Conflict of Morals:
God’s Principles vs. Colonist Values

History 202
Dr. Dawn Dyer
October 17, 2013
Word Count: 1527

The Puritans and Quakers both are viewed historically as religiously significant people who aspired to make religion the forefront of their lives. Both had high standards to live by, with the one main goal being to establish their own religious principles based on the way they sought fit to honor God. It seems clear that both the Puritans and the Quakers desired a society of discipline in both religious practice and principle. Less clear, however, are the difficulties both had to maintain the discipline to live up to their high standards. Evidence suggests that important beliefs, attitudes, and behavior of the colonists conflicted with both societies’ religious ideals: many of which are presented in John Winthrop’s A Model of Christian Charity.
The beliefs of the Puritans initially were toward the carrying out of God’s responsibilities, but eventually faced a conflict. The Puritans did not break with the Church of England, but instead sought to reform it. Aboard the Arbella, John Winthrop had written a sermon that pointed out their Christian duties and obligations. If they fulfilled their duties and obligations, they would be blessed; if not, they would be punished. Winthrop stated that the Lord expected a strict performance of the articles of the covenant.1 If they neglected the articles, the Lord would break out in wrath.2 The Puritans faced an enormous amount of pressure in order to be able to please the Lord and abide by his covenant that was set forth. An important point in Winthrop’s sermon is the principle of love and how it is important to love all men, and bring to a lifestyle either Puritan or Christian.3 This important belief that carried through the Puritan lifestyle would be challenged in part of interacting with Native Americans and disputes of contrasting religious perspectives. Roger Williams offered a written observation of religion in regards to the Native American “misery”. “First they branch their God-heads into many Gods. Secondly, attribute it to creatures.” 4 Williams’s religious beliefs of one almighty God and Puritan principles and practice influenced his observations which translate into a discrimination against the Indians. He goes on to accuse “excesse of scandalous sin amongst them,” 5 providing an interpretation for all the wrongdoing of the Indian religious practices. Although written as a dictionary of Indian language, William’s exercises his writing to include the religious contrast of Indians to the European settlers. Ideas of religion overcame Williams to go against the covenant about loving all men in an effort to reveal his Puritan viewpoint and show the complexity of colonist and Indian encounters.
The attitude of the colonists can be viewed as one that points in the other direction of God’s covenant. Winthrop wrote that “we must love each other in brotherly affection” 6, an idea that goes awry once more in regards to the contrasting beliefs among the colonists and the Indians. John Easton, in his letter regarding the grievances of the Indians, talked about a complaint of being forced to become Christian Indians and having to lie to wrong their kings. 7 Brotherly affection and a close knit Christian body does not encompass forceful prosecution and the makings of other sin toward their own rulers. A part of God’s covenant regarding a perfect body was lost within this practice of mutual mistrust, further explained when Easton expresses his view in which he proclaims:
“I am persuaded that New England’s priests are sol blinded by the spirit of persecution and anxious to have their hire [salaries] and to have more room to be mere hirelings, that they have been the cause that the law of nations and the law of arms have been violated in this war, and that the war would not have started if there had not been a hireling who, for his management of what he calls the gospel, to have it spread by violence.” 8
Not only does this behavior of the colonists break the integrity of brotherly love, it views as a failure to apply the first 2 things to be propounded; the persons and the work. 9 Winthrop writes in his sermon that “we ought to account ourselves knit together by this bond of love, and live in the exercise of it” and “seek out a place of cohabitation…. both civil and ecclesiastical.” 10 Persecution does not shed light on the principle of love nor a civil manner. Ensuring humility by forcing one to become Christian is both uncivil and a practice unintended for an ecclesiastical society. Once again, original religious ideals of the colonists are conflicted by a behavior of the colonists in which they desire to wrongfully accuse and take advantage. Behavior of the colonists thorough their actions casts an overbearing shadow of negativity when religious principles are put on the stand. Such behavior can first be viewed in the Laws of Pennsylvania, written in 1682. The main religious undertaking that William Penn and the Quakers sought after in their laws was religious tolerance. All religious beliefs were welcomed and accepted in Pennsylvania as stated in chapter one of the laws:
“…that no person now or anytime hereafter…..be Molested or Prejudiced for his or her conscientious Perswasion or Practice nor shall he or she at any time be compelled to frequent of Maintaine and Religious Worshipp place or Ministry whatever Contrary to his or her mind but shall freely Enjoy his or her Christian Liberty without any Interruption.” 11
Penn and other Quakers believed that everyone had to seek God in his or her own way. Thus, Penn welcomed settlers from all faiths to Pennsylvania and saw other religions as a way to further the practices in which to glorify God. Again, there is visible conflict between the modern ideals and what Winthrop expressed ever so vividly in his sermon. Upon the question of religious tolerance, Winthrop wrote “for we must Consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword through the world, we shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God and all professors for God’s sake. We shall shame the faces of many of gods worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into Curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whether we are going.” 12 Illustrated here is the philosophy behind the ideals of Winthrop and the Puritans that they wanted all to look up to them and view Christianity and the notion of all people loving and being the one body of Christ to be the model way of living. Scorned would be all non-believers and non- followers of Christ, who the Puritans believed would draw God out of their society. The Puritans did want religious tolerance, but only for themselves while still maintaining a close bond with God. Contrast is the viewpoint of Penn, who saw non-believers and other religions as no threat and an opposite tactic from that of the words written by Winthrop.
Perhaps the clearest example of Puritans going against religious beliefs is presented in an argument in the Salem Witch trials of the mere fact that such incidents happened. This case does not illustrate of contrasting to the values that God has sent out, but what they had religiously established. Puritans lived by a moral code that was tough and believed that God punished all sinful behavior. They believed the Devil was as real as God and that the Devil did most of his work through women. Those who they believed followed Satan were considered witches. 13 Bridget Bishop was one of the accused and upon the many testifies, the Puritan religious moral code was compromised as the accusers noted ways she acted like a witched and caused their misfortunes. The acts that were noted included: John Cook testifying that he was “assaulted by the shape of this prisoner”, Samuel Shattuck said that Bishop came to his house and “suspected she came indeed with a purpose of mischief”, John and William Bly saying when helping Bishop take down a cellar wall where she formerly lived, they found “several poppets, made up of rags, and hog’s bristles, with headless pins in them, the points, being outward.” 14 Another conviction found on Bishop was “her being evidently convicted of gross lying, in the court several times, while she was making her plea.” 15 A witch was found on this day, and although this not being an example of the contrast in religious beliefs that were bestowed by God and the sermon by Winthrop, a clash in moral religious interpretations was indeed defied.
The religious differences that are present among the colonists are viewed with a variety of evidence to suggest conflicting ideals. Whether it be against their own moral code, Christian duties defined in John Winthrop’s sermon, of beliefs bestowed by God himself, the way the colonists acted definitively points out a society that was compromised to go beyond their religious standards.

