PURITANISMPURITANISMPURITANS

A RELIGIOUS-POLITICAL MOVEMENT DEVELOPED IN THE MID-1500’S EVOLVING INTO PROTESTANTISM.PURITAN IS A BROAD TERM, REFERRING TO ANY NUMBER OF PROTESTANT SECTS THAT SOUGHT TO “PURIFY” THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH

A. INTRODUCTION

Puritans most powerfully influenced the course of American Literature

What we identify as “American” comes from the moral, ethical, and religious convictions of the Puritans.

INTRO (CONT)

Voyage: Two months (66 days)Ships: Speedwell (abandoned) & Mayflower

Divine InterventionSailor who mocked and cursed Puritans died of fever.

Beam of ship buckles-Puritans use screw to repair.

INTRO (CONT.)

CharacteristicsPracticalSingle-minded visionaries convinced of rightness of their cause

Businessmen: spiritually and worldlyCommerce with heavenCompetent in real world of business ventures

WHO WERE THESE PURITANS?

Puritan – refers to any of a number of Protestant sects that sought to purify the established church of England.

Also called “Nonconformists” and “Dissenters”

WHO WERE THESE PURITANS?

Many suffered religious persecution.Some left England, at first for Holland.

Fearing they would lose their identity, a small group of about a hundred set sail in 1620 for the New World.

Hoped to build a new secular society patterned after God’s word.

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MARTIN LUTHER’S CONTRIBUTION:

10 yrs. after entering monastery had a personal revelation

his approach is a mystical convergence

distrusted reasonshocked by the spiritual laxity in

higher church officesthe results were . . .

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THE 95 THESES1Roman Catholic Church had no

divine rights in spiritual matters2Scriptures are the final authority

over conscience.3Man could be absolved of sins

without the intervention of a mediary (priest) by his own actions--turning toward God.

4 Justification came through faith alone, not ceremony, good works or the sacraments

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JOHN HTTP://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=2IVVACG5PYI

CALVIN’S CONTRIBUTIONS:a French Protestant theologian who experienced a sudden conversion

left the Church and became a hunted Protestant leader.

His Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536) sets forth his basic theology.

Calvinism affected the Puritans the most

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FIVE BASIC POINTS:1) The Total Depravity of Man--

man’s natural inability to exercise free will since Adam’s Fall.

2) Unconditional Election-- God’s election of those few to be saved w/ or w/o good works.

3) Irresistible Grace--made available in advance only to the elect (i.e.. God’s sovereignty.)

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4) The perseverance of the saints--the predetermined elect persevere in the path of holiness (Once saved, once having received God’s Grace, it cannot be returned.)

5) Limited Atonement-- Christ did not die for all but only for the elect, provided through the Holy Spirit, giving them power to attempt to obey God’s will as revealed in Scriptures.

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PURITAN MOVEMENT:Henry VIII broke with the

Roman Catholic Church in 1534 to assert the supremacy of the State over the Church.

Puritans did not consider this break adequate. They wanted to eliminate bishops and papal ceremonies not authorized by Scriptures.

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PURITAN THEOLOGY:The basic premise was to set up a Christian religion based solely on the Bible.

Many wished to set up a theocracy where religion and government went hand in hand.

While they advocated religious liberty, they were not themselves tolerant of other religious preferences.

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BASIC PRINCIPLES:The Sovereignty of GodGod’s Hand in government

The authority of the Scriptures

The TrinityUniversal Depravity

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PredestinationDamnation of unregenerate

Election of salvation of some regenerates through God’s Grace

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Though good works did not get one to heaven, seeing one do good works could be a sign that he was one of the elect.

Thus everyone worked hard and reaped benefits.

The hard earned riches was another outward sign of being God’s chosen.

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THE CONTEST CONTINUED IN NEW ENGLAND:The SCROOBY Group of Separatists settled in Plymouth Bay in 1620

The Non-separatists established a colony at Massachusetts Bay in 1629

Once established--both groups practiced intolerance

PURITANS AND PILGRIMS

Pilgrim: one who makes a pilgrimage, or journey to a holy place.

Took on a wider meaning – it was a journey to salvation

The Pilgrims (capital P) is generally reserved for the small band of Puritans who founded the colony of Plymouth in 1620

The many other Puritans who came afterward are usually just called Puritans

THE BIBLE IN THE AMERICAN WILDERNESS

The Bible was the literal word of God

Reading the Bible was a necessity for all Puritans

Therefore, Puritans places a great emphasis on education

Puritans founded Harvard College in 1636, just sixteen years after the first Pilgrims landed

PURITAN WRITINGS

The Bible was the foundation upon which Puritan literature was built

Rejected mere adornments, such as ornate figures of speech or witty plays on words.

The Ideal Puritan style of writing:

Plain style Strong, simple, and logical Made explanations of the

scriptures accessible to everyone

PURITAN WRITINGS

Inner and Outer events (emotions & occurrences) were interpreted as God’s messages.

Writing these occurrences became the records of the workings of God.

They recorded forms of revelation

PURITAN WRITINGS

Writings recorded forms of revelation.

God revealed His purpose to humanity in three primary ways: The Bible The natural world Direct intervention in human

affairs

Puritan Beliefs

Puritan Style Content

“Of Plymouth

Plantation”

“Sinners in the Hands of

an Angry God”