Tough Discipline, Fervent Devotion

When you hear the word puritan, what comes to mind? Is it a word that evokes positive or negative feelings? What would you think if someone called you a puritan? Would you consider it an insult? Would you like the implications of that title? Puritans have typically been seen in a negative light for many years and as a result have had a great deal of mud slung in their direction. In fact most peoples’ understanding or image of Puritanism is incorrect and as a result the Puritans have been greatly misunderstood and maligned.

The name “Puritan” was fabricated in the early 1560’s, and it was always a satirical, derogatory word “implying peevishness, faultfinding, conceit, and a measure of hypocrisy. Its primary reference was to a movement that was viewed as an unusual or odd form of Protestant religion in England, which sought further reformation and renewal in the church of England during the sixteenth and seventeenth century.

The Puritans lost, more or less, every public battle they fought. Those who stayed in England didn’t change the church the way they had hoped, nor did they ever gain much of a following, and eventually they were driven out of the Anglican church. So why write an article about the Puritans?

Over the last fifty years, scholars and church historians have been wiping away the mud from the conventional image of the Puritans. As a result, they are no longer seen as odd social extremists or religious fanatics. But rather as folks of principle who were devoted, determined, and disciplined; excelling in domestic virtues, preaching, and personal piety. It is now clear that Puritanism lead to the overthrow of the English government and would later play a key role in shaping and defining America in many areas. Even more significantly, over time, the Puritans remolded and changed their society from being one that was symbol oriented to one oriented around God’s Word. The Puritans were great people serving a great God; and they have much to teach us about spiritual maturity, Christian living and devotion to God and that is why I chose to write about them.  Read more..

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