A Model Of Christian Charity Analysis

Upon examining the Book of Micah, there are many similar themes which Winthrop draws from in his speech. In the Book of Micah, God punishes the Israelites for breaking their religious covenant with their “lack of justice and honesty”. Micah then speaks with God to find out how they may gain God’s trust and love again to which God demands “to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” which Winthrop quotes directly. Winthrop is acknowledging the failures of previous Christians suggesting that they themselves are vulnerable to God’s wrath if they behave inappropriately, evidence that Winthrop does not believe his Puritans are perfect.

During the time of English colonization and settlement, John Winthrop wrote many pieces related to the importance of religion in society. These writings include A Model of Christian Charity which focused mainly on Puritan ideas on how to treat one another in order for the colony to survive.Winthrop, a very influential Puritan founder, proposed a society in the new colony of Massachusetts centered around religion and the idea that Puritan beliefs were the only sure way to ensure God’s blessings. Winthrop discusses that it is a civil duty amongst colonists to involve the Puritan religion in everyday life in order to preserve the colony as well as Puritan values. In the piece Winthrop writes that if the colony “ ...shall neglect the observation of these

Adapting a Puritan lifestyle drastically affected Winthrop’s perspective on the world and his role in it. He knew that he could not completely disconnect himself from it “as monks and hermits do” (Morgan 6) so he had to adapt to the struggle of finding a balance of his role of worshiping God and “lending his hand to shape [the world]” (Morgan 14).

One reason for the Colonial Americans’ growth in faith is the fact the era was abundant with religious figures who strove to lead people to God and created guidelines for them to live by. The people of Colonial America were blessed to abide in an “enchanted world of wonders.” These wonders were no doubt brought on by the hand of God, and the recognition of this fact caused new religious leaders to rise up and help people focus on living Godly lives despite the secular distractions that they were presented with. One Puritan leader, John Winthrop, stated, “That which the most in their Churches maintain as a truth in profession only, we must bring into familiar and constant practice, as in this duty of love we must love brotherly without dissimulation, we must love one another with a pure heart fervently we must bear one another’s burdens…” Winthrop not only wanted each individual person to maintain a stronger focus on faith in daily life, he also wanted them to use their faith to unite together, and his Model of Christian Charity showed the people how to accomplish that. Many people tried to abide by these teachings and pass them onto their children before they made their own way in the changing, confusing world because many parents feared their children would “Fall un’wares in Fowler’s snare.”

Introduction. The new boundaries and opportunities in the seventeenth century grew and challenged an idea of religious liberty. The lifestyle of the first colonists in the New England was heavily influenced by religion and church. Settlers considered that success of social life depends on the obedience to God’s will. The governor John Winthrop maintained and developed this idea. With a help of his Speech to the Massachusetts General Court in 1645, he summed up and explained an important idea of liberty. Winthrop did not only define a blessed way for a better life of the community but also clarified the role of citizens through the analogy of women’s position in the society. His concept of natural and moral liberty turned up to be suitable and clear for the settlers. With a help of well-built speech, Winthrop emphasized and explained correlation among society, authority, and God in the New World.

John Winthrop wanted the American people to follow God and to do good deeds so that they could feel honored by God. Winthrop believed that, "the rich help the poor, instead of God directly, and therefore the rich demonstrate their work to God"(Contributors). In return the poor will show respect and gratitude towards them. He also argued that you should keep what you need in life and give the rest away to someone else who could benefit more from it. With just doing these acts of kindness, it could bring the community

In Edmund S. Morgan’s, The Puritan Dilemma, it was evident that John Winthrop focused his entire life around glorifying God, in turn creating a government that did the same. This ideology translated into the way he shaped and structured Puritan society. Winthrop first focused on the formation of a community of unity and harmony, then built a government that fostered it. All of the governmental structures in place were supporting one main focus of the Puritan society being “a city on a hill.” Citation Further, Puritan society was to act as an example for the surrounding colonies of godly living. Harmony was backed by their ideals of

In the trial of Anne Hutchinson, we meet a well intentioned yet lost people described and labelled as the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Company. These self governing Puritans, once a people who sought God to set them on their way, settled only to be found as a people who simply lost their way. This journey to lost began when first motivated by a desire for religious reform and separation from the liturgy, ceremonies and practices of the Church of England. Once they banned together, they set on their way and traveled in groups to the New World. With the Word of God as their ultimate authority and the desire for a personal relationship with God, these people landed in Boston in 1630 united to self govern the newly founded Massachussets Bay Colony. Unfortunatly, this self rule resulted in a government of intolerance, fear and a liturgy not much different from what was once found in the Church of England. A system designed to set apart outward morality, or sanctification, to strengthen the authority of the Church only worked to neglect the place of true piety purposed to strengthen the spiritual lives of the people it served.

