John Winthrop delivered his "City upon a Hill" sermon aboard the Arabella
ship, having not yet arrived in the New World. Titled "A Model of
Christian Charity," the sermon/essay is meant to inspire and prepare the
Puritanical separatists for their arrival in a New England. Winthrop
preached that the Puritans had to form a new "city upon a hill," meaning
they would be a good example for others outside of their close-knit
community. The Puritans thought they were starting a "new Jerusalem" and
their relationship with God is compared to the covenant God made with the
Jews. This seemingly perfect city would have both the ideal individual
relationships with God (i.e. upholding the Covenant of Grace), as well as
great interpersonal/communal relationships with each other (upholding the
Covenant of Works).
Winthrop encouraged everyone to "be knit together in this work as one
man, we must entertain each other in brotherly Affection," meaning he
wanted even seemingly opposite members of the community (i.e. the Rich v.
Poor) to care for each other and not remain idle, constantly depending on
God: "When there is no other means whereby our Christian brother may be
relieved in his distress, we must help him beyond our ability rather than
tempt God in putting him upon help by miraculous or extraordinary means."
In traditional Puritanical fashion, Winthrop chose select scripture from
the Bible, explicated it, and applied it to the daily lives of his
followers.
Believing that humans were naturally depraved, Winthrop believed that
“We must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the
supply of others’ necessities. We must uphold a familiar commerce
together in all meekness, gentleness, patience and liberality.” Because
he believed that Individual sacrifices must be made to benefit the group
as a whole, Puritans have been called “proto-Marxists.” Elements of
human depravity, unwavering obedience to God, and the need to
sacrifice/mask the grotesque characteristics of human existence are
evident in Winthrop’s writings, as well as in those of Anne Bradstreet.
In her poem “Verses Upon the Burning of our House” after her home
burned down, she “Blest his grace that gave and took...Yea, so it was, and
‘twas just.” showing her unquestionable obedience to God. The poem “The
Flesh and the Spirit” also highlights components of Puritanical thinking;
the dichotomous nature of the poem shows the gap between the physical
the spiritual by personifying them in the form of twin sisters. The sister
called “Flesh” valued worldly items like gems, precious metals, fame,
et cetera. The sister called “Spirit” responds that Flesh was begat by Adam
(a mortal) while her father is not merely a mortal being. The Spirit twin
appears morally and emotionally superior to the Flesh twin.
These writings by Winthrop and Bradstreet show that Puritans were
not against education or expression, they were simply very strict about
their subject matter. Having the whole “City Upon a Hill” sermon was
helpful because the abridged version of Puritan writings often gives them a
skewed, severe tone. Reading the works in their entirety is key.
In his sermon, “A Model of Christian Charity,” Winthropinterwove the Puritan Covenants of Works and Grace into a cohesive argument for cooperative behavior that was primarily focused on the commercial and financial well being of the colony. This motivational speech was not intended to promote religious tolerance or diversity. Winthrop was a lawyer and one of the leaders of the Puritan Migration (he later followed Endicott as governor of the colony). He was also one of the “elect” and therefore his words had special meaning to the Puritans. Puritans were noted as individualists so it was necessary to provide them with religious motivation to pursueotherwise pragmatic goals, such as economic cooperation. Puritans certainly were not interested in diversity of religions or other progressive thinking. The very structure of their religious thought was restrictive and certainly could not be characterized as charitable. They were noted for their severe punishments andprosecution and expulsion of non-compliant or disobedientPuritans as well as other religious sects such as the Quakers.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem, “The Flesh and the Spirit,” Anne Bradstreet highlights the differences between the physical and spiritual, a common theme throughout religious dogma. However, she may unintentionally have provided her readers with a more profound thought by metaphorically labeling them twin sisters. In other words the physical and spiritual may be parts of a whole and symbiotically related. Thus, one may not be able to exist without the other, but engaged in a constant struggle for control.
In the poem, “Upon the Burning of Our House,” Bradstreet laments the loss of her home and personal possessions. She has yet again suffered hardship. However, she rejects feeling anger at her plight and, instead, looks to God for consolation and strength. These religious and domestic themes appear throughout her poems. This is not surprising because Puritan women were regulated to domesticity. They were refused any active participation in leadership of the colony and were perceived as intellectually inferior to men.