John Winthrop's Puritan Dilemma

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.”

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.

Firstly, John Winthrop earned the reputation of a compassionate and just judge over a decade of service, but he came to realize that it would be impossible to reach fame and fortune in England without substituting his Puritan values. In 1629, stockholders came together and elected John Winthrop as lead of the company, which existed due to the vast amount of opposition that the Anglican Church received from the Puritan community. John Winthrop believed that his fellow Englishmen should join him in his idea that the company must subsist bound together with mutual consent to be

John Winthrop, was the leader of the second Puritan group to enter the New World, called the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This group of Puritans had a much different goal than their Separatists-Puritan counterparts, their objective being to go abroad and set up a superior Church, that the Church of England could then model its self after. Therefore, Winthrop gave a sermon before they reached their new homeland that would govern how everyone should treat one another for the sake of their goal and for the successfulness of the community itself. This sermon was called “A Model of Christian Charity”, and through it was how the colony formed its structure.

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

Throughout the story, “The Puritan Dilemma,” The author, Edmund Morgan focuses directly towards his view on the Puritan Dilemma and how it affected John Winthrop in both his personal life along with his professional life. Morgan also talks about how the government is treated by the puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. According to Morgan, the Puritan Dilemma meant finding balance between personal life along with spiritual. Morgan explains how John copes with this and how his views on Puritanism affected his life entirely. Morgan believes that the Puritan Dilemma should be praised. He shows this praise through the main figurine of the story, John Winthrop. Puritanism is viewed with strict religious laws where life should only be lived through the bible.

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

John Winthrop in 1630 gave his sermon to the settlers before they landed in New England to keep the Puritan believes strong. This sermon was trying to show that there would be struggles in New England but that with the help of God that they could get through it and that they needed to keep their faith strong. He stated that everything that is done in New England is for the glory of God and that they were going there because God had sent them there, he unintentionally may have stated the expand of Puritan believes in New England. John Winthrop had no argument in this document and no evidence is found within the document, but through research it is known that it wasn’t given much attention when it was delivered and that it was accurate as

John Winthrop wrote A Model of Christian Charity in 1630 aboard the Arabella. Winthrop was a firm believer in the Puritan faith and is known to have spoken this sermon on board the ship to help inspire passengers to go forth and create a “new society” focused on God “in a perilous environment” (Beardsley 1). Winthrop and his fellow Puritans were determined to establish a new society in America that was focused on doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God (9). In A Model of Christian Charity, Winthrop uses theological and biblical references to define justice as loving and respecting all those around you, despite any differences, and as living out actions God wants his people to do; this exemplifies Winthrop’s Puritan religious beliefs which focus on creating a close-knit society.

John Winthrop was a well known Puritan leader during his time. He held very idealistic views exspesically matters concerning his own community. He felt that he was able to set an example for everyone through his teachings, everyday examples, and the power of God.

John Winthrop's dream was for the Massachusetts colony to be respected by the world for how its people give to others in need and for the relationships people in the community had with each other. The Pilgrims and Puritans came to america to practice their own religion. When the Pilgrims arrived in America; they were supposed to be in Virginia. A storm set them off course and they ended up in Cape Cod. The Pilgrims decided to call the area Plymouth, and because there was no government there; they created a new government known as the Mayflower Compact. When the Puritans came 10 years later with John Winthrop. He wanted to make a government that was based around God and one that would be a good example for other colonies to follow in the future.

... wee shall be as a citty upon a hill. The eies of all people are uppon us."[6] Winthrop believed that the Puritans had a duty tc) fulfill their covenant with God bv serving as an example of an ideal Christian community to the world. In return, God would protect his chosen people. In "God's Promise to His Plantations," John Cotton, one of Winthrop's contemporaries, explained that "what hee [God] hath planted he will maintain ... his owne plantation shall prosper, & flourish." Cotton urged Puritans to "Have speciall care that you have had the ordinances [of God] planted amongst you," because "As soon as God's ordinances cease, yor security ceaseth likewise."[7] Cotton warned his fellow Puritans that breaking the covenant with God would result in a loss of his protection for his chosen.

John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity” has been portrayed as one of “American literatures earliest important documents” (Schweninger, 1990, p.46) partly because of how it represents a vision of a community of purpose and potential. The most important way that Winthrop achieves this is through the use of religion, focusing particularly on the role of Puritans. Puritans lived life through the theory that God controlled the social order and the chosen ones and that life was dedicated towards the Lord and Christianity. Author Michael Kammen refers to Puritans as “paper trails” due to them becoming a fixed point of origin and thus, Puritans such as Winthrop, hoped to “kindle a gospel light that would shine forth once more in a New England”

John Winthrop was born around the 1500’s in England which at the time had corruption due to overpopulation and not enough money. He decided that it needed to be more peace against prosecution of religion and joined a group called the Puritans. He and his group decided that they should be the ones to have a safe community as Puritans. He and his fellow people set out on a voyage where a book was written called A Model of Christian Clarity. For example, “A Model of Christian Clarity” says that “All men being thus (by divine providence) ranked into two sorts, rich and poor; under the first are comprehended all such as are able to live comfortably by their own means duly improved; and all other are poor according to the former distribution”(Winthrop 178). This means that the Puritans should be able to live the way they choose whether it be religion or rich/poor. He also emphasized helping people and not wanting anything in return. He also wanted to emphasize that the land should not be based on status and that everyone should help each other to have a more Puritan life. Winthrop believes that everyone should live a more Christian life and have compassion to the poor if you are wealthy by selling all of your things soon in order for them to eat. In “A Model of Christian Clarity”, Winthrop concludes with Deuteronomy 30 which says “Beloved, there is now set before us life and food, death and evil, in that we are commanded this day to love the Lord our God, and to love one another,

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).