STATION 1: PURITAN CODE OF ETHICS
How do these ethics compare to your personal ethics, or moral guidelines? Do you share any ethics with the Puritans? Are there any ethics that are the complete opposite of your moral guidelines or beliefs? Explain the similarities and differences.
Globally, puritans believe that all the activities and values people believe in should be based on religious believes. Although some of their ethics are relevant to my ethics and moral guidelines, some are impracticable; for instance, men are always above women, there being no place and time for pleasure, avoiding hearing or seeing children, and discouraging religious differences. Such similarities and differences are due to personal backgrounds like culture and upbringing. The world has changed since the Puritan culture began so as the interests and priorities among people.
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STATION 2: “CITY UPON A HILL” SERMON EXCERPT
What does Winthrop mean by the lines in bold? What do these lines reveal about the Puritans’ beliefs?
In his sermon, City Upon a Hill, Winthrop says that they should consider themselves as a city upon the hill since all people’s eyes are upon them. In this case, Winthrop relates Puritanism with a city upon the hill meaning that world is observing the; therefore, Puritans should conduct themselves according to their code of ethics to avoid any criticism from the society. Also, such phrase considers Puritan as the only acceptable religion before God since they don’t tolerate the existence of religious differences.
STATION 3: BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT
There are many theories that attempt to explain the Salem Witch Trials, a tragedy that caused over 200 accusations and 20 deaths. Based upon this information and your own insight, why do you think the Salem Witch Trials occurred?
The Salem Witch Trials occurred in the early 1690s to detect witches in the society who were believed to cause catastrophic events full of suffering and pain. Witches were closely associated with the devil; therefore, their existence was morally unacceptable within the community.
STATION 4: PURITAN THEOLOGY & THEOCRACY
Imagine you were born into the Puritan faith. How would you feel about predestination and theocracy? Explain your reaction to both.
If I were born into the Puritan faith, I would oppose the theory of predestination and the theocracy form of government. Nobody can decide who is chosen by God or not. The fact that Jesus died on the cross created a way to all those who believe in Him to be forgiven from their sins and become acceptable by God. Moreover, theocracy is a baseless system of governance. The church should not control everything in society. Religion is a personal decision which should not be determined by not only by the government but also an individual’s parents.
