Contradictions In The Puritan Religion :: essays research papers

Contradictions In The Puritan Religion carriage is full of party contradictions, and the basis of the Puritanreligion is no exception. The Puritans believed that they were paragons electpeople, as menti one(a)d in the Bible. They saw themselves on a level to a higher place theaverage man, but in reality, their religion was full of inconsistencies. ThePuritans believed in something cognise as the Doctrine of Elect, hinted at inRomans 828-30, 96-24, and later(prenominal) at the Synod of Dort.. The doctrinecontradicted the more widely held belief of Pelagianism, the belief that mancould redeem himself through acts of charity, piety, and by living an unselfishlife. It came to be one of the greatest theological discrepancies of tout ensemble time.Evidently, the Puritan beliefs were almost entirely contradictory. whatever of the Puritan beliefs were both simple and believable. Otherswould seem startrageous today. Puritanism was founded on the principles andbeliefs of derriere Calv in, and one of the major ideals they focused on was thedoctrine of predestination. Calvin believed that the grace of divinity was theticket into enlightenment and that his grace could not be earned. Gods grace wasbestowed upon a select few regardless of what they did to earn it. This doctrine stated that God determines a mans destiny, whether it be redemptionor condemnation, regardless of any worth or merit on the persons part. Itcould be compared to the failures of Communism in that no intimacy how hard aperson worked, how devout a person was, how much a person went to church, therewas no way to get into Heaven unless they were chosen. Aside from the doctrineof elect, the Puritans had other outrageous beliefs including the degradation ofones self, the utter and complete dependence on divine grace for salvation, andthe wrath of an angry God.The God worshipped by the Puritans was not a forgiving God, anddefinitely not a happy God. The Puritans fear him and tried zealously to make themselves magna cum laude in his eyes. They insisted that they, as Gods 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 theaforementioned Doctrine of Elect.If this Doctrine of Elect guaranteed the chosen a spot in heaven, thenthere was no reason for them to behave as pious, religious Puritans. Therewas no reward after death for those who had been good and were not chosen.The standard was the same for the special few who made their way onto Gods