Notes

1. John Winthrop. “A Model of Christian Charity, 1630,” in Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Volume I: To 1877 ed. Michael P. Johnson (New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2012), 60.

2. Ibid., 60.

3. Ibid., 58-59

4. Roger Williams. “A Key into the Language of America, 1643,” in Reading the
American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Volume I: To 1877 ed. Michael P.
Johnson (New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2012), 64.

5. Ibid., 65.

6. Winthrop, Model of Christian Charity, 58.

7. John Easton. “A Relation of the Indian War, 1675,” in Reading the
American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Volume I: To 1877 ed. Michael P. Johnson (New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2012), 67.

8. Ibid., 69

9. Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity, 59.

10. Ibid., 59.

11. William Penn. “The Laws of Pennsylvania, 1682,” in Reading the
American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Volume I: To 1877 ed. Michael P. Johnson (New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2012), 70. 12. Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity, 60.

13. “Life in Salem 1692: Religion and Witchcraft,” Discovery Education, Discovery Communications LLC., accessed October 14, 2013, http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/life/religion.html

14. Cotton Mather. “Testimony Against Accused Witch Bridget Bishop, 1692,” in Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Volume I: To 1877 ed. Michael P. Johnson (New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2012), 74-75.

14. Ibid., 75

Bibliography

Discovery Education. Discovery Communication LLC. Accessed October 14, 2013. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/life/religion.html

Easton, John. “A Relation of the Indian War, 1675,” in Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Volume I: To 1877 edited by Michael P. Johnson. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012, 66-69.

Mather, Cotton. “Testimony Against Accused Witch Bridget Bishop, 1692,” in Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Volume I: To 1877 edited by Michael P. Johnson. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012, 73-75.

Penn, William. “The Laws of Pennsylvania, 1682,” in Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Volume I: To 1877 edited by Michael P. Johnson. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012, 69-73.

Williams, Roger. “A Key into the Language of America, 1643,” in Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Volume I: To 1877 edited by Michael P. Johnson. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012, 61-65.

Winthrop, John. “A Model of Christian Charity, 1630,”in Reading the American Past: Selected Historical Documents. Volume I: To 1877 edited by Michael P. Johnson. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2012, 57-60.