The Puritan religion faded out of existence about 250 years ago, so I guess I'm just a little bit late talk to a Puritan, ask him/her questions, challenge him/her, and then hear what s/he would have to say about society today (probably not too many good things, but...). I've got some things in mind that I would love to discuss with a Puritan, and I'm curious to know what kinds of things you all would ask a Puritan, given the opportunity. Here are some of my questions and thoughts:
Based on the Puritan faith...
- Why is life on earth considered a punishment? And, why do humans' actions here on earth have so little significance, if any at all? In the Old Testament there certainly seem to be correlations between the suffering that Israel experiences and their actions.
- Why is there so little focus on the New Testament? After all, the Old Testament and Judaism are very much based around hope for the coming Messiah that will redeem and save Israel. If the Messiah has already come, wouldn't it seem that a Christian faith would want the Messiah to be the ultimate focus?
These are a couple of examples. I'm curious what questions and thoughts you all would add if we were to ever meet a Puritan...
Emily T.
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2 comments:
Although I'm sure that any Puritan could readily answer those questions, I have a feeling that all of them would answer in the same way: Because that's the way it is. Because that's what He told us, and that's what we follow.
As Mr. Lazarow said in class today, at the source of it, Puritanism (and other religions as well) is based upon faith. That's something that doesn't altogether mesh with a scientific method scheme of asking questions and desiring answers. If we asked them why life on earth in considered a punishment, they would simply respond that that's the way things are.
Nevertheless, those are some very interesting questions, and it'd be fun to question a Puritan from the past today.
Although I agree with Eric, it still would be fun to come up with hypothetical questions.
1.) What were their feelings regarding the political (rather than just ecclesiastical) factions in England before their escape?
2.) If they could change one thing about their faith which could possibly lengthen its lifetime, what would it be?
3.) They believed that England was "beyond repair". If it hadn't been, what would they have done to preserve their faith while still in their mother country?
4.) What reasons (other than religious) made England an unworthy living place? [In fact, I actually think that Bradford mentions a sense of nostalgia that overcomes the Puritans for their mother country while in Holland.]
5.) How would they live their lives if they knew that they were condemned to hell?
(Sam Maliha)
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