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Basic Beliefs of the Puritans

Basic Beliefs of the Puritans. (Or, What to Pay Attention to While Reading) (You know you’re impressed with this technology!!). Quick – Who Has This?. 1492 -- ?? 1607 -- ?? 1620 -- ?? 1630 -- ?? 1700ish ??. Basic Beliefs:. What are the basic tenets of Puritanism?

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Basic Beliefs of the Puritans

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  1. Basic Beliefs of the Puritans (Or, What to Pay Attention to While Reading) (You know you’re impressed with this technology!!)

  2. Quick – Who Has This? • 1492 -- ?? • 1607 -- ?? • 1620 -- ?? • 1630 -- ?? • 1700ish ??

  3. Basic Beliefs: • What are the basic tenets of Puritanism? • authority/centrality of the Bible • plainness • “God’s altar needs not our polishing” • “Pre-destination” and “Grace” • Looking for signs • “backsliding” • Divine Mission • Providential view of life and of history • New World/Israel • Noah and Moses

  4. Some Generalizations About Northern vs. Southern Settlements • North (Plymouth, Mass. Bay) • piety • community • divine mission” • “theocracy” • South (Jamestown) • profit venture • rugged individualism • “planters”

  5. The Puritan Dilemma • Scholar Edmund Morgan has written the following his book on the life of John Winthrop: • “Puritanism did great things for England and America, but only by creating in the men and women it affected a tension which was at best painful and at worst unbearable. Puritanism required that man devote his life to seeking salvation but told him he was helpless to do anything but evil. Puritanism required that man refrain from sin but told him he would sin anyhow. Puritanism required that he reform the world in the image of God’s holy kingdom but taught him that the evil of the world was incurable and inevitable. Puritanism required that he work to the best of his ability at whatever task was set before him and partake of the good things that God had filled the world with, but told him he must enjoy his work and his pleasures only, as it were, absentmindedly, with his attention fixed on God.”

  6. Old Ship Church, 88 Main Street, Hingham, Plymouth County, MA, built 1681. The Old Ship Church is the oldest meetinghouse in continuous ecclesiastical use in the United States. The structure has been added to extensively over the years, but was restored to a "a pleasing combination of 17th and 18th century elements" in the 1930s.

  7. What do you notice about the interior of the Old Ship church? How does it match with what you learned about the Puritans in your textbook reading?

  8. What part of the church interior is most prominent? What common features of church interiors are missing? What does this say about Puritan religion? What do you notice about the type and arrangement of pews? What does this suggest about Puritan society?

  9. The Old Ship Church is named for the interior curve of the roof which resembles a ship's hull. 1) Why might this be an especially appropriate architectural metaphor for the Puritans? 2) Why might a ship-like interior be a common component of church architecture? (Think: biblical allusion.)

  10. In Your Notebook: • Think of yourself as an archeologist who has just discovered this artifact – an authentic “primer,” or a book used by Puritans to teach their young how to read. Glance through the New England Primer, looking to uncover the secrets of a civilization long since extinct, and then answer the following question: • What does this Primer reveal about the Puritans’ views about nature, God, work, life and death?

  11. Bradstreet’s Conflicts: • Write (right) now: Last night you examined the tension Bradstreet articulates between her earthly and spiritual lives. Take a few minutes to identify an ongoing conflict within yourself. It does not have to be a religious conflict, but it should be some tension you experience on a regular or semi-regular basis. What makes this a conflict? • (Don’t worry – you’re not going to share this.)

  12. f(n) of Puritan Writing = x+4 • To transform a mysterious God -- mysterious because he is separate from the world. • “literature of witness” • To reveal signs of God’s presence and illuminate His plan and works. • To make him more relevant to the universe. • To glorify God. (HOLLA)

  13. Puritan Style (aside from the buckled shoes and square hats) • The “Plain Style” vs. the “Ornate Style” (the East Coast/West Coast feud of the 1620s) • “God’s alter needs not our polishing!” • Biblical Allusions/Comparisons (“New” Canaan) • Intelligent, religious, highly-literate audience

  14. Self-Portrait of Captain Thomas Smith, 1680. Oil on canvas.

  15. The Freake Family, 1671-1674, by Unknown Artist known only as the Freake Painter.

  16. The Parson Capen House, Topsfield, MA, 1683.

  17. The Parson Capen House, Topsfield, MA, 1683.

  18. Hoyt-Barnum House, Stamford, CT, 1675.

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