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Religion impact on puritan life

 

            The Puritan belief found its roots from the Holy Reformation and the Protestant movement. It was said with implacable logic that God, all-knowing and all-powerful, had already determined who would be saved: predestination; this belief undermines totally the concept of free will. Nobody knew who would make it to heaven, so all kept a major faith in God and constantly paid homage in the hopes that they would be picked to go to heaven. In addition, this concept would be magnified by the Puritan, who left England to find a more purified society that would be totally devoted to God. This concept is illustrated in several works of early American literature in which the reader can see how profound the role of religion played amongst the early colonist.
             Samuel Sewall came to America when he was nine and was later described as an ardent Puritan. His diary gave light into some of the thought process of this man as he "searched trivial events for revelations of divine intent ." Sewall's diary starts out with him feeding his chickens. He begins to notice; as he is feeding his chickens that, he has given them nothing besides Indian corn and water. This is all he has ever feed them and yet the chickens have done well off this daily diet. It then occurs to Sewall that he would also thrive in the same way. His daily diet would be his prayer, that he should conduct day in and day out, in order for him to thrive in the eyes of God. Like the chickens, he should never grow tired of the same thing over and over again, because it would show how devoted he is.
             Another depiction of Puritan thought comes from early American poet Ann Bradstreet. She was also another person who was taught the Calvinistic views of Protestantism; however, she was ahead of her time as her father saw to it that she was well educated. In one of her poems, "Upon the Burning of Our House" she speaks about an evening in which her house catches fire and burns to the ground, leaving her nothing.


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