PART I
The Puritans were a religious group who had very strong religious beliefs in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries in Europe. The name puritan means purification, and to them, the Bible was the ground norm for guiding human behavior; the Puritans first settled in England in New England. However, with time they grew dissatisfied and discontent with the Church of England. The Church of England was a ground for political struggles and doctrines that favored whoever made them. The Puritans believed that the Church of England was beyond reform, and they could do nothing to change that. In the 1600s, they fled to America for fear of religious persecution. The Puritans were against drinking, gambling, skimpy dressing, breaking the Sabbath, and swearing and wanted the government to ban all these things to keep society and the community pure[1]. The puritans worked towards morality and positive behavior in society. This paper will discuss the puritans’ spirituality and how their beliefs have shaped morality in American society.
The spirituality of the Puritans.
The puritans included Anglicans such as William Perkins, the Separatists such as William Bradford, the independents such as Thomas Godwin, Baptists such as John Bunyan, and Presbyterians such as John Howe. Puritan spirituality was based on experiencing communion with God. The stress of Christian experience stressed the puritans’ way of life. Philosophers like Geoffrey Nuttal define puritanism as a movement towards immediacy about God. On the other hand, Charles Stowe describes it as a holy movement rooted in religious experience. Puritans generally emphasized the experimental nature of the Christian faith[2].
Puritanism depended on the Bible as the supreme source of Christian faith and life reformation. They were committed and believed that the Bible was inspired by God’s message to the people. Thomas Watson notes that the Puritans read every line of the Bible as if God spoke to them. They further reasoned that biblical words and authority were absolute. Puritan preachers stressed the need for their listeners to exercise an intense appetite for the scriptures. Richard Baxter convinced his readers to love, study, obey and stick close to the scriptures; John Cotton, on the other hand, implored the readers to feed on the word of God[3].
Puritan spirituality emphasized divine grace and confession of sin. They followed Luther and Calvin’s way of life that emphasized the Augustinian view of human depravity, which required God’s gracious initiative to work out salvation in the human heart. William Perkins, for instance, during the discussion of Golden Chaine, emphasized the human inability that requires God’s forgiveness through confession[4].
Another emphasis of the Puritan faith is the work of the Holy Spirit in any believer’s life. Richard Baxter, for instance, declared that the Holy Spirit is a guide, comforter, and sanctifier of human life. To them, understanding the role of the Holy Spirit was the same as understanding the Christian life. Like the Word, all human actions were guided by the Holy Spirit. Puritan leaders and theologians emphasized the need for all Christians to welcome the holy spirit into their lives for a better understanding of the word of God.[5]Thomas Godwin’s Paper, the Work of Holy Spirit our salvation, and many other works on the subject show the utmost respect that puritans’ had for the Holy Spirit[6].
Puritans and Moral Values.
The typical Puritan family was headed by the husband, who gave instructions to the wife and children. The wife was expected to help instruct the children and do house chores. On the other hand, the children were required to be quiet, attend school and help with the house chores; the family was expected to be a little church, a school, and little government within the larger puritan society. The puritans spent most of their time tiling in their fields. They were required to be calm and not emotional. They frowned on plays, musical instruments, and gambling. The puritans were seen and treated differently by both civil and religious thought. They were tolerated against the will of others and severally persecuted. King Charles I of England tried to eliminate all puritans and their influence during his reign. It is this vendetta declared by Charles I that the Puritans migrated from Europe to American colonies.
As mentioned earlier, the puritans believed solely in the Bible; they believed it was the only true law of the living. However, apart from their strong religious beliefs and strong moral belief, the Puritans have been credited for their fight for freedom. It is said that all these created the need to ensure the production of safe, quality, and healthy products based on predetermined standards, as indicated by Jaffee (2000). freedom today is all a result of the struggle and persecution of the Puritans. They devised philosophies such as the divine right, which guaranteed liberty and recognition of the commoner’s rights [7]. Another philosophy is the Yankee work ethic that came about because of the belief that all actions of humans are usually done first by God’s approval. They also contributed towards achieving a public education system; they help from schools and colleges in America so that people would read the Bible independently. Morality in the United States is also attributed to the efforts made by the Puritans in their quest for good behavior[8].
Conclusion
Puritanism originated from the Church of England and influenced religious warfare among Christians, Muslims, and other religions. It explains these as causes of political, social, economic, ethical, and religious views before they migrated to America. The Puritans considered themselves a special religious group that was tasked with the responsibility of spreading beliefs to others. Puritans thirsted for personal. Political and social freedom. They believed that society would be morally upright through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the scripture.
Part II
The colonial history of America primarily centers on the struggle of Spain, French, and England to gain control of the region. According to Digital History[9], settlers crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the American region for different reasons and greatly impacted the area. The impacts of colonizers created advantages and disadvantages that profoundly affected the new world’s fate. This section of the paper will compare and contrast the impacts of Spanish and English colonialism in the Americas using the writings of Columbus, Las Casas, Rowlandson, Paine, Jefferson, Equiano, and Jemison. The impacts of Spanish and English colonialism in the Americas were similar because they had similar interests in America, such as the expansion of their empires, trade, settling, and spreading of Christianity, their languages, and cultures to the native Indian Americans.
