The Puritans were brave individuals who set out to alter the way their religion should be. Expanding to America was the way to escape the ills of the Catholic Church. Puritans felt that expanding was their right, and it was the only way to uphold God's word. The Roman Catholic Church was headed towards a path of destruction, and this was not what God wanted for his people. In Matthew 5:14, we find one of the major basis of the Puritan belief system. John Winthrop used this verse to preach to the masses
The original source of this metaphor is found in the bible. In Matthew 5:14, it says "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on the hill cannot be hid." In this sermon, Jesus is telling the people how they should govern their lives as believers. In this verse this means that is the responsibility of a believer to let the world see God's word
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Winthrop use of "a city upon a hill" is very like its usage in Jesus' sermon. Jesus used this phrase to encourage his followers to be an example and to pursue a certain goal, in his case the goal was to show God's glory. Winthrop also used this phrase to encourage a group people to accomplish a goal, in this case the goal was to expand to America at all cost. To me, John Winthrop's allusion he wants to make his fellow Puritans feel like they are going to set a new standard. This standard will better than the one back home and like a city on a hill, the world will see what they establish. It was pertinent for these settlers to know that they were an example, and they should lead just because of this. John Winthrop used this metaphor to make Puritans feel like it was there responsibility to lead a revolution, just like Jesus feels his believers should be revolutionary in expanding the Kingdom. Puritans also knew that they should uphold their Christian ideals, and they should be in the world but not of the