Contradictions In The Puritan Religion

Title	Contradictions In The Puritan Religion
# of Words	808
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	3.23

Contradictions In The Puritan Religion

Contradictions In The Puritan Religion

     Life is full of many contradictions, and the basis of the Puritan
religion is no exception.  The Puritans believed that they were  God's chosen
people, as mentioned in the Bible. They saw themselves on a level above the
average man, but in reality, their religion was full of inconsistencies. The
Puritans believed in something  known as the ‘Doctrine of Elect,' hinted at in
Romans 8:28-30, 9:6-24, and later at the Synod of Dort..  The doctrine
contradicted the more widely held belief of Pelagianism, the belief that man
could redeem himself through acts of charity, piety, and by living an unselfish
life.  It came to be one of the greatest theological discrepancies of all time.
Evidently, the Puritan beliefs were almost entirely contradictory.
     Some of the Puritan beliefs were both simple and believable.  Others
would seem outrageous today. Puritanism was founded on the principles and
beliefs of John Calvin, and one of the major ideals they focused on was the
doctrine of predestination.  Calvin believed that the grace of God was the
ticket into Heaven and that his grace could not be earned.  God's grace was
bestowed upon a select few regardless of what they did to earn it. This ‘
doctrine' stated that God determines a mans' destiny, whether it be redemption
or condemnation, regardless of any worth or merit on the person's part.  It
could be compared to the failures of Communism in that no matter how hard a
person worked, how devout a person was, how often a person went to church, there
was no way to get into Heaven unless they were chosen.  Aside from the doctrine
of elect, the Puritans had other outrageous beliefs including the degradation of
one's self, the utter and total dependence on divine grace for salvation, and
the wrath of an angry God.
     The God worshipped by the Puritans was not a forgiving God, and
definitely not a happy God. The Puritans fear him and tried zealously to make
themselves worthy in his eyes.  They insisted that they, as God's special elect,
had the duty to conduct affairs carrying out his will according to the Bible.
Though many of their beliefs seemed outrageous, the most heinous of all was the
aforementioned ‘Doctrine of Elect.'
     If this ‘Doctrine of Elect' guaranteed the chosen a spot in heaven, then
there was no reason for them to behave as pious, God-fearing Puritans.  There
was no reward after death for those who had been good and were not ‘chosen.'...

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