The Puritans were a group of people who grew discontent in the Church of England and worked towards religious, moral and societal reforms. [[[ The �writings� and �ideas� of John Calvin, ]]] a �leader� in the Reformation, gave rise to Protestantism and were pivotal to the Christian revolt. They contended that The Church of England had become a �product of political struggles and man-made doctrines.� The Puritans were one branch of dissenters who decided that the Church of England was beyond reform. Escaping persecution from church leadership and the King, they came to America.
The Puritans believed that the Bible was God's true law, and that it provided a plan for living. The established church of the day described access to God as monastic and possible only within the confines of "church authority". Puritans stripped away the traditional trappings and formalities of Christianity which had been slowly building throughout the previous 1500 years. Theirs was an attempt to "purify" the church and their own lives.
What many of us remember about the Puritans is reflective of the modern definition of the term and not of the historical account. Point one, they were not a small group of people. In England many of their persuasion sat in Parliament. So great was the struggle that England's Civil War pitted the Puritans against the Crown Forces. Though the Puritans won the fight with Oliver Cromwell's leadership, their victory was short-lived; hence their displacement to America. Point two, the witchcraft trials did not appropriately define their methods of living for the 100+ years that they formed successful communities. What it did show was the danger that their self-imposed isolation had put them in.
Most of the Puritans settled in the New England area. As they immigrated and formed individual colonies, their numbers rose from 17,800 in 1640 to 106,000 in 1700. [[[ Religious exclusiveness was the foremost principle of their society. ]]] The spiritual beliefs that they held were strong. This strength held over to include community laws and customs. Since God was at the forefront of their minds, He was to motivate all of their actions. This premise worked both for them and against them.
The common unity strengthened the community. In a foreign land surrounded with the hardships of pioneer life, their spiritual bond made them sympathetic to each other's needs. Their overall survival techniques permeated the colonies and on the whole made them more successful in several areas beyond that of the colonies established to their south.
Each church congregation was to be individually responsible to God, as was each person. The New Testament was their model and their devotion so great that it permeated their entire society. [[[ People of opposing theological views were asked to leave the community or to be converted. ]]]
Their interpretation of scriptures was a harsh one. They emphasized a redemptive piety. In principle, they emphasized conversion and not repression. Conversion was a rejection of the "worldliness" of society and a strict adherence to Biblical principles. While repression was not encouraged in principle, it was evident in their actions. God could forgive anything, but man could forgive only by seeing a change in behavior. Actions spoke louder than words, so actions had to be constantly controlled.
[[[ The doctrine of predestination kept all Puritans constantly working to do good in this life to be chosen for the next eternal one. ]]] [[[ God had already chosen who would be in heaven or hell, and each believer had no way of knowing which group they were in. ]]] Those who were wealthy were obviously blessed by God and were in good standing with Him. The Protestant work ethic was the belief that hard work was an honor to God which would lead to a prosperous reward. Any deviations from the normal way of Puritan life met with strict disapproval and discipline. [[[ Since the church elders were also political leaders, any church infraction was also a social one. There was no margin for error. ]]]
The devil was behind every evil deed. Constant watch needed to be kept in order to stay away from his clutches. Words of hell fire and brimstone flowed from the mouths of eloquent ministers as they warned of the persuasiveness of the devil's power. The sermons of Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan minister, show that delivery of these sermons became an art form. They were elegant, well formed, exegetical renditions of scriptures... with a healthy dose of fear woven throughout the fabric of the literary construction. Grammar children were quizzed on the material at school and at home. This constant subjection of the probability of an unseen danger led to a scandal of epidemic proportions.
Great pains were taken to warn their members and especially their children of the dangers of the world. [[[ Religiously motivated, ]]] they were exceptional in their time for their interest in the education of their children. Reading of the Bible was necessary to living a pious life. The education of the next generation was important to further "purify" the church and perfect social living.
Three English diversions were banned in their New England colonies; drama, religious music and erotic poetry. The first and last of these led to immorality. Music in worship created a "dreamy" state which was not conducive in listening to God. Since the people were not spending their time idly indulged in trivialities, they were left with two godly diversions.
The Bible stimulated their [[[ corporate intellect ]]] by promoting discussions of literature. Greek classics of Cicero, Virgil, Terence and Ovid were taught, as well as poetry and Latin verse. They were encouraged to create their own poetry, always religious in content.
For the first time in history, free schooling was offered for all children. Puritans formed the first formal school in 1635, called the Roxbury Latin School. Four years later, the first American College was established; Harvard in Cambridge. Children aged 6-8 attended a "Dame school" where the teacher, who was usually a widow, taught reading. "Ciphering" (math) and writing were low on the academic agenda.
In 1638, the first printing press arrived. By 1700, Boston became the second largest publishing center of the English Empire. The Puritans were the first to write books for children, and to discuss the difficulties in communicating with them. At a time when other Americans were physically blazing trails through the forests, the Puritans efforts in areas of study were advancing our country intellectually.
[[[ Religion provided a stimulus and prelude for scientific thought. Of those Americans who were admitted into the scientific "Royal Society of London," the vast majority were New England Puritans. ]]]
The large number of people who ascribed to the lifestyle of the Puritans did much to firmly establish a presence on American soil. Bound together, they established a community that maintained a healthy economy, established a school system, and focused an efficient eye on political concerns. The moral character of England and America were shaped in part by the words and actions of this strong group of Christian believers called the Puritans.