In 1630, Puritan leader John Winthrop led the great migration to the New World. On board the ship Arbella, John Winthrop delivered a sermon titled "A Model of Christian Charity." His speech outlined the objectives he hoped to achieve in the New World. His ideals slightly influenced the Puritans judgments and philosophy however not as much as he had initially hoped for. It seems the judgments of the Suffolk County Court were not influenced by the Arbella sermon. Similarly, it doesn't appear that Winthrop's sermon influenced the testimony against Bridget Bishop either. However, the Suffolk County Court cases do differ from the case against Bridget Bishop. The paradox between the two illustrates both Puritan successes and failures.

Within the colony of Massachusetts, religion played an important role in shaping the community’s people and interests. The reason for the Puritans move to North America was to escape the convictions the Christians of England were placing on them (Divine, 89). Winthrop and his followers believed that in this new land they must create a place where they could come together as a people and build the perfect religious society (Divine, 90). In a speech about his vision for the land, John Winthrop said, “We must delight in each

Winthrop’s political theory developed from an early age. As a religious man, one would expect him to be a preacher, but he found his calling through law and leadership. Because he was such a devout Puritan, he was chosen to spearhead the project of establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which was originally purposed for economic uses. This changed when the group elected him as governor, which altered the purpose of the colony to be more religious in nature. As a result, this group of Christians made an “exodus” from the old world with the mindset of establishing a “true Christian society”, much like the Jews fleeing from Egypt, as described in the first testament, book of Exodus in the Bible. They felt it was not only a privilege but a duty of God, and as the metaphorical and literal hands of God, to uphold the values of a true Puritan society. This cemented in him a purpose to erect a community that would be that “Citty on a Hill” that is so famously quoted.

John Winthrop’s 1630 sermon, “A Model of Christian Charity” is one of the first examples of early “American exceptionalism”. (Noll, 2012) In his sermon, Winthrop (1630) talks about how the citizens in colonial America should set a good example for others, and obey God, as they are looked up to by non-Americans. This concept of America being chosen, or somehow unique in a divine manner was the fundamental meaning of American exceptionalism to Puritan society.

Some of the first colonists to land on the shores of the “new world” believed that they had a mandate from God to create a new society here, and that it should be a new, superior kind of society that would be an example to the rest of the world. John Winthrop told his flock aboard the Arbella that their society would be grounded in the principles of the Bible, and that by concentrating themselves in one area together they would be able to have a more pure Christian society. They would be able to repel the influences of the inferior and corrupt exterior world, and although they would practice the precept to “love his neighbor as himself,” they would prefer to have a Christian

Dependent upon the clemency of God, the Puritans use their faith to ensure success in a new, foreign land. Ultimately, Winthrop implies that if the colonists genuinely dedicate themselves to Christ, their lives will be improved, in that God will help them in their endeavors: "The end is to improve our lives to do more service to the Lord...that ourselves and posterity may be the better preserved from the common corruptions of this evil world, to serve the Lord and work out our salvation under the power and purity of His holy ordinances" (215). By using the phrase "corruption of this evil world," Winthrop suggests that the only way to attain a virtuous and upright character is through spirituality and trust in God, who can help His followers to lead moral, meaningful lives. Winthrop insinuates that the Puritans have an obligation to God; they must leave their native land and establish a community abroad where God's people can live freely, strengthening their spiritual lives. If this is accomplished, then God too will aid the Puritans and bring mercy upon them: "When God gives a special commission He looks to have it strictly observed in the every article. When he gave Saul a commission to destroy Amaleck, He indented with him upon certain articles, and because he failed in one of the least, and that upon a fair pretense, it lost him the kingdom which should have been his reward if he had observed his commission"

Winthrop talks about the law of nature, which tells them to always to love their neighbor. No enemies, just friends. He says this because in order to work together and be a better society you must be able to get along with everyone. He states that love is the bond that will keeps the society together and as one. He says to always love with a pure heart. He talks about the law of grace, which is a moral law. This love and these rules united the Puritans. Lastly, when Christians need are in need of God, they must help him instead of just receiving. By giving, lending and forgiving. He says that no one is perfect, and that if one Christian suffers, they all suffer. Christians are held together. They are together by love; they walk with each other through strength and weaknesses.