Puritans

This study proposes that legacies of Puritanism are reflected in the way journalists cover a range of events and processes. The consequences are ambiguous: sometimes they may be harmful, other times they are laudable. Media coverage of the death of Peter Connelly (Baby P) in 2007 is chosen as an example of the social production of cultures of guilt and blame. In particular, journalists' productive efforts perform significant and active roles in colouring public responses to events. Thereby journalists may reflect in their secularised ethics the hidden influences of nineteenth-century Evangelical traditions and earlier Calvinist ones. Following the analysis of Weber, the paper argues that media approaches to rationality also reflect an impress of lingering Puritan structures of thought. The argument contrasts journalism with the Bohemian writing traditions, which were perhaps suffocated by more urgent Calvinistic approaches alongside the development of industrial capitalism. The paper concludes that newsroom practices and values amount to implicit or covert cultural policies of their own.

Hot Protestants: A History of Puritanism in England and America. By Michael P. Winship. Yale University Press,  2018. xiv +  351 pages. $28.00 (hardcover or e-book).
Philipp Reisner
Journal of the American Academy of Religion, lfaa009, https://doi.org/10.1093/jaarel/lfaa009
Published:
07 April 2020

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Ursula Potter's essay ‘Navigating the Dangers of Female Puberty in Renaissance Drama’ (SEL 53:ii[2013] 421–39) is situated in a historical context of growing access to medical literature about the effects of puberty for the literate. In this well-researched and valuable essay, Potter examines the early modern medical construction of the physiological and behavioural effects of puberty ...
https://academic.oup.com/ywes/article-abstract/94/1/457/1944605

'Incited minds: rethinking early modern girls'. Caroline Bicks, Shakespeare Studies, January 2016
Fourteen and fifteen often do appear as dangerous ages, sexually speaking, for girls in early modern discourses. In her study of teenagers in early modern drama, Ursula Potter notes that "[i]t is rare in early modern drama to find any character given a chronological age, but the exceptions to this general rule are plays that depict teenage girls whose sexual development is central to the plot." Potter considers how such plays often tag these girls' ages early on as a cue for the audience to consider "the risky sexual behaviors commonly associated with the virginal body at puberty." (4) Such a reading does help explain seemingly out-of-character comments like that made by the kind-hearted Antigonus in The Winter's Tale about his three pre-pubescent girls, ages 11,9, and 5. Should Hermione prove false, he swears to her jealous husband Leontes that "I'll geld 'em all. Fourteen they shall not see, / To bring false generations" (2.1.149-50).' 
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Incited+minds%3a+rethinking+early+modern+girls.-a0470868778

The dawn of a new millennium, the almost staggering proliferation of popular "Christian novels" about end-time events, some Christian magazine publisher's willingness to accept commodities brokers' advertisements that seek to sell gold and other precious metals to tremulous Christians (as a hedge in the possibility of an economic meltdown or some other possible catastrophe), as well as the millennial madness that invariably accompanies such epochal moments in history, have all led, it seems, to a heightened interest in matters eschatological. Moreover, the widely heralded collapse of a moral and ethical center in Western society has combined with the end-time speculation to produce an era of great fascination in the end of the world.

Cet article s’inscrit dans le débat récemment relancé sur la relation entre les théologiens scolastiques de la Réforme et les premiers réformateurs, mais propose également de l’amener dans une nouvelle direction. On y analyse d’abord la doctrine de Dieu, telle que développée par Jerome Zanchi (1516– 1590), en mettant en relief comment il fait passer des conclusions de théolo- gie systématique à des implications de théologie pratique, et en particulier, à travers son usage de la convention dite de l’usus doctrinae. L’article cherche ensuite à estimer l’impact de cette convention en dehors des milieux érudits en explorant la relation entre le discours de Zanchi et la tradition anglaise pratique de la divinité. On y met donc en lumière comment les pasteurs et les théologiens populaires ont emprunté à Zanchi dans leur charge d’âmes et de réforme de la nation anglaise.

In Puritan-dominated New England, the consequences of sexual immorality were particularly dire for women. Female worth was measured by a woman’s reputation, which could be irreparably damaged if she sexually transgressed. Pregnancy was inescapable evidence of a woman’s guilt. In this environment, the ostracism that resulted from sexual immorality made infanticide a uniquely “social” deadly crime. Women committed it, at least in part, to try to remain part of society. In the early southern colonies, where sexual morality was not as determinate of a woman’s future, women’s motives for infanticide differed as well. For poor women, there were grim economic consequences for an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Servants who became pregnant had their periods of indenture extended, while other women simply could not afford to have a child. However, as the seventeenth century came to an end, sexual propriety took on a new importance for white women in the south, and their motivation to commit infanticide began to more closely resemble their northern counterparts. As racial slavery became entrenched, and sexual stereotypes were increasingly used to differentiate between white and black populations, infanticide began to take on a more social caste as white women sought to avoid the perception of transgressing racialized barriers of behavior.

In their endeavors to persuade their readers and hearers to conversion and godly living, Puritan writers and preachers in early modern England make use of the three modes of persuasion identified by Aristotle: logos (appeal to rational argument), pathos (appeal to emotion), and ethos (appeal to the perceived credibility of the speaker). Although deploying rhetorical techniques, Puritan writers seek to manifest a Spirit-wrought sincerity, understood as earnest expression flowing from doctrinal conviction, inward spiritual experience, and a heartfelt desire to persuade others. This article explores these dynamics in the works of William Perkins, Richard Sibbes, Richard Baxter, and John Bunyan.

