Puritanism and Puritans Puritans 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.)  Characteristics  Practical  Single-minded visionaries convinced of rightness of their cause  Businessmen: spiritually and worldly  Commerce with heaven  Competent 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.

2 MARTIN LUTHER’S CONTRIBUTIONS  10 yrs. after entering monastery had a personal revelation  his approach is a mystical convergence  distrusted reason  shocked by the spiritual laxity in higher church offices  the results were...

3 The 95 Theses 1 Roman Catholic Church had no divine rights in spiritual matters 2 Scriptures are the final authority over conscience. 3 Man 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

4 Youtube Link on John Calvin Youtube Link on John Calvin John 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

5 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.)

6 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.

7 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.

10 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.

11 Basic Principles:  The Sovereignty of God  God’s Hand in government  The authority of the Scriptures  The Trinity  Universal Depravity

12  Predestination  Damnation of non believers  Election of salvation of some regenerates through God’s Grace

13  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.

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