A Dissenting Minority

In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Company set sail to the New World in hope of reforming the Church of England. While crossing the Atlantic, John Winthrop, the puritan leader of the great migration, delivered perhaps the most famous sermon aboard the Arbella, entitled "A Model of Christian Charity." Winthrop's sermon gave hope to puritan immigrants to reform the Church of England and set an example for future immigrants. The Puritan's was a goal to get rid of the offensive features that Catholicism left behind when the Protestant Reformation took place. Under Puritanism, there was a constant strain to devote your life to God and your neighbors. Unlike the old England, they wanted to prove that New England was a community of love and individual worship to God. Therefore, they created a covenant with God and would live their lives according to the covenant. Because of the covenant, Puritans tried to abide by God's law and got rid of anything that opposed their way of life. Between 1630 and the 18th century, the Puritans tried to create a new society in New England by creating a covenant with God and living your life according to God's rule, but in the end failed to reform the Church of England. By the mid 1630's, threats to the Puritans such as Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, and Thomas Hooker were being banned from the Puritan community for their divergent beliefs. 20 years later, another problem arose with the children of church members and if they were to be granted full membership to the church. Because of these children, a Halfway Covenant was developed to make them "halfway" church members. And even more of a threat to the Puritan society was their notion that they were failing God, because of the belief that witches existed in 1692.

In 1534, King Henry VIII formally instigated the English Reformation. He therefore passed the Act of Supremacy, which outlawed the Catholic Church and made him "the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England" (Roark, 68). Puritans were looking for a more Protestant church and received what they wanted. Along with it, came the King's total control over the Church. This is what the Puritans didn't want. Puritans believed that ordinary Christians, not a church hierarchy, should control religious life. They wanted a distinct line between government and the Church of England. Puritans also wanted to eliminate the customs of Catholic worship and instead focus on an individual's relationship with God developed through Bible study, prayer, and introspection (Roark, 68). At this point, Puritans was asking too much of an imperfect society, and by the time James I ruled, Protestant Reformation was no longer strong, because James I pulled away from Puritanism. By 1629, Charles I dissolved Parliament--where Puritans were well represented--and initiated aggressive anti-Puritan policies (Roark, 69). Puritanism was a goal to give more power to ordinary Christians, separate church and government, have everyone love each other, and live according to God's rule, but not everyone lived like Puritans did.

As a result of the anti-puritan policy set by King Charles, Puritans set sail to the New World. Along their voyage to New England, John Winthrop, leader of the Puritan migration, delivered a very promising sermon to all Puritans aboard the Arbella. The purpose of the sermon, entitled "A Model of Christian Charity", was to explain to the Puritans how they would set an example to England by dedicating their lives to God and their community. Winthrop described this dedication to God and their community as "the law of nature and the law of grace, or the moral law or the law of gospel" (Winthrop 45). According to these rules, each man is to "afford his help to another in every want or distress" (Winthrop, 21). These set of rules that governed the way Puritans would live were thought to be the foundation of New England. By setting these rules, Puritans thought they would set an example to the Church of England. But in fact, it was very hard to set an example for England when they were thousands of miles away. The Puritans figured their community would expand to other nearby colonies in hopes of reforming their beliefs as well. What the Puritans failed to recognize was that not all settlers were looking to find God within themselves and not everyone was Protestant. When the Puritans migrated to New England, they were hoping to create a perfect society in an imperfect world.

Because of this imperfect world, there were people such as Anne Hutchinson, who was considered to be an antinomian to the Puritans. Hutchinson was a Puritan who lectured the sermons of John Cotton and she believed that people could be saved by faith alone (Roark, 67). This belief was contrary to Puritanism and therefore was charged as an antinomian. She then went on to say that God had spoken to her and was banned from Boston for her allegations. Puritanism inspired believers like Hutchinson to come up with new ideas, but when she did, she was banned. The Puritan belief system was very hypocritical and yet Puritans themselves didn't realize it. One reason why Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England in the first place was to eliminate the rituals of Catholic worship and instead emphasize on an individual's relationship with God, but when you had someone who believed they had spoken to God, that person was banned from the community for erroneous allegations. Anne Hutchinson was merely telling the community what they wanted to hear. If Hutchinson was banned from Boston, why weren't the people who went to her lectures banned as well? Most of these listeners believed God had spoken to Hutchinson and she was simply conveying his word.