Puritan's Views on the Enlightenment Thinkers Essay

Puritan’s Views on the Enlightenment Thinkers

Throughout the early stages of the United States, two prominent groups can be seen: first the Puritans and then the Enlightenment thinkers. Both groups have had positive affects on the way America was shaped and both affect what America was built upon. Each group has many similarities. For instance both were religious, great thinkers, hard workers, and they both displayed non fiction works. You can see all of these important characteristics in all that they accomplished. Although they had many similar characteristics, Puritans criticized the many of the Enlightenment figure’s ways of living such as their motives, their scientific views, and how to please God.
One area in which the Puritans criticized the Enlightenment thinkers was in their motives.
The Puritans were some of the most religious people of their day. Sometimes they focused so much on right and wrong that they lost sight of what God wants them to do. This is what caused the Puritans to criticize the Enlightenment thinkers. During the Enlightenment, men were encouraged to everything to widen their knowledge. They focused on writing and sciences and just broadening their knowledge for their own benefit. The Puritans thought that you should be well educated to be ready to defend God’s Word at any time and in any area. Puritans also thought that by being well educated, you are glorifying God because you are using the gifts which He has given you, while during the Enlightenment era they were focused on edifying man. The Puritans also disagreed with the Enlightenment because they were trying to focus on worldly things rather than furthering God’s kingdom. During the Enlightenment era they were discovering new ways to make man more comfortable which would lead to man’s happiness. All of these materialistic ideas controlled the Enlightenment eras