ipl-logo

The Importance Of The Puritans

828 Words4 Pages

The Puritans of New England in the mid 1600s lived a harsh reality. The Puritans were Christians of Calvinist thought. What is significant about this was the Calvinist belief of pre-destination. Heaven was a lottery where only a few who lived pious lives were granted the gift of being saved from God’s wrath. This means even those who are good could still go to hell. However, the ones who were granted this spiritual ticket to heaven from birth could lose that right if they do not live a pious lifestyle. The Puritans believe any happenstance around them was a sign of hell if bad, or heaven if good (Ping). Unfortunately, the colonial lifestyle they lived was harsh and these many bad sighs occurred often for the Puritans. Satan played the role …show more content…

This idea lead Puritan men too many justifications. Not be a single vocal Puritan man, but a group of Puritan men with differing mindsets and ideas especially with their view on the role of women. If women were physically weak then they are certainly spiritually weak against Satan. If a woman was older and single she was a witch, if she was widowed she was a witch, rich witch, poor witch, quiet witch, loud witch, or talked back most certainly the devils work. The problem was a damned if she does and damned if she does not. This accusation of a woman being a witch meant that “their feminine souls made an explicit and aggressive choice to conjoin with the devil” (Reis, 94). Puritans believed they were not just manipulated by Satan, they willingly desired to be possessed by him. This was aggressive stance most Puritan men had towards Puritan women. Satan could get to their soul through their body because it was weak. With these women bringing Satan around it was easy now to understand why bad things always happened. It could not be a sign of a man’s damnation, but of a

Show More
Related

How Did The Puritans Contribute To The Salem Witch Trials

584 Words | 3 Pages

Historical Puritans The puritans created the Puritans religion were created to cleanse the corrupt and sinful practices in England and enforce public morality. The puritans believed that churches specifically Roman Catholic were full of hierarchies and so the Puritans escaped England and to gain religious freedom “They [puritans] contended that The Church of England had become a product of political struggles and man-made doctrines. The Puritans were one branch of dissenters who decided that the Church of England was beyond reform”(Kiser). The Puritans headed for america and created a “pure” religion and lifestyle. They strictly followed the bible and were calvinist.

Read More

Why The Puritans Were Allowed In The Salem Witch Trials

1729 Words | 7 Pages

In the year of 1630, a group of people known as the Puritans arrived to America and settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in Boston. The Puritans were similar to the Pilgrims in which they were Protestants from England who thought that their reforms of their church were “too Catholic” and needed to be changed further. The Puritans being unhappy with their reforms was the primary reason for leaving England and settling in America, while the Pilgrims stayed behind and were determined to change their reforms. When they came to America, they decided to keep some of their strict rules. For example, church was mandatory and if someone missed a day,

Read More

Salem Witch Dbq

641 Words | 3 Pages

They came to New England to practice Christianity in a new way.” (Background Essay) Puritans believed in predestination, this means that God had already determined who is going to heaven and who is going to hell. They believed if they worked hard enough and did enough good they would be able to go to heaven. Puritans were scrupulous and

Read More

Essay On What Caused The Salem Witch Trials Of 1692

639 Words | 3 Pages

Over 100 individuals were suspected to be witches in result to weird behavior before a disaster happens. The puritans set fairly high standards on themselves and others. True puritans could show their commitment by going to church and working their hardest. They also believed God was not the only powerful force among their community.

Read More

Salem Witch Trials Of 1692 Research Paper

282 Words | 2 Pages

Witches were said to be a form of Satan, and God has his constant worship to undergo annoyance of the evil spirits. In Exodus 22:18 it states how the Puritans have strong point to prosecute witches from what it says in the Bible. Another cause of the prosecution of people for witchcraft is suspicious acts from the adolescent girls. Abigail and Betty wanted to know their fortunes for the future from Tituba.

Read More

Puritans Dbq Essay

977 Words | 4 Pages

Many Puritans immigrated to the New World in the 17th century. Unfortunately for the surrounding Native Americans, and all other no-Puritan groups (Quakers), the Puritans of the tense had no qualms with fatal in the name of God. This led to the adulthood of the New England colonies and westward dilation. I would remonstrate the rise of our formality of government isn't the Puritans, directly, but the philosophies of those that came before them. The origin of this limit can be copy back to 17th century Hegelian Thomas Hobbes.

Read More

Examples Of Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God

961 Words | 4 Pages

The Puritans followed the divine law by adhering to the Old Testament teachings. Puritans believe in the idea of predestination, the view that people's destiny were already predetermined by a higher power. This meant that someone who only did good deeds could still be condemned to go to hell while a murderer was chosen to go to heaven. Since they believed in this concept, they felt only a handful of them would be saved, or "God's elect". Since the Puritans weren't sure who was chosen as one of "God's elect", they all acted as if they were one of the ones who would be saved.

