Analysis Of John Winthrop's A Model Of Christian Charity

The words of John Winthrop in his 1630 sermon A Model of Christian Charity resonate throughout American history. Although he did not know while he wrote the famous line, “We shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us,” his words echo throughout US history to create the image of America we see today (Winthrop). America has seen itself as a, “City Upon a Hill,” throughout its history. But where did the idea of a, “City Upon a Hill” come from? Interestingly, this idea predates America and was not meant to be an important factor in the great democratic experiment of the United States, but it was meant to be part of the great Christian experiment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. While sailing towards Massachusetts to create a colony of Puritans, the governor of the colony, John Winthrop, wrote the sermon A Model for Christian Charity. This sermon laid out the plans for this colony to be a model for Christian living throughout the world. They planned to create a, “City upon a hill,” or a perfect Christian society in Massachusetts bay (Winthrop). The city that they

Many members of the church rejected parts of Puritan theology. One dissenter from the church, Roger Williams, argued for religious freedom within the colony and was subsequently banished (“Dissent in Massachusetts Bay”). Roger Williams then went on to found the colony of Rhode Island, which would be open to all religions (“Dissent in Massachusetts Bay”). These dissenters from the Church spelled the end for the Puritans hope of a perfectly Christian society. They and their subsequent movements created new cities and colonies that were not subject to Puritan authority. Despite the failure of the Puritan dream for a perfectly christian society, the idea of A City Upon a Hill still has resonated throughout American