After reading the other two pieces, I see some more of the same style used describing Bradford as was used for Winthrop. What is much more different is the emphasis placed on the early years of Bradford, and the historical lesson Mather gives regarding the Puritans and the Pilgrims. This piece, like the other, really gives a background on what the Pilgrims held as important values, and it also gave a little history on the early tribulations of the colony. As he did with Winthrop, Mather speaks to the death of Bradford and sums up his life and esteem he received as leader, especially in relating the length of time he served as governor.
I do want to write about the anecdote with the Minister sent over and the response from Bradford. As I understand it, Bradford told the Minister that he does agree with the French, in as far as they are allowed to have religious freedom. He goes on to state that the Pilgrims are not to be mistaken as the French church, but are followers of the word of God and Christ. He feels to follow anything else is a mistake. He also states all churches and factions make mistakes, his included, but it is only because they are man and man is fallible. He says this to show that he has learned from the mistakes he saw in the past, and does not want to be a part of a contest to show which religion is better. He says they leave everything to God, and they just try their best to do what God wants.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
After reading the articles, it was pretty clear that John Winthrop and William Bradford were similar when it came to their beliefs in religion and in their nations as a whole, and Mather proves this idea well to his readers. Throughout the course of history, many considerable happenings have formed and made our society what it appears to be today: free. William Bradford lived through a very symbolic time in American history and not only did he witness the time, so did anyone who read his pieces of writings, seeing as he did write about all of his experience. He was accountable for the young Plymouth colony's success through some extreme hardships. The Pilgrims were looked upon as complete abdicates from the Church of England. The success of the Plymouth was based on covenantalism - the belief that men could form compacts or covenants in the sight of God as a structure for a government without the approval of a higher authority. In similarity, John Winthrop was on a very close level. As governor of Massachusetts, Winthrop help a very strong belief in understanding God’s reasoning and purposes for the colony. The church was the center of the people’s lives in that time, and that is just how Winthrop wanted it. After reading the articles, it came clear that John Winthrop understood the ideas and intentions that Jesus Christ had for the nation, and soon enough something was going to be set up in which the individual was free to act and choose according to his free will, also having to live up to a social, lawful order. These pieces show us that both Winthrop and Bradford went through a lot to try and preach to their people the word of God, and it was never noticed as much as it should’ve been. Both of these great men of Christian history were men of integrity and humanity, and both men laid out the ground work for the generations to come. They both were prepared to deal with their people by the assistance of God and the Holy Spirit.
ReplyDelete