Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Calvinism and Colonial Social Beliefs

The Impact of John Calvin on American Colonies

Aug 27, 2010 Michael Streich

Calvinism Taught the Importance of Family - Library of Congress Photo Image

John Calvin's theological system served as the core belief structure of many colonial societies including Pilgrims, Puritans, Presbyterians, and Huguenots.

As the 16th Century Reformation swept through central and northern Europe, a variety of differing theological interpretations evolved, each identifying with the greater movement called Protestantism. Within this movement, the teachings of French-born reformer John Calvin had a significant impact on the early English colonies in North America. Although colonial religions exhibited diversity within the movement, many colonial faith traditions represented the beliefs of Calvinism. This included the Pilgrims and Puritans (later the Congregationalists), Presbyterians, Dutch Reformed, and French Huguenots.

Calvinism Put into Practice in Colonial American Communities

John Calvin is often associated with Predestination, taken from his theological interpretation of “limited atonement.” While frequently misunderstood, Calvinists like the Puritans viewed this belief in terms of salvation or election. Members of the elect lived righteous lives which included hard work, keeping the Sabbath, and focusing all aspects of everyday life on giving glory to God.

Loving God was to cherish him and in a real-life experience, that entailed godly pride in everyday tasks. In later generations, this would be referred to as the “Puritan” or “Protestant” work ethic. Every occupation was blessed, whether lowly or socially important, because every man worked to give God glory and to exhibit outwardly to the community that he was a one of the elect.

Education and the Family Based on Calvinism

The Bible was the chief source of inspiration and instruction in any reformed church that followed Calvinism. Jonathan Edwards, the foremost colonial theologian during the Great Awakening, reminded his listeners that the Bible was, “a book that the great Jehovah has given to mankind for their instruction, without which we should be left in miserable darkness and confusion.”

Early childhood education, the purview of mothers in the household, utilized the Bible not only to teach reading and writing, but to instill morality and the cultural and social norms of a Calvinist theocracy (such as in Puritan New England). Harvard, the first college established in Colonial America, was a seminary for ministers and like Princeton, followed the theological principles of John Calvin.

Strong family identification was part of all Protestant beliefs. Much like Martin Luther, Calvin saw the father as the patriarch of the family with absolute authority over wife and children. According to historian Edmund Morgan, the “first premise of Puritan political and social thought” related to the family and focused on how the entrance of evil into the Garden of Eden perverted the perfect relationship between Adam, Eve, and their Creator.

For Puritans and other faith traditions embracing Calvinism, God not only blessed the family but deliberately chose the family through which church and state would evolve. Strong families preserved social order. After detailing Cotton Mather’s writings on how he trained his own children in spiritual things, Morgan comments that, “If the family failed to teach its members properly, neither the state nor the church could be expected to accomplish much.”

Legacy of Early Calvinism in Colonial America

Many of the applications of Calvin’s practical and moral theology found in colonial communities survived in American history. This included the notion of a work ethic and a strong sense of what constitutes a family. Twentieth century social debates on divorce, child custody, inter-racial marriages, and common-law marriage arose in opposition to these perceived traditional norms in American society.

Today, opponents of same-sex marriage frequently evidence accepted norms that, historically, are traced to Colonial beliefs founded on Calvinist principles. Although other Colonial faith traditions such as Quakers and a variety of Pietists did not accept some of the views of either Luther or Calvin, the core Protestant notions of family and hard work helped to form a near universal American basis that influenced future generations of Americans.

