Danielle Rassi Mr. Battersby APUSH 11 September 2011 DBQ 1: The Influence of Puritan Values The Puritans were a diverse group of people who stood for religious purity. They believed that the English Reformation had not gone far enough in disposing similarities with the Church of Rome, such as hierarchy. Throughout the 1630s to the 1660s the Puritan’s valued religion and their beliefs were displayed in their life style, from the layout of their church centered town to their idea of salvation. Despite the religious rules, “brethren” community, and Puritan work ethic that influenced their social way of life and produced economic success in businesses, their utopian government fell apart at the rise of conflict between religious and profit motives as well as the clash of opposing ideas to their Puritan political system. The social structure of the New England Puritans was a brotherhood.
In other words, we each add a different part to the song called life and it is therefore important that we stick to what God has called us to do and strive to be in unity with one another. What this means is that in God’s kingdom, there is no division. This is the concept that Jesus taught His listeners. In his day, just like today; there was much theological division and the people wanted to live according to their own standards. We must strive to live in unity and live out God’s
Like the Puritans, he planned to combat natural inclinations by building a life of strong moral preservation. While Franklin did not have as devoted a belief in God as the Puritans, he did believe in God and believed in the importance of good deeds and services. He also believed that all crimes were punishable, like the Puritans, who believed that God gave punishments to all wrongs. Franklin listed out virtues and sought to accomplish each in a specific order. His notion of virtues differed, however, from the Puritans who believed that being close to God was most virtuous and focused on reading scripture and prayers instead of being good citizens.
Thus, the Massachusetts Bay colony was formed in the New World, the Americas, an ideal place for Winthrop’s “City upon a Hill”. The puritan way of life has fascinating similarities to modern-day American society. It can be seen how Puritan ways transcended throughout American culture, and still are the core of governmental ideologies and some American families today. Puritans took the word of the bible as their creed – and followed its teachings accordingly. The strict idealism of god and his power placed fear in children, for they believe their faults will be treated with adverse repercussions.
Conceptions of God and Human Nature The quote “God made man in his own image, and man returned the compliment” explains God's image to man as up for open interpretation and varying from believer to believer, which applies to the Puritans and Benjamin Franklin. The Puritans that arrived in New England were frustrated with the Church of England's methods of practice because they were too closely related to Catholicism. The Puritans departed to the New World between the 16th and 17th century, in hope of purifying their religion and creating a society that properly and strictly obeyed God. The Puritan ways heavily influenced life in New England, even for the Franklin family. Benjamin Franklin was raised in a Calvinist family with Puritan foundations, but Franklin later grew to become a worldly individual through his studies and life experiences.
Stewardship of Creation David Rhoads Professor of New Testament Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago Steward is a biblical term that refers to a manager who is responsible for the goods and property of another. A steward is not therefore an owner, but one who has a responsibility to an owner to treat property with care and respect. Stewardship is a term that refers to the responsibility of a steward to manage wisely. The unjust steward was one who took advantage of his position to aggrandize himself (Luke 16:1-13). Stewardship has come to be used in the Christian community in a broader sense for our responsibility to manage wisely the goods and property that are in our possession.
I think that as long as two people are in a committed relationship it shouldn’t be an issue whether they have sexual relationships or not. In the Church of England the marriage service says that marriage is a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication outside marriage. The majority of protestants believe sex before marriage should not happen. They believe it is better to live celibate lives than to marry, unless they burn with passion. I think living celibate lives is virtually impossible in today’s society.
I personally think people should be allowed to have their own opinions and views on religion. I do not think people should have been imprisoned by not living by Calvinism. I also personally do not believe God has already chosen who will be saved from sin. Ignatius of Loyola believed through self-discipline and good actions people would be saved. Loyola created the religion belief known as Society of Jesus.
The Puritans seek to purify and reform the Church of England, making it less like the Roman Church, because they see their values as the only acceptable way of life. Puritanical values include the revocation of worldly possessions, devotion to their faith, and never ending love. To begin with, the Puritans practiced the revocation of worldly possessions in a way that consumed their everyday life. In Anne Bradstreet’s poem, Verses upon the Burning of our House, she wrote, “there’s wealth enough, I need no more; Farewell my Pelf, farewell my store. The world no longer let me love, my hope and treasure lies above.” This supports the idea of revocation of worldly possessions because she’s saying goodbye to everything she owns, thinking about the afterlife.
This hierarchy of basic needs consists, in this order, of physiological needs, safety, love and belonging, esteem and self-actualization (Feist & Roberts, 2013). The Bible speaks about motivation and the way in which the motivation of believers should come from God not things of this world (Psalm 73:25, New Living Translation). In this world, people are motivated by self, however the Bible teaches that we are not to be centered on self, but instead surrender our lives and follow Jesus by serving and loving others (Matthew 23:11-12). Our lives should be motivated by the life of Jesus and His love for people. Using our lives to glorify God in all we do should motivate us to accomplish His will as we live surrendered lives to glorify Him.