This essay proposes that the Reformed theology of ordinary life has promising principles that can be applied to the recent challenges of the digital age. It first examines how contemporary scholars have grappled with the challenges posed by virtual life, highlighting their advantages and disadvantages. Then, it suggests that the Reformed attitude for sanctifying ordinary life leads Christians inevitably to embrace discipline in their use of technology. The author recommends digital resistance and digital intentionality as judicious parameters for Christian engagement in a digital age.

Although scholars have begun to explore the emotions of early Protestant groups, including those of the Puritans, they have not considered whether there might be differences in the emotions expressed and felt by Puritan men and women. This paper analyzes a set of confessions recorded for the period 1648-1649 by Thomas Shepard, who led the Puritan church of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Three different approaches are employed. The first considers “basic emotions,” the second examines the emotions considered as such by the Puritans themselves, and the third observes the emotions in the context of their “practice”– that is, in the context of habitual behavior. It concludes that there were indeed some gender differences in the emotional lives of these Cambridge women and men.

A brief history of early Plymouth settlers, both Puritan and Pilgrim plus information on Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum located in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  It's a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, the name Plimouth based on the 17th century spelling of Plymouth.

Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis  2017/2
The aim of the article “The Relations Between Puritans and Quakers in 17th Century New England” is to analyze very complicated relations between two specific religious groups after their migration to the “New World”. The author presents history of both religious movements and circumstances of their settlement in America. She also explains how political structures created there by the Puritans influenced the situation of the Quaker missionaries. The main part of the article is an analysis of the reasons behind a profound Puritan hostility towards Quakers. The author divides these reasons into three categories: theological, theological-political, and socio-political, stressing the importance of the last category. Finally, she tries to explain how Quaker presence and attitude influenced future development of American political system.

Streszczenie: Celem artykułu jest ukazanie skomplikowanych relacji między purytanami a kwakrami w kolonialnej Nowej Anglii, zwłaszcza w drugiej połowie XVII wieku. Autorka przedstawia genezę obydwu ruchów religijnych i okoliczności przybycia członków tych wspólnot do kolonii w Ameryce Północnej, omawia struktury polityczne stworzone tam przez purytanów oraz wyjaśnia, jakie miejsce zostało w nich przypisane kwakrom. Analizuje też przyczyny szczególnej niechęci purytanów do kwakrów, wyodrębniając wśród nich trzy kategorie (teologiczne, teologiczno-polityczne oraz społeczno-polityczne) i podkreślając znaczenie tych ostatnich. Ponadto, wskazuje na wpływ, jaki pojawienie się kwakrów wywarło na kolonie purytańskie, a także na przyszłe amerykańskie rozwiązania prawne dotyczące relacji państwo–Kościół. Słowa kluczowe: purytanie, kwakrzy, kolonialna Nowa Anglia, prześladowania religijne, radykalizm społeczny

This article is a study on the representation of Puritans in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night; or, What You Will, one of his most popular comic play in the modern theatre. In mocking Malvolio's morality and ridiculous behaviour, Shakespeare wanted to denounce Puritans' sober society in early modern England. Indeed, Puritans were depicted in the play as being selfish, idiot, hypocrite, and killjoy. In the same way, many other writers of different generations, obviously influenced by Shakespeare, have espoused his views and consequently contributed to promote this anti-Puritan literature, which is still felt today. This article discusses whether Shakespeare's portrayal of Puritans was accurate or not. To do so, the writer first attempts to define the term " Puritan, " as the latter is quite equivocal, then take some Puritans' characteristics, namely hypocrisy and killjoy, as provided in the play, and analyze them in the light of the studies of some historians and scholars, experts on the post Reformation Puritanism, to demonstrate that Shakespeare's view on Puritanism is completely caricatural.

Degree: Master of Arts Subject: Church History Supervisor: Prof. J.W. Hofmeyr This thesis in Church History examines the changing attitudes of Protestants toward Church History. The primary evdience surveyed is statements within major Protestant confessions, as well as the views of selected Reformers. By focusing on how Protestant confessions either quote the church fathers, or affirm the ancient creeds of the Church, the thesis presents a general overview of how Protestants have related to Church History. This thesis takes advantage of many recent studies on the use of church fathers by the reformers, and new critical study of creeds and confessions. A study of selected reformers and Protestant confessions demonstrates that an important part of the Reformation program was the claim to continuity with the early church, as opposed to the perceived innovations of Rome. A brief survey of reformation attitudes towards history also shows that appeals to church history were largely determined by the historical and polemical context of the times. Calvin and Bucer, for instance, make stronger or weaker appeals to church history depending in which polemical context they found themselves.

This short article addressed to a broader readership investigates the impact of the King James Bible upon the American founding. In order to show that impact, the article's first half portrays the political context for the formation of the King James, charts the influence of the Bible upon early modern political thought, and then sketches the impact of the KJV upon the rhetoric and political thought of the Founders. The essay is accompanied by a timeline.

Key Words:
Authorized Version; King James Version; American Founding; Bible and political thought, religion and the founding, founders, Bible and intellectual history, Spinoza, Bible and constitution; Bible and democracy.