Sources:

Jonathan Edwards, The History of Redemption (Grand Rapids: Associated Publishers and Authors, Inc.)
Donald K. McKim, editor, Readings in Calvin’s Theology (Baker Book House, 1984)
Edmund S. Morgan, The Puritan Family (Harper, 1966)
Steven Ozment, Protestants: The Birth of a Revolution (Doubleday, 1992)
Edwin H. Palmer, The Five Points of Calvinism (Baker Book House, 1972)

Why we Still Need Medicaid

Michael Streich, Suite 101

First Published May 19, 2011

A key issue in the 2012 general election involves the future of Medicaid, created by President Lyndon B. Johnson’s efforts to combat the “war on poverty.” Johnson’s Great Society represented a massive extension of New Deal social legislation that expanded federal and state assistance to the elderly and disabled. Medicaid today includes a variety of health insurance programs for some of the neediest citizens, especially during times of economic crisis. The future of the program, however, may become victim to long-term budget cuts, a prospect being vociferously advocated by conservative Republicans and gaining limited momentum among some Democrats.

The Continued Need for Medicaid in Post Modern America

In July 1965, President Johnson inaugurated Medicaid, stating that, “No longer will older Americans be denied the healing miracle of modern medicine.” Medicaid represented “…the seeds of compassion…” Johnson’s remarks singled out both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, former presidents that began to plant those seeds. Today, however, such programs, according to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, represent “social engineering.”

As Johnson noted in 1965, medical costs can easily consume life-long savings. In many cases, private health care was, for many years, denied to millions due to pre-existing conditions. Technology has also made it easier to create data bases used by insurers to catalog what medical prescriptions have been filled (one of the largest data bases for this is in Utah). The future of health care, whether through Medicaid, so-called “Obamacare,” or other reformist programs, will be determined by the motives of American citizens to provide adequate protection for the elderly and disabled.

The Historical Need for Social Justice and Basic Health Care

Considered one of America’s greatest presidents, Andrew Jackson defeated John Quincy Adams in the election of 1828 and proceeded to exercise what Senator William Marcy of New York later called the “spoils system.” Jackson’s use of political patronage replaced approximately ten percent of federal officeholders, some of them postmasters.

Historian Page Smith writes that, “…the general economic insecurity that characterized American life must be kept in mind…” Several of those dismissed committed suicide and most were left in destitution. In the 19^th Century, only charity existed to help the poor. The onset of any catastrophic illness turned life-long workers into beggars.

Working conditions became more aggravated following the American Civil War. According to historians, “…conditions of labor were almost uniformly deplorable…” Thousands of workers became unemployed after disabilities and work-related injuries. Civil War veterans waited through several presidential administrations to receive compensation for injuries sustained. Not until the 20^th Century was the plight of the laboring poor slowly addressed.

In Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol Ebenezer Scrooge asks, “…are there no workhouses?” Pauperism was a common feature of a 19^th Century industrialized society whether in Europe or in the United States. In the 20^th Century, society in the post industrialized world paints itself as enlightened. In foreign affairs the United States seeks to promote democracy as witnessed by U.S. support for equal rights in the so-called Arab Spring.

Medicaid is Needed More than Ever

The poor are often the most vulnerable in any society. This includes millions of Americans receiving food stamps, school lunches, and medical support. Medicaid is representative of a social justice obligation. Among 2011 conservative Republicans, notably Tea Party members, the need is obscured by other large expenditures such as defense. According to the Winston Salem Journal (May 3, 2011), over 44 million Americans receive food stamps. Families USA estimates that 58 million Americans receive Medicaid support.

In some instances, those most critical have themselves benefitted. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, supported by the Tea Party, opposes federal programs like Medicaid yet as an ophthalmologist accepted federal monies for medical services. As a physician, Senator Paul would be in an excellent position to know the debilitating costs of healthcare, especially for the elderly.

Medicaid, though costly, is needed, providing necessary healthcare options to the poor and disabled. While abuse occurs, Medicaid must not become a “political football” in the 2012 general election. Too much is at stake as baby boomers retire and look toward the so-called golden years with dignity, respect, and appropriate care.

