By William C. Placher, Presented by Lewis Loflin
Reproduced from A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction, © 1983 William C. Placher
The story of Christian theology in America begins with the New England Puritans. While Anglicans and Methodists in the South, or Quakers, Presbyterians, and Lutherans in the Middle Colonies, were numerous and influential, they largely aimed to preserve Old World traditions. The Puritans, however, sought to forge something new—a religious experiment in the wilderness.
Puritanism originated in England as a reaction against ceremonialism, episcopacy, and moral decay in the Church of England. "Puritans" in the narrow sense worked to reform the church from within, while Separatists broke away to form independent congregations. Both groups crossed to New England—Separatists to Plymouth in 1620, Puritans to Boston in 1630. With an ocean between them and English authority, their differences faded, and "Puritan" became a catch-all term for their shared dream.
In 1630, aboard the ship carrying Boston’s first settlers, Governor John Winthrop articulated their mission:
Thus stands the case between God and us: we are entered into covenant with Him for this work; we have taken out a commission.... We shall find that the God of Israel is among us.... For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.
This was not a quest for religious liberty, but for purity—a commonwealth governed by God’s laws, meant to inspire the world. The idea of a "covenant"—a mutual agreement akin to a modern contract—became central to their theology, shaping both church membership and their relationship with God.
The Puritans rejected the notion that church membership was automatic by birth. A church comprised only those who freely covenanted to join it. Similarly, they framed salvation as a covenant with God. John Calvin taught that God saves whom He wills, a doctrine implying human effort was irrelevant—a terrifying thought. Some English and Dutch Calvinists softened this with "federal theology" (from Latin foedus, meaning contract). God freely enters a covenant with humanity, and if we believe, He grants salvation.
Thomas Hooker, the first minister at Cambridge, Massachusetts, put it vividly: "We have the Lord in bonds, for the fulfilling of his part of the covenant: He has taken a corporal oath of it, that He will do it."
This covenant theology sparked debate. John Cotton, Boston’s first minister, clung to pure Calvinism: no human effort could earn grace, and moral behavior didn’t signal salvation. Most ministers, led by Hooker, embraced federal theology, arguing that repentance precedes grace and that grace transforms lives visibly. Hooker wrote, "Wherever fire is, it will burn, and wherever faith is, it cannot be kept secret.... There will be a change in the whole life."
Anne Hutchinson, arriving in Boston to hear Cotton, rejected federal theology. She insisted grace was unpredictable, potentially blessing a drunkard as much as a saint. Her visions and prophecies alarmed the colony, and in 1637, a synod exiled her to Rhode Island, where she later died in an Indian massacre. Cotton softened his stance, and federal theology prevailed.
Hooker warned against "wild love and joy," favoring "garden love and garden joy, of God’s own planting"—discipline over chaos.
Church membership posed another challenge. Only those with a conversion experience could vote, take Communion, or baptize their children. The first generation, hardened by the Atlantic crossing, met this standard, but their children often didn’t. As membership dwindled, the dream of a godly commonwealth faltered.
In 1662, the "Half-Way Covenant" allowed those who affirmed church doctrine and lived morally to baptize their children, though they couldn’t vote or take Communion. Meanwhile, Solomon Stoddard in Northampton embraced pure Calvinism, admitting all to Communion since "the mere pleasure of God" decides salvation, not human experience.
By 1700, rigor waned. Membership standards relaxed, and some admired England’s sophistication—the very corruption their ancestors fled. Puritanism edged toward rationalism until the 1740s, when the Great Awakening, led by figures like Jonathan Edwards, reshaped American faith.
Acknowledgment: I’d like to thank Grok, an AI by xAI, for helping me format and refine this presentation of Placher’s work. The final edits and structure are my own. —Lewis Loflin
The following extracts are presented for educational purposes only. The owner retains all rights.