Read More

The Role Of Predestination In Puritan Religion

168 Words | 1 Pages

The idea of predestination was another important aspect the Puritan religion. This notion embodies the belief that God has predetermined who will be saved regardless of a person's actions. Naturally, due to the puritans desire to excommunicate the damned a system to determine a person's inviolability was instituted. In order to become a member of the church and therefore a citizen, one had to be recognized as a visible saint. This system functioned off the basis that most Puritans assumed by examining a person’s lifestyle and how accurately they modeled the Bible.

Read More

Gender Roles In The Salem Witch Trials

893 Words | 4 Pages

With the Puritans having strict religious beliefs about the devil and God, it gave them strong feelings about the ways in which women impacted their community. Along with their religious beliefs, their society had certain beliefs about women and the way they should act which led them to suspect anything out of the “norm” as a sign of the devil. While some of this could be on women and the way we speak, the Puritans already had such strong feelings toward the vulnerable mind of women that it wouldn’t matter. The women were represented by weakness in nearly every aspect a person can be judged on and this thought of them as the weaker vessel is what ultimately led to them being accused and persecuted more than men during the Salem Witch

Read More

How Did One Cause Of The Salem Witch Trials

886 Words | 4 Pages

Puritans believed the devil could persuade people to do evil things. Puritan Ministers compared women women to Eve implying that women were no good from the beginning of time, the minister, Samuel Parris, might have led to the witch hunt with the push to believe in evil things. These beliefs lead to strict physical and mental punishments. Some punishments were sitting in stocks and splitting of tongues. Another punishment was cutting off hands or ears.

Read More

Why Did The Puritans Establish A City Upon A Hill

379 Words | 2 Pages

The Puritan’s goal of coming to the New World was not to create a new life, but to create the ideal model of living for the “corrupt” inhabitants of England. This was coined “The Errand”, the Puritans desire to establish a City Upon a Hill that others could look up to and imitate in order to receive God’s grace. The Puritans failed at building their City Upon a Hill (creating a perfect religious, economic, and political community), however the long-term effects of their efforts have influenced American moral politics throughout its history. The Puritans forever had the attitude of a community that had successfully established a City Upon a Hill. The Puritan lifestyle was heavily influenced not only by religion, but also inside of that, morality.

Read More

Women In The Salem Witch Trials

1702 Words | 7 Pages

The Puritans were Christian Protestants, so they relied heavily on the Bible and interpreted it literally. However, this means their fundamental perception of women comes from the book of Genesis, in which Eve betrays God first. Richard Goodbeer, author and professor at the University of Kansas, says it best: “Eve’s legacy as the female prototype was double-edged: on the one hand, she served as a successful helpmeet in the Garden of Eden; on the other, she was Satan’s first human ally.” When interpreted literally – as Puritans often did – a conclusion pulled from Eve’s actions could be that women are the most likely to succumb to the Devil, as it is in their nature. When put into the time of the Salem Witch Trials, this framing resulted in the idea that women should be the first to blame for witchcraft.

Read More

Puritanism In Colonial America

1094 Words | 5 Pages

Puritans believed pleasure to be a sin and that a person's life should be spent either working or at the worship of God (“Pilgrims”). They emphasized severe punishment and public acknowledgement of sins, while Catholics believed in forgiveness and private confession of sins for God’s forgiveness (Lowance). Puritans thought pastors should be married men with families, while Catholics believed in the practice of

Read More

How Is Phoenix Jackson A Hero's Journey In A Worn Path

553 Words | 3 Pages

In the story, A Worn Path, the main character is on a journey to town. Phoenix Jackson is the near blind main character. The story describes a basic pattern of a hero’s journey (Monomyth) in which the main character travels from the known into the unknown. On her hero’s journey, she encounters obstacles that represent internal challenges, external troubles, and even monsters to defeat. In the end, she achieves victory.

Read More

Puritans: The Power Of Good And Evil

693 Words | 3 Pages

The good of Puritans was based monumentally on their fear of God’s wrath. The fear of God worked very well at that time but with the changes of the country and the world at large this fear is less relevant now. Since now there are so many religions based on the religious freedom granted, the wrath of God does not do much to keep people virtuous. In Jonathan Edwards’s sermon he is adamant about everyone going to Hell if they were a sinner. Edwards preaches vindictively, “Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downward with great weight and pressure toward Hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink” to get others to see how being wicked and a sinner brings on the wrath of God (47).

Read More

More about The Importance Of The Puritans

Related Topics

Open Document