The first impact of the Spanish colonizers was cultural. The Spaniards who colonized America were committed to converting the indigenous subjects in their new world to Catholicism by Royal Decree.[10] Cultural impact was successful as the indigenous people added Catholicism to their traditional ceremonies and beliefs. Moreover, many items of art, practices, forms, and expressions of the natives were prohibited and considered idolatry or destroyed by the Spanish civilians, military, and missionaries. These included sculptures, religious items, and jewelry made of silver and gold, which the Spanish melted and shipped away.[11]This was similar to the impact of the British, who they eroded the behavior, languages, customs, and beliefs of the native Indians gradually and undermined them by introducing their cultures to the indigenous people.
One similarity between the impacts of Spanish and English colonialism in the Americas is the new diseases the settlers, colonists, and traders brought. The native Indians in America had no resistance to the diseases, which included influenza, whooping cough, measles, smallpox, yellow fever, cholera, and typhoid. This led to the fall of the population of the Native Americans to under 1 million from 80 million in less than 500 years.[12]
Another impact of English colonialism was wars and conflicts with the native Indian Americans. The massive immigration of the European colonists resulted in hostilities and increased tension between the native Indian Americans and the Europeans. There were bloody wars fought for dominance in America and control of the lands.
Digital Library[13] pointed out another similarity in the impacts of Spanish and English colonists in America. The established European colonists soon began running out of labor needed to exploit the wealth in the colonized territories. This led to the emergence of the slave trade since the highly lucrative crops like cotton, rice, tobacco, and sugar needed a large source of labor, which the settlers lacked.
Meeting consumer needs. In the case of the café, the consumers often need to eat fresh and tastefully prepared. Food exchange between the Europeans and the native Indians led to a change in diet between the two groups, and this was a positive impact. The food items exchanged from Europeans to the Indians included bananas, chicken, cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, wheat, and sugarcane. On the other hand, food items from the Indians and Europeans included chocolate, catfish, potatoes, pineapple, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, tobacco, and tomatoes. This widened the variety of foods available and the diet.[14]
Another impact of colonialism between Spanish and English colonists was the change of weapons and tools the native Indians used. Before the immigration of the European colonists, the weapons used by the natives included spears, bows, and arrows, which were used in battle and for hunting. The European settlers and colonists in America introduced the rifle, which was more powerful compared to the weapons used by the natives. The impact of this was that, with time, the rifle proved powerful, and this changed the nature of warfare and hunting. Eventually, the Native Americans started trading for European weapons, and this improved their hunting.[15]
Bibliography.
Carbone II, Steven. William Bradford, the Puritan Ethic, & the Mayflower Compact StudentPulse. Com, 2010.
Cohen, Charles. The psychology of Puritans Religious Experience. Oxford University Press, 1986
Geoffrey, Nuttall. The Holy Spirit in the Puritan Faith and Experience. London-University of Chicago Press, 1992.
Gleason Randall and Kelly Kapic. Who were the Puritans? Devote life book,2004.
Lamont, William. Puritanism and Historical Controversy. Mc-Gill-Queens Studies in History of Religion,1996.
Kang, Ning. Puritanism and Its Impact upon American Values. Journal of Review of European Studies, 2009.
Williams, Haller. Liberty and Reformation in the Puritan Revolution. Columbia University Press, 1955.
History, Digital. 2015. ‘Digital History.’ Digitalhistory.Uh.Edu. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=2&smtid=4.
Gutenberg,. 2015. ‘A Brief Account Of The Destruction Of The Indies By Bartolomé De Las Casas’. Gutenberg.Org. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20321?msg=welcome_stranger.
History, Digital. 2015. ‘Digital History’. Digitalhistory.Uh.Edu. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=2&smtID=2.
Rowlandson, Mary. 2015. ‘Narrative Of The Captivity And Restoration Of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson’. Gutenberg.Org. Http://Www.Gutenberg.Org/Files/851/851-H/851-H.Htm.
Library, Digital. 2015. ‘Digital History’. Digitalhistory.Uh.Edu. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=6&smtid=2.
Randall Gleason and Kelly Kapic, “Who werethe Puritans?’ Devote life book,2004. ↑
Charles, Cohen “The psychology of Puritans Religious Ecperience”.Oxford University Press,1986 ↑
William Lamont, “Puritanism and Historical Controversy”. Mc-Gill-Queens Studies in History of Religion, 1996. ↑
Steven Carbone II, “William Bradford, The Puritan Ethic,& the Mayflower Compact” StudentPulse.com,2010. ↑
Nuttall Geoffrey, “The Holy Spirit in the Puritan Faith and Experience”. London University of Chicago Press,1992 ↑
↑
Haller Williams, “Liberty and Reformation in the Puritan Revolution”. Columbia University Press,1955. ↑
Ning Kang, “Puritanism and Its Impact upon American Values”. Journal of Review of European Studies, 2009. ↑
History, Digital. 2015. ‘Digital History’. Digitalhistory.Uh.Edu. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=2&smtid=4. ↑
History, Digital. 2015. ‘Digital History’. Digitalhistory.Uh.Edu. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=2&smtID=2. ↑
Ibid ↑
Rowlandson, Mary. 2015. ‘Narrative Of The Captivity And Restoration Of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson’. Gutenberg.Org. Http://Www.Gutenberg.Org/Files/851/851-H/851-H.Htm. ↑
Library, Digital. 2015. ‘Digital History’. Digitalhistory.Uh.Edu. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=6&smtid=2.
. ↑
Library, Digital. 2015. ‘Digital History’. Digitalhistory.Uh.Edu. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=6&smtid=2. ↑
Gutenberg,. 2015. ‘A Brief Account Of The Destruction Of The Indies By Bartolomé De Las Casas’. Gutenberg.Org. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20321?msg=welcome_stranger. ↑
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