Puritanism and Government

page 1 April 29, 2019 English Honors 11 Puritanism and Government Define Puritans/Puritanism. A Puritan was someone who followed Puritanism which was a religious reform movement in the 1600s that supported a very censored lifestyle. They hoped to purify the Church of England which they believed to be too free. They believed that God had sent them to reform and set a good example for those who had chosen to live their lives in “sinful ways.” What were some of the basic Puritan beliefs? Total Depravity-they believed that the Original Sin to mean total depravity. They believed that all people were vulnerable to temptation. virtue of original sin Unconditional Election- They believed that God only saves who he wishes and that the choice was God’s alone. A person can’t change God’s choice and being a member of the Puritan church was not enough to be elected for salvation. God chose who would be saved and who would be chosen for eternal damnation. Limited Atonement- Puritans believed that Jesus Christ died to atone for the sins of man. They believed that only those who God elected would receive the salvation benefits of Christ's atonement. Not all Puritans were considered saved, only an exclusive group. It means the extent to which you can please god is limited. Irresistible Grace- If you are elected you can not resist salvation. Once God chose to elect someone for salvation, that person could never resist God. Being chosen meant that a person had found the path to salvation. They could be called on both internally (meant that God changed a person's heart to respond to the Gospel) and externally (to preach the word of God to others). Perseverance of the Saints- Once god says you go to heaven or hell you can’t change your faith. “A person elected by God's grace would never depart from the path to salvation”. By understanding the word of God, someone would never depart from God's commands and would never turn towards evil. The person would instead persevere towards salvation. Describe the types of homes that probably existed in Salem. Explain what a palisade is and why it was necessary. There were different variations of homes that existed in Salem. Many of them had small windows with wooden frames, had stone chimneys, wooden floors, and were 1 and a half stories high. Homes and churches were made from wood, and the homes were insulated in order to hold in heat during the winter. Homes were architectural and were built with pyramidal roofs to direct rain water off their houses proportionally. A palisade was a fence made of wood that was used as a barrier to protect families from intruders. Palisades were necessary for protection against Native American attacks. page 2 How would Puritans view those of other faiths/religions? The Puritans were seeking freedom; however, they did not understand toleration. The Puritans believed that other European religions and faiths were wrong. They originally were protestant Christians who had originally split from the Anglican Church. Their goal was to make the church mire holy and pure, this being the reason for them believing that other religions and faiths were wrong. Where did the Puritans come from and why did they come to the New World? Puritanism began during the English Reformation. In the year 1530 AD, King Henry the Eighth was refused consent from the current Pope Clement VII to a divorce between him [Henry] and his wife Catherine of Aragon. Due to this, the King chose to remove the country of England from the Roman Catholic Church and created the Church of England. However, the Church of England kept various rituals and formalities of the Catholic Church, which was not highly favoured by certain groups of People (this why puritanism was formed). In the late 16th century, a small fracture formed between the Puritans; with some following a Presbyterian form of church, others were pleased with the current form of Church, and radical Puritans began to form individual parties. Additionally, there was a stigma towards the Puritans, due to their increase in religious uprising. They were deemed hypocrites to the Church, as they were judged inadequate Christians. In the early 17th century, the fracture was finalized with groups of Puritans beginning to flee to countries such as the Netherlands, to avoid persecution and practice their religion freely. Priests and Bishops began to grow less tolerant of Puritanism. Regulations were placed on the Puritans; some groups were even suspended from their practice. The first group to emigrate to “The New World” were a separatist group called the Pilgrims in 1620. In 1630, Puritan families migrated to North America to freely erase Catholic practices from their beliefs. Though the didn’t want to completely separate from the Church of England, they wanted to make reforms and changes. List some ways of the Puritanism in the 1600s that wouldn’t work well today. The Puritans colonies in the New World relied on a theocracy. This, unfortunately would not work in today’s society (primarily in western countries) due to the diversification in people’s beliefs and nonbeliefs. The idea of combining our countries policies with the idea of an all-knowing god would not be preferable, and has caused serious consequences in the past. Though a principle belief of the Puritans was to love each other and have compassion for members of society, the struggled with a strong prejudice against others that’s would often grow violent. In our society we are still experiencing this unjust prejudice, violence is still erupting due to people’s beliefs of others. Even though, the problem is not fully solved we have acknowledged it. In the 1600s, no consequences we given to those who brought hatred and cruelty. What is a theocracy and how would it affect the view of Salem residents toward witchcraft? Theocracy is a government system where a priest rules in the name of God or a god. Theocracy could have an effect on the view of Salem residents towards witchcraft because witchcraft is considered as the devil’s magic. Since theocracy has a priest who rules the government in the name of God or a god, anything in relation to the devil or against God was highly frowned upon. And if someone were to practice witchcraft or was suspicious of practicing they would then be hung. In order to rid their town of witches. page 3 Work Cited Editors, History.com. “Puritans.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/colonial-america/puritanism. 27 Apr. 2019 “Puritans.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Apr. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puritans. “Who Were The Puritans?” Christianity.com, www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1601-1700/who-were-the-puritans-11630087.html. 27 Apr. 2019 Voa, Americans History, and Voa. “American History: Colonizing Expands in the American Northeast.” VOA, VOA, 10 Oct. 2012, learningenglish.voanews.com/a/puritans-colony-anglican-massachusettsindians-dutch/1524363.html Org, Thirteen. “Freedom: A History of US. Webisode 3: Liberty for All? Segement 2 PBS.” THIRTEEN, www.thirteen.org/wnet/historyofus/web03/segment2/html