PURITAN AGE

MADE BY:
IRSYADI
NISRINA SESAIRIAH
SITI ARISA NURJANA
Introduction

The Puritan Age or the Age of Milton (1600-1660), which is further

divided into:
 the Jacobean and Caroline periods after the names of the ruled
James I and Charles I, who rules from 1603 to 1625 and 1625 to
1649 respectively;
 The Seventeenth Century up to 1660 was dominated by
Puritanism and it may be called the Puritan Age or the Age of
Milton who was the noblest representative of the Puritan spirit.
 The puritan period or what is commonly called "puritanism" is a period when
puritans or churchmen took over the government after winning the civil war,
puritans fought the government which was then led by James I and Charles I.
 Puritans were a branch of the Protestant church. Their movement began in the
16th and 17th centuries. Although they preferred to be called “the godly,” they
were given the name “Puritans” for their struggle to reform or purify the
Church of England under Elizabeth.
 The Puritan movement was originally only a religious movement, but because
of the pressure and unwise actions towards Puritans which done by James I and
Charles I, the Puritan movement developed into a political movement that
opposed the king.
 Puritan movement stood for the liberty of people of Europe and it goals are
making people free and honest.
 Puritan age had two perspectives: personal righteousness and civil and
religious liberty. In other words, it purpose at making people honest and free.
History : Political Chaos
 Puritanism first appeared in the 16th and 17th centuries in England as a
movement to remove all remaining of Catholicism from the Anglican
Church. The Anglican Church first separated from Catholicism in 1534,
but when Queen Mary took the throne in 1553, she returned it to
Catholicism. Under Mary, many Puritans faced isolation. In 1558,
Queen Elizabeth I took the throne and re-built the separation from
Catholicism.
 Fortunately, the conflict between Puritans and Catholics can still keep it down
by the Queen Elizabeth I who was wise, but the conflict arise again at the
beginning of James I. The theory used by James I in England was called the
"Divine Rights of Kings" which means God give privileges to the king which
cannot be opposed because the king is God's representative on this earth.
 The first problem arise when the Puritans asked the king for permission to carry
out the practices of church revival with their own ceremonies and to focus on
preaching more. As a result of this rejection is several hundred pastors from the
Anglican church are fired. Since then a non-conformist movement (Puritan
movement) has begun. The conflict between the king and parliament continued
until the reign of Charles I (1625-1649), son of James I.
 In 1625 Charles I replace James I. He very supportive
about the divine right of kings. In his arrogance, he
found many problems with Parliament.
 Charles I spent a lot of money for the war with Spain
and for expeditions in France. In 1628, Parliament
passed the Petition of Right, which limited the
amount that the king can spend. This meant the King
needed the approval from parliament before
spending any funds for unusual causes. Puritan
parties, whose members are mainly middle class
people, have rise both religious and social/political
movements. They hold a majority in parliament and
they want a true balance between the king and
parliament. This made king and parliament grew
more apart to different path.
 He stopped Parliament from 1629 till 1640 and had
them arrested as well as called them traitor. King
Charles I believed that this violated God’s decision
to make him the King. This period called the Eleven
Years’ Tyranny.
 The long conflicts between the King's
group and the Parliament peaked in the
English civil war (1642-1646). It was fought
by two primary sides, the Royalists and
the Parliamentarians. The Royalists were
composed of those who were still loyal to
the crown, mostly nobles, Anglicans,
Catholics, and gentry. The
Parliamentarians were composed of those
still loyal to the dissolved Parliament and
the reformation of England like Puritan
and small portion of the nobility and some
of the middle class people.
 It happened over England, Scotland, and
Ireland with the Cavaliers fight against
the Roundheads led by Oliver
Cromwell, the great Puritan leader.
 After winning the civil war, Oliver
Cromwell removed monarchy and the
country became republican known as
Commonwealth. Parliament consisted of
only one house since the house of lords was
abolished as useless and dangerous.
 in 1653 Cromwell was appointed as ‘Lord
Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland’
which resulted a dictatorship.
 After Cromwell died, Richard Cromwell was
overthrown, he was unable to control the
army commanders who had started to
quarrel among themselves.
 In 1660, Charles II to return to his kingdom
from his isolation in France and the republic
was over. The restoration of monarchy was
welcomed by most Englishmen who had felt
suffered by the strict rules of the puritans.
 In 1660, Charles II to return to his
kingdom from his isolation in France
and the republic was over. The
restoration of monarchy was welcomed
by most Englishmen who had felt
suffered by the strict rules of the
puritans.
 Puritan Beliefs

Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the "saints"
 Total Depravity

 Through Adam and Eve’s fall, every person is born

sinful. God promised Adam and his descendant eternal
life if they obeyed moral law. Adam broke this promise.
 This is closely linked to original sin.

Unconditional Election

 God saves those he wishes. Only a few are selected

for salvation and not based on their own faith. This is
the concept of predestination.
 Whether or not you were “saved” could be
determined by your behavior—if you acted in a holy
manner, it was assumed you were saved.
Limited Atonement

 Jesus died for the chosen only, not for everyone. Puritans
believed that Jesus freely offered himself as a sacrifice on
behalf of all people. God must accept Jesus’s sacrifice as a
representative for all people.

Irresistible Grace

 Grace – the saving & transfiguring power of

God. God’s grace is freely given, it cannot be
earned or denied.
Perseverance of the “Saints”

 Those selected by God have full

power to interpret the will of God &
to live honestly.
 If anyone rejects grace after feeling
its power in his life, he will be going
against the will of God – something
impossible in Puritanism.
Puritans Belief

 One of the Puritans' most important beliefs was that every person needed to
understand the Bible in his own way. The Puritans considered the Bible as the
true law of God that provided guidelines for church government.
 They believed that man's most important job in life was to do God's will (what
God wanted). By doing God's will, man would be rewarded with happiness in
the future.
 Puritans had some beliefs which one belief was that each person would be
tempted by the devil and saved by God. Another belief is that people were born
evil, and could only be forgiven through a lifetime of proper Christianity.