The Puritan Family

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The Puritan Family Edmund S. Morgan's The Puritan Family displays a multifaceted view of the various aspects of Puritan life. In this book, we, the audience, see into the Puritans' lives and are thereby forced to reflect upon our own. The Puritan beliefs and practices were complicated and rather "snobbish," as seen in The Puritan Family. 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 First Chapter of The Puritan Family explains to the reader the rather "backwards" Puritan mindset that a man must be destined for salvation if he commanded good social conduct. That is, he was conducting himself in such a way because he was to be saved (the conduct being the result of this salvation). Many, if not all, Christians today believe, however, that salvation would be a result of conduct - that one will be saved if one has lived a just and moral life, unlike the Puritan converse - "one must be living justly and morally because one ...

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