Puritan Ideology Essay, Research Paper

Puritans have had some bad imperativeness throughout the old ages. Often they have been

ridiculed by Christians and laymans likewise for their seemingly legalism and

hypocritical attitude, but they besides had some of the most interesting beliefs of

the early spiritual groups. “ They sought an rational, moral, and

religious “ clean-up ” of institutionalised Christianity. Their criterion

of pureness was the Bible. The most comprehensive, but concise articulation of

their political orientation is the Westminster Confession of Faith ” ( Gatis 1 ) . They had

ends to accomplish. They wanted to border their whole life style on the word of God.

They besides wanted to asseverate every spot of their political orientation by the Bible. Puritans

were really reverent to the Bible as inspired by God. Their attitude was in

complete entry, to them what the Bible said, God said ( Brow 4 ) . They

believed that by attachment to this footing would take them from the opportunity of

unorthodoxy. The Holy Scripture was their foundation. Upon this, they built their

whole divinity, society, and authorities. Puritan political orientation consisted of a staunch

belief in Calvin & # 8217 ; s Institutes, covenant relationships, and a theocracy. Theology

is highly indispensable to every faith & # 8217 ; s tenet. The Puritans happened to establish

a big part of theirs on John Calvin & # 8217 ; s instructions ( much of which is in the

Westminster Confession of Faith ) . Puritans adhered to the basic wickedness ( or

corruption ) of adult male, and the fact that some will be chosen through the

righteousness of Christ despite their evildoings. No adult male can be certain in this

life what his fate will be ( Puritanism 1 ) . That statement summed up the basic

elements of Calvin. Within the basic points there are specialised points of

Calvin, which were purely held by the Puritans. These are besides reiterated in

the Westminster Confession of Faith. For convenince, the citations shall be

stated from at that place as opposed to the drawn-out and hard Institutes. The first

point of Calvin trades with the entire corruption of adult male, which could besides be

referred to as basic wickedness of adult male. This is one of the easier points of

Calvin to accept. In this author & # 8217 ; s sentiment, the basic wickedness of adult male is really

evident throughout the Bible. The Westminster Confession provinces in Chapter 6

that, “ from original corruptness, by which adult male is wholly antipathetic,

handicapped, and made antonyms to all good, and exhaustively inclined to all immoralities,

and adult male does continue all existent evildoings ” . That is entire and complete

corruption. Not merely does the Bible province that from Adam all work forces are iniquitous, but

merely detecting the current civilization and human nature throughout history

explicates the absolute evil of the bosom. The Bible besides says ( Jeremiah

17.6 ) , “ The bosom is fallacious above all things, and urgently wicked ;

who can cognize it? ” Puritans were strong trusters in unconditioned election,

Calvin & # 8217 ; s following point. The Westminster Confession straight states in Chapter 10,

“ All of those whom God has predestined to life? He effectually calls? out

of that province of wickedness and decease? ” . So God calls the foreordained chosen out

of entire corruption to go his saints. The naming is of God & # 8217 ; s free and

particular grace entirely ( which is boundless ) . No sum of plants can acquire one to

heaven. Plants are wholly inefficacious, that is besides stated in the confession.

However, it goes on to state in chapter 10 that good plants? done in obeisance to

God & # 8217 ; s commandments, are fruits and groundss of a true and lively religion.

Surely good plants are fruits, but some contend recommending plants as cogent evidence of

the chosen would back up acquiring to heaven by plants ( Packer 136 ) . Sing this,

one must read on to the following point. This says that others are non elected? can

ne’er come to Christ. If there is unconditioned election, so there are traveling

to be some people traveling to hell. In other words, Christ & # 8217 ; s expiation for wickednesss is

limited. How damaging would it be to prophesy merely certain elective people can travel

to heaven? From this research worker & # 8217 ; s point of view, the Bible clearly refutes limited

expiation. The Bible says Christ died for all. Some want to add two words in the

border, Christ died for all ( the chosen ) . That seems to be a gross

misunderstanding. The following point is resistless grace, which makes sense,

seeing that God & # 8217 ; s grace is greater than anything is. Calvin taught that those

who God allowed into His weaponries ( the chosen ) can neither wholly nor finally

fall off from the grace of God, but shall everlastingly persist and travel to heaven.

