Core Beliefs of the Puritans

Core Beliefs of the Puritans Have you ever rebelled against the house rules dictated by your parents? In the 1600’s, a group of religious citizens discontent with the Anglican Church of England, did exactly that- rebelled. The Puritans contended that King James had created a religion of political struggles and doctrines. Puritans, such as John Calvin and John Winthrop, wrote about the concept of escaping persecution from the Anglican Church and reforming religion, morals, and society. The Puritans fled to start anew and created colonies in North America, including Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. The driving forces of reform were numerous pieces of literature. The Puritan beliefs consisted mainly of five principles: Total Depravity, the Devil and sins, Predestination, God’s true law, and moral development, resulting in a government and religious-based way of life that has impacted present day America. Inevitably, religion being intertwined with society raises fears. Pertaining to the Puritans, fear led to the ultimate dissipation of the colonies. On of the main fears that the Puritan’s believed in was that the devil was behind every evil deed in the world. The puritans also believed that the devil and Satan surrounded Native Americans and nature. Steering away from the acts of the devil led to extreme measures. Scriptures, read as sermons by Puritan ministers, warned citizens about the dangers of life. The sermons were repeatedly given and fear was strategically woven in. The constant warnings were due to the belief that every person is born sinful, also known as Total Depravity. The notion of Total Depravity led to the belief of creating yourself benevolent. Spurred by the desire to rectify Total Deprivation, the Puritans created their core beliefs of religion. The Puritans believed in the study of God’s True Law, the Bible. According to the Puritans, the Bible and God paved a plan for living. In this God-centered system, church was the place where all