Sources:

A Consumer’s Guide to North Carolina Medicaid (Division of Medical Assistance, Raleigh, NC)

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, Medicaid speech, July 30, 1965

J. Joseph Huthmacher, Senator Robert F. Wagner And The Rise of Urban Liberalism (Atheneum, 1968)

Page Smith, A People’s History of the United States, Volume 4 and Volume 6 (McGraw-Hill Book Company and Penguin Books)

*Copyright owned by Michael Streich. No reprints without written approval.

[In North Carolina, Governor Cooper (D) has pushed for the expansion of Medicaid but the Republican-led legislature has strenuously resisted]

Puritans Under James I and Charles I

Years of Persecution Led to Migration and Civil War

Michael Streich, Suite101

June 15, 2009

The conflict between James I and his son Charles I of England and the Puritans led to the American migration to Massachusetts and contributed to the English civil war of the mid 17^th-Century. Although many issues separated the king from the Puritans, the chief conflict arose over the governance of the English church; Puritans favored Presbyterianism to the Episcopal structure of the Anglican Church.

The Rise of Puritanism in England

Puritanism began in the early years of the reign of Elizabeth I, who ascended the throne in 1558. The former English queen, Mary, had attempted to restore Catholicism, dismantling the Church of England or Anglicanism, and persecuting Protestant leaders. Many of these Protestants fled to the continent, seeking refuge among Calvinist communities such as in Geneva.

Imbued with a strong sense of Calvinist theology, these exiles returned to England upon the death of Mary, beginning a long effort to “purify” the Anglican Church of Catholic influence. Puritans rejected the traditional clerical dress, church liturgy, and the Episcopal hierarchy. They believed in the “priesthood of all believers” and wanted to replace bishops, archdeacons, and priests with elders and pastors elected by the congregation.

Some English Calvinists went further, refusing to be a part of the established state church. These “separatists” preached an even more austere worship. Groups of these dissenters eventually left England for Calvinist Holland, deciding ultimately to journey to the New World where they established the Plymouth Bay Colony. These were the “Pilgrims” of American colonial history.

James I Comes to the English Throne

Elizabeth I died in 1603, having had no children. King James VI of Scotland, son of Mary Queen of Scots, became the next English king. Although Elizabeth had managed to maintain religious equilibrium during her reign, James, whose battles in Scotland with the emerging Scots Presbyterians had been on-going, was not so fortunate.

Even before reaching London, Puritans delivered a petition of their grievances to the new king. James I convened a meeting of bishops and Puritans at Hampton Court in 1604. The Hampton Court Conference resulted in the dismissal of all Puritan proposals. The only positive outcome was the decision to produce a new Bible, the King James Version, completed in 1611. James I was particularly opposed to the Puritan view of Presbyterianism, commenting “no bishop, no King.”

Both Puritans and Separatists strictly observed Sunday as “the Lord’s day.” Despite these views, James I issued his Book of Sports in 1618 which permitted Sunday recreation. By 1620, several English Separatists had had enough and migrated to the New World after spending some time in the Netherlands which was strongly Calvinist. These “Pilgrims” established Plymouth Bay. Separatists that stayed in England formed the first English Baptist Church.

Puritans Depart England

In 1625 James I died and was succeeded by his son, Charles I. Like his father, Charles supported the Anglican Church and suppressed Puritan worship. By this time, Parliament, at odds with the king over taxation issues, contained members of the rural gentry who happened to be Puritans.

Ruling under the belief of the “divine right of kings,” Charles disdained Parliament, imposed new taxes illegally, and supported the efforts of William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose Anglo-Catholicism was viewed as making the Church of England more Catholic. In 1628, the mass migration of Puritans to the New World began. Eventually, 20,000 left England to establish “godly” communities in New England.

Puritans remaining in England formed the backbone of resistance to the king once civil war broke out in 1642. The formation of the “Puritan Commonwealth” under Oliver Cromwell followed the 1649 execution of Charles I. The Stuart dynasty was restored, however, in 1660 with the accession of Charles II. Puritanism would never achieve the goals of purifying the Anglican Church.

