Examples Of Misunderstood Beliefs Of Puritans
Misunderstood Beliefs of the Puritans Fear is an emotion that has plagued mankind for centuries. Fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of others. When people are afraid, their actions can be manipulated to reactions out of fear. An example of extreme reactions to fear would be the Puritans. They believed completely in the church and feared when someone or something acted out. The Puritans are misunderstood in the eyes of the twenty-first century for their extreme reactions to witchcraft, the Devil, and God. The Salem Witch Trials are one of the most interesting pieces of history. Numerous women, and even some men, were accused of witchcraft. The hysteria started with a few young women claiming to have seen the devil.
According to Shmoop, “One explanation describes how the girls began to experiment with fortune-telling by dropping an egg white into a glass and asking what trade their future husbands would practice.” These girls acted out of their common beliefs in the church. Fear shot through the very souls of the people of Salem. Neighbors blamed other neighbors for practicing witchcraft. Shmoop claimed, “Sarah Good insisted upon her innocence all the way through to the day of her execution, when she warned her minister that ‘You are a lyer: I am no more a Witch than you are a Wizard, and if you take away my Life, God will give you Blood to drink.’” Some people, like Sarah Good, did not believe in the witchcraft that was supposedly consuming Salem. They stuck to their word of innocence and were eventually executed for it. The Puritans feared that the Devil was consuming Salem with his temptations and evil ways. Discovery Education claims, “Puritans also believed the Devil was as real as God.” Over the centuries, talk of the Devil has been minimized. The church does not talk about the Devil or Hell as much as the Puritans did. The Washington Post recently stated in an article that Pope Francis reminded everyone of the presence of the Devil. “‘Look out because the Devil is present.’” Comparing the Puritan times to present day, the Devil is not a fear that everyone constantly worries about now like it was with the Puritans. The Puritans put all of their beliefs in what the church claimed. They believed that God was all-powerful and it was an act out of His will “when a neighbor would suffer misfortune, such as a sick child or failed crop,” says Discovery Education. The Puritans feared that if they did not follow the strict laws of the church, God would punish them severely. When good respectful people in Salem started to be accused of witchcraft, neighbors feared that they betrayed God and should be killed before they could spread their evil to everyone else. Leviticus in the Holy Bible states, “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.” The Puritans believed that “the Bible was the literal word of God,” according to People Opposing Views. Most people today do not understand how misunderstood the Puritans’ fear of witchcraft, the Devil, and God were. Without enough background information of their beliefs, one could come to a conclusion that the Puritans were crazy for their extreme reactions to their fears. However, they are simply misunderstood in the eyes of today’s society.
According to Shmoop, “One explanation describes how the girls began to experiment with fortune-telling by dropping an egg white into a glass and asking what trade their future husbands would practice.” These girls acted out of their common beliefs in the church. Fear shot through the very souls of the people of Salem. Neighbors blamed other neighbors for practicing witchcraft. Shmoop claimed, “Sarah Good insisted upon her innocence all the way through to the day of her execution, when she warned her minister that ‘You are a lyer: I am no more a Witch than you are a Wizard, and if you take away my Life, God will give you Blood to drink.’” Some people, like Sarah Good, did not believe in the witchcraft that was supposedly consuming Salem. They stuck to their word of innocence and were eventually executed for it. The Puritans feared that the Devil was consuming Salem with his temptations and evil ways. Discovery Education claims, “Puritans also believed the Devil was as real as God.” Over the centuries, talk of the Devil has been minimized. The church does not talk about the Devil or Hell as much as the Puritans did. The Washington Post recently stated in an article that Pope Francis reminded everyone of the presence of the Devil. “‘Look out because the Devil is present.’” Comparing the Puritan times to present day, the Devil is not a fear that everyone constantly worries about now like it was with the Puritans. The Puritans put all of their beliefs in what the church claimed. They believed that God was all-powerful and it was an act out of His will “when a neighbor would suffer misfortune, such as a sick child or failed crop,” says Discovery Education. The Puritans feared that if they did not follow the strict laws of the church, God would punish them severely. When good respectful people in Salem started to be accused of witchcraft, neighbors feared that they betrayed God and should be killed before they could spread their evil to everyone else. Leviticus in the Holy Bible states, “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.” The Puritans believed that “the Bible was the literal word of God,” according to People Opposing Views. Most people today do not understand how misunderstood the Puritans’ fear of witchcraft, the Devil, and God were. Without enough background information of their beliefs, one could come to a conclusion that the Puritans were crazy for their extreme reactions to their fears. However, they are simply misunderstood in the eyes of today’s society.