Winthrop
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 04/19/2010 - 07:21
In his sermon, Winthrop is laying down his idea of how the new colony should be run, when they get there. He wants God at the center of every aspect of life there from income to relationships. When he cites Matthew 5:14 (I am the light of the world, a city set high on a hill that cannot be hidden"), he's implying that it's God's will that the Puritans establish the first colony under that example. However, Winthrop advocates that all men are equal and belong to one "body" of Christ, but says that the Puritans should be seperated from other Christians, and cites scripture that is twisted to support his policy of seperation. Winthrop is dreaming of the impossible perfect society on earth.
Perfect Society
Do you think he was only hoping for a perfect society? Or do you think he actually believed those were reasonable goals for the colony? I think his sermon was definitely meant to inspire them to become a closer community, but I'm not sure what expectations he had for what impact it would have on the people. Sermons are meant to teach. Not everyone learns though. Maybe Winthrop already knew that, but hoped for more. What do you think?
No, I think it was a lot of
No, I think it was a lot of wishful thinking. if Winthrop was a good minister, he would know that a "perfect society" is unattainable, because all men are inclined to sin, and thus pollute any possibility of "perfection".
hard to know
I think he thought it an attainable goal; otherwise, why bother with all the hard work that it would take? In some ways, I think Winthrop was a little delusional, or maybe naive, in thinking that these things were attainable. Yes, America could be the city on the hill. And yes, if we try to be that, our failures are going to be magnified in the eyes of our detractors. But Winthrop and others saw themselves as New Canaanites, New Israelites, the new chosen people. If you see yourself that way, your expectations are also going to be grand in scope and execution. Same with your failures, but Winthrop wasn't counting on failure. Bradley
Bradley