Puritans

1. The puritans had a very pessimistic view on god and his relationship to mankind. They believed that god was angry because Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and he had just enough mercy to keep from casting everyone into hell for the “Original sin” of Adam and Eve. Only a select few were allowed to go to heaven; anyone else, no matter how righteous they lived, went to hell. The puritans thought any deviant behavior, no matter how slight, was highly unsavory; for instance in an early puritan settlement misbehavior of a child was punishable by death, the law was never enforced but it was still in the books.


2. Puritans believed that, through Adam and Eve’s eating of the forbidden fruit, everyone was born a sinner. As most are aware the forbidden fruit gave Adam and Eve knowledge. The belief that god hates us for gaining knowledge is an extremely flawed idea, it breeds the idea that intelligence is bad and should be looked down upon, and that complacency without question is a good thing. It seems to me that this belief structure is very effective for keeping the powerful in power. Instead of keeping the information from the public, they make the public not want the information, very clever indeed.
The idea of a born sinner is also a flawed one, the idea that god hates us for what our ancestors did thousands of years ago. God holds one serious grudge. It seems strange to me that if god made man in his image wouldn’t man have the same values as god? If a human did the things that the puritan god does he would be considered extremely disturbed, if not criminally insane. If the puritan god is in fact the one true god, and god is perfect, then we should really be more cruel and unforgiving. By the puritan rationale all of the ancestors of slaves should have either killed or tortured all the ancestors of slaveholders for the sins that happened so very long ago.
Puritans believed that only a select few were going to go to heaven and the vast majority of people were going to hell. With this belief came the thought that these select few could interpret the word of god, giving the majority of power to a few people, much like the issues between the catholic and protestant churches. When more power is given to some people other people suffer, if everyone is as powerful as everyone else then no one can be taken advantage of.
Because of these beliefs the puritans were not extravagant or flamboyant, they were more concerned with efficiency and usefulness, something to be admired. This idea of function over form may have had a flawed origin but it was still perfect for the environment in which they were living. The saying, “everything in moderation” would be a serious overstatement in relation to the puritans, the puritans were positively no frills, because frills take away from god. A better stance to take would be no frills because frills don’t really serve a purpose other than to impress, rather than because frills are against god.
The puritans had an interesting stance on god and his relationship to man. On one hand they believed intelligence to be an undesirable trait, because of the fall of Adam and Eve, and instead put all their faith into god. On the other hand, the Puritans extreme conservatism and anti-flamboyant nature helped them to survive the harsh Massachusetts winters. Their utilitarian attitude is admirable but the utility was not out of necessity, instead it was out of respect of a god who they thought despised them. Like someone begging forgiveness from their abusive spouse, the puritans were misguided in their efforts to please god.



3. The puritans believed that only a select few were saved from damnation, the vast majority of people were going to hell; the people who went to heaven were predestined to go. This can be seen in a line from john Edwards sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, “They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell. They do not only justly deserve to be cast down thither, but the sentence of the law of God, that eternal and immutable rule of righteousness that God has fixed between him and mankind, is gone out against them, and stands against them; so that they are bound over already to hell.”
The puritans also believed in the perseverance of the saints, those who are chosen by god have the power to interpret the will of god, William Bradford thought of himself as one of these saints. In the account, “Of Plymouth Plantation” William Bradford readily speaks about god and his relationship to man, whereas if a common person were to interpret the word of god they would be scorned. This interpretation can be seen in this passage, “What could now sustain them but the Spirit of God and His grace? May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: "Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice and looked on their adversity," etc. "Let them therefore praise the Lord, because He is good: and his mercies endure forever. Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, show how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor.”