Puritanism

Connor Foltyn3/8/11

Henson 4th

Basic Beliefs• Total Depravity- due to Adam and Eve, every person is born sinful• Unconditional Election- God "saves" those he wishes - only a few are

selected for salvation- similar to predestination• Limited Atonement- Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone. • Irresistible Grace- God's grace is freely given, it cannot be earned or

denied. Grace is defined as the saving and transfiguring power of God. Grace: gift from God; not through works

• Perseverance- of the "saints" - those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God, and to live it to the letter. If anyone rejected grace after feeling its power in his life, they would have gone against the will of God - something impossible in Puritanism.

Background• Mainly practiced in New England• Escaped religious persecution in England by fleeing to the colonies• The New Testament was their model and their devotion so great

that it permeated their entire society. People who opposed their theological views were asked to leave the community or to be converted.

• Their established church of the day described access to God as monastic and possible only within the confines of church authority.

• The moral character of America was shaped due to the words and actions of a strong group of Christian believers called the Puritans.

Major Events• 1569- Thomas Cartwright argues for a purified English

Christianity• 1590- Thomas Cartwright among others are arrested for trying to

reform the church• 1604- King James I weeds out most Puritan reforms in their

“Millenary Petition”• 1633-William Laud becomes the Archbishop of Canterbury,

fueling the Great Migration of Puritans to New England• 1635- Roger Williams banished from Bay Colony, founds

Providence the following year• 1636 -Harvard College founded. Puritans from Massachusetts

found Hartford, Connecticut

Other Facts• Puritans were the first to offer free schooling for all children.

Puritans formed the first formal school in 1635. It was called the Roxbury Latin School. Merely four years later, the first American College was established; Harvard in Cambridge.

• The Puritans were the first to write books for children.• Music was seen as too fun and distracted others from

listening to God

Bibliography• "Basic Puritan Beliefs." People.usd.edu. Web. 07 Mar. 2011.

<http://people.usd.edu/~jdudley/241/basic_puritan_beliefs.htm>.

• University of Notre Dame. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/puritans.html>.

• Bremer, Francis J. "The American Puritans: Christian History Timeline - Christian History & Biography -

ChristianityTodayLibrary.com." CTLibrary.com | Christianity Today, Leadership Journal, Christian History, Books & Culture. 1 Jan. 1994. Web. 07 Mar. 2011. <http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/1994/issue41/4127.html>.