for several different types of theologies, two of which are the Covenant theology and the Paradise theology.
Puritans believed in strict religious dedications, by trying to follow the holy commandment. “The discipline of the family, in those days, was of a far more rigid kind than now.”(Hawthorne 9). They wanted to be considered the holiest of all people because they try to reflect a world of perfection in the sight of God. While they where trying to portray a holy life; however, they where also living a sinful life because they have been judgmental, slandering, uncompassionate, resentment, and forbearing, which are all sinful acts of the bible.
In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Company set sail to the New World in hope of reforming the Church of England. While crossing the Atlantic, John Winthrop, the puritan leader of the great migration, delivered perhaps the most famous sermon aboard the Arbella, entitled “A Model of Christian Charity.” Winthrop’s sermon gave hope to puritan immigrants to reform the Church of England and set an example for future immigrants. The Puritan’s was a goal to get rid of the offensive features that Catholicism left behind when the Protestant Reformation took place. Under Puritanism, there was a constant strain to devote your life to God and your neighbors. Unlike the old England, they wanted to prove that New England was a community of love and individual worship to God. Therefore, they created a covenant with God and would live their lives according to the covenant. Because of the covenant, Puritans tried to abide by God’s law and got rid of anything that opposed their way of life. Between 1630 and the 18th century, the Puritans tried to create a new society in New England by creating a covenant with God and living your life according to God’s rule, but in the end failed to reform the Church of England. By the mid 1630’s, threats to the Puritans such as Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, and Thomas Hooker were being banned from the Puritan community for their divergent beliefs. 20 years later, another problem arose with the children of church members and if they were to be granted full membership to the church. Because of these children, a Halfway Covenant was developed to make them “halfway” church members. And even more of a threat to the Puritan society was their notion that they were failing God, because of the belief that witches existed in 1692.
According to both Winthrop and Rowlandson, if one has true faith in God, he will be able to witness God's mercy in his own life. Winthrop clearly underscores this point in his sermon, where he stresses that the Puritans must uphold their covenant with God in order to have a harmonious and successful colony. If one is faithful and obedient to God, he will be the recipient of God's providence: "Now if the Lord shall please to hear us, and bring us in peace to the place we desire, then hath He ratified this covenant and sealed our commission, [and] will expect a strict pe...
“Johnny, I better not catch you lying or you will go straight to hell,” said no Puritan mom ever. The Puritans believed in predestination, which is the belief that God has already predetermined who would receive salvation (Heyrman). People could do nothing to change their fate because they had no free will, but the Puritans still believed in strictly following the Bible. Extremely harsh punishments were administered for everything including sins we today consider inconsequential (Cox). The Puritan belief in predestination contradicted itself and other beliefs within the Puritan religion.
When Puritans were aware of Archbishop William Laud’s dedication was to wipe out Puritanism they immediately secured a royal charter that allowed them to establish the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Thousands of Puritans left England and came to New England. Many intellectuals landed in the Bay Colony, including John Winthrop. He was offered the position of being the colony’s first governor which he proudly accepted saying he had a “calling” from God to do so. A governor was elected annually as well as a representative assembly. Puritans claimed that the sole purpose of the government was to enforce God’s laws. The Enlarged Salem Covenant of 1636 says, “we bind our selves to study the gospel in all truth and peace; both in regard of those that are within or without [church membership] … not laying a stumbling block before any, no, not the Indians, whose good we desire to promote…” (Doc C). They believed in the importance of religion and...
This was a red flag towards England and its church. Puritans believed that God already had already planned if you were destined to go to heaven or hell by the time you were born. They thought that if they just lived a normal "moral life", that would be suitable and nothing one did would change Gods decision on where they were destine to go. They also challenged the that the England church would sell purgatory slips. With the purchase of these slips, or passes, one could buy their way into heaven and or clear themselves or another person of the sins they had committed during their lifetime. Puritans did not agree with the false se statement tat the church was making to the people about being able to clear their sins and get into heaven. They believed that if a person was chosen to go to heaven, then it would show in their character and in their way of
The primary source I think most accurately represents the puritan beliefs is the Model of Christian charity by John Winthrop. It states they must be just, merciful and walk humbly with God. It continues to state they must be united to resist evils, and to not be greedy but to share they fortunes with their community. As it has been clear that the puritans were at a degree religious extremists. The document importantly says if they do not truthfully follow their God and expectations he can take away their fortunes, in other words suffer because of their immoral actions.
Puritanism is the fundamental belief in the church, being pure of sins, and that god has your fate decided by the time you’re born. For puritans society and fitting in was everything, if you did something wrong the people would shun you. For example, in the crucible when everyone is talking about the witches and how “the town’s gone wild” (Miller 1123).They were going