Prepared by Kay Kizer www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/puritan
*** This article is a persons perspective & opinin. After I read this article it came to me that the Puritans which were mostly �Calvinists� were more along the lines of just Re-Formers, Legalists & Control Freaks�Not Christian�Which is the same thing that the Protestants Accused to Catholic Church of�Go figer�xo
I would also like to know why is John Calvin credited with writing the Five Pints of Calvinism, when it has been recorded that Calvin did not write this, and that it was written amost 56 years AFTER Calvins death by Arminians, but hwat he had written was rejected. Therefore, what Arminians had written was re-written by others in response to what Arminians had already written, and it was credited to Calvin, but John Calvin did not write the doctrine of the TULIP, others wrote it and placed Calvin's name to it... I'm just saying
Yup !!! The theory which is today commonly known by the name �Calvinism� was first introduced by Augustine in the fourth century. He taught that Christ did not die for all men, but for a chosen few whom God had chosen and predestinated to become His children. He taught that all others were created to go to Hell. He taught that all those who were chosen to go to Heaven were as good as in Heaven and all those whom God chose to go to Hell were as good as in Hell. Augustine was later given sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church.
Over 1000 years later, John Calvin, an ex-Catholic, revived this teaching which had been forgotten since the death of Augustine. It is from Calvin that the teaching received its name, Calvinism.
Augustine, the father of the teaching, also taught that infant baptism was necessary in order to go to Heaven. He taught that a person could have genuine regeneration, genuine piety, and even genuine faith, but without membership in the Catholic Church, these would avail him nothing and he would go to Hell. He is also responsible for the teaching of sinless perfection. Many of the errors in the Catholic Church today can be traced to the writings of Augustine.
As for John Calvin, he was not a Baptist. He was a Reformer. He was not Christian in his attitude and behavior. He was a tyrant who cast those who disagreed with him into prison. In 1553, Micheal Servetus, a Spaniard, a scholar, a physician, a scientist of originality, and a man who was deeply religious and devoted to Christ, vigorously opposed Calvin on the doctrines of predestination and infant baptism [Bible Believers Resource Page note: while Servetus is to be commended for opposing predestination and infant baptism, some resources note that he also taught against the essential Christian doctrine of the Trinity which is heresy]...xo
Certainly Luther and Calvin were sinners but they helped separate many from the very Satanic Roman Catholic Church and taught that salvation was a free gift by the grace of God. Both Luther and Calvin were greatly brainwashed by the Roman Catholic Satanic beliefs and many of their teachings had to be polished by Protestant theologians after the Reformation.
JESUS COMMANDS, �LOVE ONE ANOTHER JUST AS I HAVE LOVED YOU!�
Jesus commanded his disciples many times to obey the OT command �To **LOVE** your neighbor as yourself� and on the day before his atonement Jesus added a NEW command �To **LOVE** one another as I have **LOVED** you� and this was just one day before he laid down His life for His friends.
John 13:34: Jesus says, �A **NEW** command I give you: **LOVE** one another as I have **LOVED** you so you MUST **LOVE** one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples!!�
John 15:9-14: �As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Now remain in My **LOVE**. **IF** you obey My commands, you will remain in My **LOVE**,,, My command is this:**LOVE** each other **AS I HAVE LOVED YOU**!!. Greater **LOVE** has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends **IF** you do what I command!
Ephesians 3:16-19: �I pray that out of His glorious riches He may stengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in **LOVE**, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the **LOVE** of Christ, and to know this **LOVE** that surpasses knowledge�that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God!!�
I Peter 1:22,23: "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the Truth so that you have sincere **LOVE** for your brothers, **LOVE** one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again through the living and enduring Word of God.�
God's Word further explains what this new **LOVE** is like in I Corinthians 13:2,4-8: If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not **LOVE** I am nothing...**LOVE** is patient, **LOVE** is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. **LOVE** does not delight in evil but rejoices with the Truth. It always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. **LOVE** never fails!!"
John 14:23: Jesus says, �If anyone **LOVES** Me, he will obey My teaching, My Father will **LOVE** him, and We will make Our home with him.� He who does not **LOVE** Me will not obey My teaching.�
I John 2:3-5: �We know that we have come to know Him {Jesus} **IF** we obey His commands. The man who says, �I know Him,� but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the Truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His Word, God's **LOVE** is truly made complete in him!!�
Matthew 28:19.20� Jesus commands, �Go and make disciples of all nations... teaching them to *OBEY EVERYTHING* I have commanded you!� {See I John 2:3-5}
EVERYTHING would also include all the other commands in God's inspired Word from Acts to Revelation as per 2 Timothy 3:16: 4:2: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work...Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.
Ephesians 4:15,16: �Speaking the Truth **IN LOVE**, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ! From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up ***IN LOVE***, as each part does its work!�
If we really **LOVE** our brothers and sisters in Christ we will lovingly teach them to obey all the approximately 400 commands of the NT with **LOVE** in the hope of countless eternal rewards when Jesus comes with great power with all His angels.
Revelation 22:112: Jesus says,"Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done!?
Matthew 16:27: Jesus says, For the Son of Man is going to come in His **FATHER'S GLORY WITH HIS ANGELS**{See Matt 24:30,31; 25:31-40 & 2 Thess 1:6-10}, and **THEN** He will reward each person according to what he has done."
Daniel 12:3: "Those who impart wisdom will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever!"
Jesus says in Rev 2:17; 3:4, 5, 21: �To him who overcomes...I will give a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.....He will walk with Me for he is worthy... I will acknowledge his name before My Father and His angels.... I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem.....I will write on him my New Name... and I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.�
you must have at least ONE source that you can Share. Utherwise I have to conclude that it is heresay...for I cannot find anything even similar in any Credible source.
Arch, you can conculde whatever you please, that's your choice.
As I said google John Calvin's name and go in search. I don't do hand outs unless its very necessary, if you care to know something seek it out. There i much to be said and found on Calvin and in his bio, and from reading articles about him. Go iin search of what it is you're seeking, but I don't do hand outs, no more than what I have already shared...
