美国清教徒讲座文本.docx

美国清教徒讲座文本.docx

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美国清教徒讲座文本

.Background

WhatisPuritanism?

14至16世纪，西欧社会从中世纪向近代过渡，当时西欧所发生的社会变动主要表现在三方面：

第一，经济上，随着生产力的发展与技术的进步，新兴的资本主义萌芽破土成长，封建生产方式开始瓦解；第二，政治上，资产阶级与新贵族开始形成，反对封建贵族的特权与分裂割据。

英、法两国的封建君主在与资产阶级、新贵族联盟的基础上建立了政治集权的“新君主制”。

他们加强政治集权，推行重商主义，奖励文化创造，有力促进了民族国家的发展。

但在意大利、德意志还存在着分裂割据，迫切需要政治统一；第三，思想文化领域出现了新兴资产阶级反封建、反神权的文艺复兴运动。

人文主义者批判中世纪教会的蒙昧、禁欲说教与封建的等级权制度，鼓吹个人的自由、平等与欲望，提倡竞争进取精神与科学求知的理论，极大地推动了人们的思想解放与观念更新，构成了对天主教神权的巨大冲击。

在这样的社会背景下，16世纪西欧的宗教改革都把矛头对准罗马教会对欧洲的大一统神权统治，要求通过改革建立适应于民族国家发展的“民族教会”或适应于资产阶级兴起需要的“廉价教会”。

ThoseearlysettlerswhocametotheNewWorldseeking"purity"inworshiparetodayregularlycharacterizedasstern,colorless,humorlessandcertainlysexlesspeople.Inshort,"puritanical."

Thecommonly-held'darkside,'theMassachusettsBayColonyPuritans:

witch-hunts,elitism,intolerance,narrow-mindedzealotry;McCarthyism.

BothPilgrimsandPuritanshaveservedaspartofarationalefornationalprogressandculturalidentity.

Itisestimatedthat,betweentheyears1629and1640,about80,000PuritansfledfromEnglandbecauseofreligiouspersecution.About21,000ofthemcametoMassachusettsBayColony（theotherswenttoIreland,theNetherlandsandtheWestIndies）.

TherootsofPuritanismaretobefoundinthebeginningsoftheEnglishReformation.TheprocessthroughwhichPuritanismdevelopedhadbeeninitiatedinthe1530s,whenKingHenryVIIIrefusedpapalauthorityandtransformedtheChurchofRomeintoastateChurchofEngland.ButtheChurchofEnglandretainedmuchoftheritualofRomanCatholicismandseemed,tomanydissenters,tobeinsufficientlyreformed.

PuritansweregenerallymembersoftheChurchofEnglandwhobelievedtheChurchofEnglandwasinsufficientlyReformedandwhothereforeopposedroyalchurchpolicyunderElizabethIofEngland,JamesIofEngland,andCharlesIofEngland.

BeguninthelatesixteenthcenturyasaprotestagainstthedirectiontheChurchofEnglandwastaking,theywantedtopurifythetheology,liturgy（礼拜仪式）,andecclesiastical（基督教的）structuresofthechurch.AllpurificationswerebasedontheBible,thefinalauthorityforbeliefandconduct.ItwasintheBible,andintheirreligionwhichwasbasedontheirinterpretationoftheBible,thattheysoughtthespiritualanswerstoquestionsraisedbytheirdailylives.

WhyEscapingEngland?

Sincetherewaslittleseparationofchurchandstateinthosedays,theywerepersecutedinallaspectsoftheirlives-notjusttheirreligiouslives.

InEngland,theywereapersecutedminority.

Theeventsof1629convincedmanyPuritansthatKingCharleswasanardentfoeoffurtherchurchreforms.SinceKingCharleswasonly29yearsoldin1629,theywerethusfacedwiththeprospectofcountlessdecadeswithoutreformsandwiththeirproposalsbeingsuppressed.Giventhissituation,somePuritansbeganconsideringfoundingtheirowncolonywheretheycouldworshipinafullyreformedchurch,farfromthepryingeyesofKingCharlesandthebishops.

GreatMigration

Particularlyintheyearsafter1630,PuritansleftforNewEngland,supportingthefoundingoftheMassachusettsBayColonyandothersettlements.Thelarge-scalePuritanemigrationtoNewEnglandendedin1642withthestartoftheEnglishCivilWarwhenKingCharlesIeffectivelyshutoffemigrationtothecolonies.

MostPuritanswhomigratedtoNorthAmericacameinthedecade1630-1642inwhatisknownastheGreatMigration.

ThePilgrims（1620）MostPuritanswere"non-separatingPuritans",meaningtheydidnotadvocatesettingupseparatecongregationsdistinctfromtheChurchofEngland;asmallminorityofPuritanswere"separatingPuritans"whoadvocatedsettingupcongregationsoutsidetheChurch.

OneSeparatistgroup,thePilgrims,leftforNewEnglandonboardtheMayflowerestablishedthePlymouthColonyin1620.Non-separatingPuritansplayedleadingrolesinestablishingtheMassachusettsBayColonyin1629andtheConnecticutColonyin1636.TheColonyofRhodeIslandwasestablishedbysettlersexpelledfromtheMassachusettsBayColonybecauseoftheirunorthodoxreligiousopinions.

WhoareColonialAmericanPuritans?

Puritanswerebasicallymiddleclassandfairlywell-educated.ThePuritanattackontheestablishedchurchgainedpopularstrength,especiallyinEastAngliaandamongthelawyersandmerchantsofLondon.Themovementfoundwidesupportamongthesenewprofessionalclasses,inpartbecauseitwascongenialtotheirgrowingdiscontentwithmercantileeconomicrestraints.

