The Puritans
The Puritans
The Puritans wanted to “purify” the Church of England of any remaining Roman Catholic elements. They considered themselves to be members of the Church of England, and were not trying to create a separate church. They called their priests “ministers,” and objected to priestly vestments, preferring the black gown of a scholar; they wanted all traces of idolatry removed, including organs, pictures of saints, crucifixes, and even the cross. They also objected to kneeling while receiving the Lord’s Supper (communion). They also wanted Bibles and other written materials available in their native language. Puritans also objected to the Book of Common Prayer, and instead of the liturgy favored “prophesying,” which was a long sermon based on a scriptural text. Politically, they favored a strong anti-Catholic foreign policy.
John Calvin, a French-Swiss theologian, was extremely influential. His theology was the basis for most puritan belief. Calvin saw mankind as depraved from birth, a result of Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden. He believed that the sovereign God, in his mercy, chose some people to be saved. Those people were called the Elect, and by the doctrine of “irresistible grace,” the Elect would be saved no matter what they did; conversely, those not elected were called “reprobates” and would not be saved, no matter if they led a Godly life and did good works. This doctrine of predestination would prove to be a problem and a cause for division. Calvin's doctrines denied that people had free will, God decided everything for us, and we could do nothing to save ourselves. Opponents of Calvin argued that according to Calvin's logic, God must have created sin, which contradicted the Bible; according to the Bible, Adam's diobedience created the first sin. If humankind had no free will, how then could Adam choose to disobey?
Calvin envisioned a theocracy of the "saints," as the Elect were known, who would eventually rule the world. But how to identify the Elect? Martin Luther claimed that no one could be sure of election. But Calvin said that the Elect could be known by three tests: a profession of faith; an upright life; and participation in the sacraments.
Here are the Five Points of Calvinism:
Total Depravity: Mankind is born a slave to sin, due to the fall of Adam (original sin)
Unconditional Election: The Sovereign God chose, before the beginning of time, some to be saved, having done nothing to deserve grace. These are the Elect. Those not elected are called reprobates, and will not be saved.
Limited Atonement: The doctrine that Christ died for the sins of the Elect only.
Irresistable Grace: Grace is bestowed upon the Elect and cannot be earned nor rejected.
Perseverance of the Saints: Those whom God has chosen will be saved. They cannot fall away, no matter what they do. Their faith will persevere to the end.
Jacobus Arminius (10 October 1560 – 19 October 1609) was a Dutch theologian who disagreed with Calvin. His theology became very influential, probably because it did not deny the free will of mankind to repent and be saved. The Church of England tended toward Arminianism under Archbishop Laud, consistent with the church’s latitudinarian, liberal theology, which caused the Anglican Church to be called the “middle way,” designed to appeal to a majority of the population. Laud wanted England to be united in one national church. Arminianism would later be a thorn in the side of the New Haven Puritans, who wanted to set up an elitist government of the Elect over the rest of humanity, the reprobates.
Arminius’s theology was laid out by his followers, called remonstrants, after his death. The Five Points of Remonstrance are these:
Conditional Election: Election is conditional upon faith in Christ. God elects those that He knows will have faith in Him.
Unlimited Atonement: Christ died for all, but salvation is limited to those who have faith in Christ.
Total Depravity: Man is born depraved, and is unable to do the will of God, and cannot save himself, without the grace of God.
Prevenient Grace: Rejecting the idea of irresistible grace, mankind has free will to resist God’s grace.
Conditional Preservation of the Saints: Salvation is conditional upon the continued faith of the believer. It is possible to fall away.
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For further reading, see:
Roland H. Bainton. The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, enlarged edition. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1985).
D. G. Hart. Calvinism: a History. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013).
Francis J. Bremer. Puritanism: a very short introduction. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009).
Also see these articles:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Calvinist–Arminian_debate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Calvin