Anne Bradstreet vs John Winthrop

Conflicting Views The first Puritan people arrived in America in 1630 and with them they brought their puritan traditions. Their key beliefs were that people were inherently evil, personal salvation depends on God’s grace, and the Bible is the supreme authority. However, over time people began to forget Puritan tradition. As a result, Jonathon Edwards, a prominent minister wrote “From the Sinners in a Hands of Angry God”, the eminent sermon used to scare people into piety. In the late 17th century Puritan Anne Bradstreet, author of “To My Dear and Loving Husband” and “Upon the Burning of our house”, wrote the first notable poetry of American History. Bradstreet’s poems went against Puritan ideals. Her poetry reflected her personal life and her radical views of God. Bradstreet and Edwards differ in their apperceptions of God. Bradstreet’s poems contrasted Puritan beliefs of what poetry should be and Edwards’ sermon was designed to scare people like Bradstreet into changing their ways. Bradstreet’s poems went against the norm of what poetry was like in the 17th century. During that time period, poetry was highly devotional toward God and nature. However, Bradstreet’s poems reflect her personal life. For example, the title of one of the poems is “To My Dear and Loving Husband” (139). In the poem she is professing her love for her husband. Jonathon Edwards would not advocate this poem because it is too personal. In addition, Edwards would dislike this because the poem bore no divine message. Another example would be, “And to my God my heart did cry to strengthen me in my distress” (140). For Bradstreet God is a source of comfort and strength. However, to Edwards God disdains all people and would never provide assistance to anyone.
During the Great Awakening extreme Puritans were convinced that most people were deserting Puritan ideals. As a result, Jonathon Edwards wrote the sermon “From the Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. An example of how Edwards