ThemajorityofthePuritanswerefromthemiddleclassofEnglishsociety.Theywereeducated--twothirdsoftheadultmalescouldsigntheirownnames--andmostofthemcouldaffordtopaytheirownpassage.Theywereusually（about60percent）skilledcraftsmenortradesmen.Theytendedtomigrateinfamilies.Morethan40percentwereadultmenandwomenovertheageof25andabouthalfofthemwerechildrenundertheageof16.Veryfewwereelderlyandveryfewwereservants.WiththePuritans,thenuclearfamilywasveryimportantandtheextendedfamilynotasimportantasinothergroups.家庭结构的影响Therefore,wedon'tseethemmigratinginclansas,forexample,theScotch-Irishdid.

TwoFigures

JohnWinthrop（1587/8-1649）,GovernoroftheMassachusettsBayColony,wholedthePuritansintheGreatMigration,beginningin1630.

PuritanJohnWinthrop,alawyer,sailedforNewEnglandin1630alongwith700colonistsonboardelevenshipsknowncollectivelyastheWinthropFleet.Duringthecrossing,hecalledonhisfellowsettlerstomaketheirnewcolonyaCityuponaHill（areferencetoMatthew5:

14-16）,meaningthattheywouldbeamodeltoallthenationsofEuropeastowhataproperlyreformedChristiancommonwealthshouldlooklike.

JohnWinthrop（1588-1649）said,"Weshallbeasacityuponahill."HebelievedthatDivineProvidencehadgivenPuritansthefreedomtodeterminetheirdestiny,butthattheeyesoftheworldwouldbeuponthem.

ThePuritanssoughttoformadistinctkindofhumanbeingandcitizen,basedontheBibleasasacredtextrevealedtohumanbeingsbyGod.Life,liberty,andpropertyaregiftsfromGodtobeusedforthecommongood.Theindividualhadadutytoserveothersandthecommunityasawhole,throughChristiancharity.

Allhumanbeingsareequal—equallysubjecttotheordinancesofGod.Buttheunequaldistributionofpowerandgoodsissimplyafactoflifetobeaccepted.Theeconomic,social,andpoliticalinequalityorhierarchythatisevidentthroughouttheworldispermanentandhasapurpose.

Loveyourneighborsasyourself,anddountoothersasyouwouldhavethemdotoyou.WithfaithinChrist,peoplecanexercisesuchvirtuesaslove,mercy,temperance,patience,andobedience;findthespiritualstrengthtoresisttemptations,andstanduptoevil.

NewEnglandtheologicalcontroversies,1632-1642TheRogerWilliamscontroversy

Asnotedearlier,thevastmajorityofPuritanswhosettledintheMassachusettsBayColonywerenon-separatingPuritans.Thismeantthat,whiletheydeeplyabhorredmanyofthepracticesoftheChurchofEngland,theyrefusedtoseparatefromtheChurchofEnglandbecausetheyplacedanextremelyhighvalueonthedoctrineoftheunityoftheChurch.

EngravingofastatueofRogerWilliams（1603-1683）,PuritanministerwhowasexpelledfromtheMassachusettsBayColonyin1636forhisextremistviewsandwhoadvocatedreligiousliberty.WilliamsfoundedthecityofProvidence,RhodeIsland.

RogerWilliams,aSeparatingPuritanminister,arrivedinBostonin1631.Williams'actionssooutragedthePuritanleadersoftheMassachusettsBayColonythattheyexpelledhimfromthecolony.In1636,theexiledWilliamsfoundedthecityofProvidence,RhodeIsland.WilliamswasoneofthefirstPuritanstoadvocateseparationofchurchandstateandRhodeIslandwasoneofthefirstplacesintheChristianworldtorecognizefreedomofreligion.

.BasicBeliefs

TheideaofpersonalBiblicalinterpretation,whilecentraltoPuritanbeliefswassharedwithmostProtestantsingeneral.PuritanssoughtbothindividualandcorporateconformitytotheteachingoftheBible,withmoralpuritypursuedbothdowntothesmallestdetailaswellasecclesiasticalpuritytothehighestlevel.TheybelievedthatmanexistedforthegloryofGod;thathisfirstconcerninlifewastodoGod'swillandsotoreceivefuturehappiness.ThePuritanswantedtoestablishthehigheststandardofhowhumanbeingsshouldact.

1.ThePuritangoalwastocompletewhatEngland’sReformationbegan:

tofinishreshapingAnglicanworship,tointroduceeffectivechurchdisciplineintoAnglicanparishes,toestablishrighteousnessinthepolitical,domestic,andsocio-economicfields,andtoconvertallEnglishmentoavigorousevangelicalfaith.Throughthepreachingandteachingofthegospel,andthesanctifyingofallarts,sciences,andskills,Englandwastobecomealandofsaints,amodelandparagonofcorporategodliness,andassuchameansofblessingtotheworld.InthoughtandoutlooktheywereradicallyGod-centered.TheirappreciationofGod’ssovereignmajestywasprofound,andtheirreverenceinhandlinghiswrittenwordwasdeepandconstant.TheyappliedtheirunderstandingofthemindofGodtoeverybranchoflife,seeingthechurch,thefamily,thestate,theartsandsciences,theworldofcommerceandindustryassomanyspheresinwhichGodmustbeservedandhonored.KnowingGod,thePuritansalsoknewman.Theysawhimasinoriginanoblebeing,madeinGod’simagetoruleGod’searth,butnowtragicallybrutalizedbysin.

2.TotalDepravity-throughAdamandEve'sfall,everypersonisbornsinful-conceptofOriginalSin.

3.Backsliding:

Thebeliefthat"saved"believers,thosewithvisiblesignsofgrace,canfal