Puritans

1
Puritans

• Early American Literature
• Voices of Conscience
• 1620 - 1720

2
The Puritans A Brief History

• Unable to express their religious sentiments and
  tired of a rigid class system, the Puritans
  immigrated to New England in the 1620s and 1630s.
• Virtually all were hard-working members of the
  emerging middle class.
• Massachusetts was soon settled as a Puritan
  commonwealth.

3
Puritans

• Extreme Calvinistic Protestants who viewed the
  Reformation as a victory of true Christianity
  over Roman Catholicism.

4
Calvinism

• Universe was God- centered
• Man was inherently sinful and corrupt, destined
  for damnation
• Man could only be saved by arbitrary divine grace
• Man was duty-bound to do God's will, which he
  could understand best by studying the Bible and
  the universe which God had created

5
Government under a Theocracy

• The Puritan, or Congregational Church, was
  proclaimed the governing body of the state.
• Treason against God meant treason against the
  state.
• The Puritan church held exclusive control over
  the lives of the people.

6
Puritan Beliefs

• Original Sin All people, including newborn
  children, are basically sinful. Every person
  inherits the sin of Adam and Eve, who disobeyed
  God in the Garden of Eden
• Eternal Punishment All wicked people will be
  punished by being sent to hell, a place of fire
  and torment where they will remain forever.

7
Puritan Beliefs

• Salvation through Grace All people were
  basically sinful and no one could be good enough
  to deserve heaven. The only way a person could
  get into heaven was through Gods mercy, or
  grace, given to them despite what they actually
  deserved.

8
Puritan Beliefs

• Being Born Again When a person repented of
  his or her sins and accepted Gods grace, the
  Puritans said that these people were born
  again. That is, they had given up their old
  life and started a new life in Christ.

9
Puritan Beliefs

• Predestination God knows, from the beginning of
  time, who will go to hell and who will go to
  heaven. A persons fate is already determined,
  or predestined.

10
Other Elements of Puritanism

• Only the elect would be saved. Looked for
  signs to show they were elect.
• Heavy emphasis on the word of God, the Bible.

• Sermon was the regular medium of communication.
• Sermons accompanied every public event. Two
  sermons on Sundays.
• Pure word of God transformation by Holy Spirit.