As besides found in Chapter 17, merely the decreed chosen would be those receivers of

resistless grace. All of this was non what made the Puritans unique in their

strong beliefs. Many outstanding theologists believe the same specifics. At the

bosom of their alone divinity was the thought of the compact ( Keesee and Sidwell

88 ) . As will be se

en, this molded their church and their province. First of all,

the word compact refers to a committedness to Christ and to one another which is

graving tool and more demanding than most people today would be willing to do. Often

the Puritans would do mention to the 5th poetry of Psalms 50. “ Gather

my saints together unto me ; those that have made a compact with me by

forfeit. ” ( Marshall and Manuel 183 ) This poetry takes the saints and binds

them by compacts. The compact was a critical and critical component of Puritan

philosophy. The Westminster Confession lays out the compact as constructed by

Puritan dreamers. It declares God made two compacts with adult male. But adult male made

himself incapable of the first one, which consisted of good plants. So God was

pleased to do a 2nd one of God & # 8217 ; s grace that we may be saved. Puritans

gathered their covenant relationships from Jesus & # 8217 ; two greatest commandments

( Mark 12.29-31 ) . First adult male was to love the Lord with all his being, “ And

you shall love the Lord your God with all your bosom, with all your psyche, with

all your head, and with all your strength ” . This was the perpendicular portion of

the compact. Once adult male discovered God & # 8217 ; s grace he was to encompass him as Lord and

Master ( Marshall and Manuel 167 ) . The perpendicular portion of the compact was ever

the most of import portion, it had to come foremost ( Marshall and Manuel 168 ) . But

there was besides a horizontal facet to the compact that was particularly of import

on the graduated table of earthly relationships. In the following portion of the transition Jesus

said, “ You shall love your neighbour as yourself ” . This demands that

one should love others to the extreme capablenesss that he or she has. Loving

others as yourself creates a love others before yourself state of affairs ( the prototype

of a happy and Utopian society ) . This portion of the compact went beyond divinity,

it permeated the community. Merely by the significance of the word one can garner that

it produced a group sense of right and incorrect ( Gatis 4 ) . This produced a society

that connected God with people and people with people. This compact could non

be broken ; it was a promise, a deal, and an duty to carry through ( Gatis 4 ) .

They believed that God entered into compacts with states to organize the land

of God on Earth, which would be a cosmopolitan theocracy ( Leithart 2 ) . “ Yes,

they really believed? that the land of God truly could be built on Earth,

in their life-time. But they knew they were evildoers. They were dedicated to their

compact to bring forth a society that lived in obeisance to God & # 8217 ; s Torahs ”

( Marshall and Manuel 145 ) . Puritans wanted a cosmopolitan bid with God at the

caput. They wanted every person, household, church, tribunal, executive, and

legislative assembly to give up to the Bible ( Gatis 1 ) . Not merely did the Puritans think

that God commanded them to set up a cosmopolitan theocracy, they besides thought

such a society was prophesied in the Bible for them to achieve ( Gatis 2 ) . In

order to carry through this end ( nevertheless impossible it was ) , the Puritans accepted

clear stairss to go up the religious ladder to national godliness ( Gatis 6 ) .

Puting idealism aside, this is wholly impossible. The Puritan society

finally became corrupted because they did non understand an of import point,

entire corruption. That is a spot surprising. They did non understand Zion could

non be patterned on Earth. In shutting, the Puritans had a baronial intent in head.

Although they ne’er accomplished their intent, ( in fact they fell badly

short ) and they are frequently scorned for that ; one must hold regard for them and

their beliefs. Trying for admirable ( nevertheless impossible ) intents is non a

passion the modern Christian has. As said before, it takes great committedness to

love God and others as they did ( or strived to make ) . And today, one would non

believe anyone would hold adequate strong belief to take stairss towards set uping the

land of God on Earth. The challenge of cleaning up the religious province of a

state is a undertaking that calls for a superior group of people.

Holy Bible ( NKJV ) . Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, 1980. Puritanism. 30

September. 1999.

Westminster Confession of Faith, AD 164. 3 October 1999. Grace Presbyterian

Church of Redding, California.

Brow, Martin. In Defense of the Puritans. Fire and Ice. 3 October 1999

Gatis, George Joseph. Puritan Jurisprudence: A Study in Substantive Biblical

Law. Contra Mundum. 3 October 1999

Keesee, Timothy and Mark Sidwell. United States History for Christian Schools.

Bob Jones University Press: Greenville, South Carolina, 1993. Leithart, Peter J.

Puritan Coventalism. Contra Mundum. 3 October 1999

Marshall, Peter and David Manuel. The Light and the Glory. Fleming H. Revell

Company: Old Tappan, New Jersey, 1977. Packer, J.I. A Quest for Godliness: the

Puritan vision of the Christian Life. Crossway Books: Wheaton, Illinois, 1990.