Sources:

Antonia Fraser, Cromwell the Lord Protector (Alfred A. Knopf, 1974)

Steven Ozment, The Age of Reform 1250-1550 (Yale University Press, 1980)

Monday, December 14, 2020

The Antichrist in Christian Church History

Searching for the Man of Sin Began in the Early Days of Rome

Oct 4, 2009 Michael Streich

Identifying the antichrist has been a preoccupation of Christians since the persecutions of Christians in Imperial Rome but has taken on new meaning in the 20th Century.

The search for an “antichrist” has been part of Christian tradition since the earliest days of Christianity. During the Roman period, various emperors involved in the persecution of Christians — from Nero to Julian the Apostat — were deemed worthy of the title.

As the Christian church became an established institution following the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire, it was a “spirit of antichrist,” reserved for heretics and “infidels,” that dominated eschatological views. Finally, in the 20th century, the search for the biblical antichrist took new meaning as prophetic interpretation embraced new perspectives, most notably in Protestant fundamentalist denominations.

The Ancient World Antichrists and Christian Persecution

No ancient world leader could have surpassed the qualifications of the Roman Emperor Nero as the awaited antichrist. In the Christian perspective, Nero was the ultimate incarnation of the definitive “man of sin.” His personal lifestyle of immoral behaviors and his proclivities to perceived maniacal violence were linked to the first persecution of Christians following the burning of Rome during his reign by later Christian writers.

Yet Nero was only the first of several emperors to persecute Christians. Domitian and Decius presided over bloody persecutions while Diocletian and Galerius ordered the Great Persecutions of the late 3rd and early 4th centuries. The mid to late 4th century emperor, Julian the Apostate, attempted to restore Paganism while ruthlessly suppressing Christianity. Many Christian leaders of the time viewed him as the promised antichrist.

The Spirit of Antichrist in the Middle Ages

Following the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire, the Christian church emerged as an institution of stability and leadership. Until the 16th century Reformation, excepting occasional heretical threats, the church dominated religious belief and tradition. Secular leadership, though often quarreling with the papacy and its agencies, never directly threatened the theological fundamentals of the church.

The spirit of antichrist was confined to heretical movements and equated with external threats such as the rise and expansion of Islam. Thus, the church was able to galvanize Catholic forces to combat the Muslim occupation of sacred sites in the Holy Land by launching the Crusades. Internal heretical movements like the Cathars in Southern France were also dealt with in similar fashion.

It was the Reformation that would equate the antichrist with the Medieval church itself. Reformer Martin Luther called the pope the “beast,” an Old Testament prophetic term equated with the end times and the coming of the antichrist. In his later years, Luther believed that the end of the world was imminent and that the papacy conformed to prophecies describing events preceding the return of Christ.

20th Century Perspectives on Antichrist

The recent century has seen the most activity in terms of the search for the Biblical man of sin. Significant changes in prophetic interpretation, traced to the dispensational system of theological understanding, established a chronology of eschatology that includes a “rapture” of believing Christians prior to the world domination of an antichrist figure.

This view has generated volumes of books, articles, and other commentary on possible antichrists that have included brutal dictators like Hitler and Stalin, as well as more benign figures like American presidents. When Ronald Wilson Reagan was elected in 1980, extremist writers noted that his full name consisted of three sequences of sixes. The number 666 is significant to those searching for an antichrist.

The Search for the Antichrist Will Continue

Future generations will continue to identify characteristics of the antichrist. Even reputable media outlets like the History Channel have devoted series to the subject.

For Christians, the search is part of an extensive end of times mentality. As long as prophecy is a vital part of Christian theology, identifying the antichrist will be a significant endeavor.

Sources:

Norman Cohn, The Pursuit of the Millennium (Oxford University Press, 1970).
Bernard McGinn, Antichrist: Two Thousand Years of the Human Fascination with Evil (HarperCollins, 1994).

Colonial Religion and End of Time Prophecy Beliefs

Aug 5, 2010 Michael Streich

Colonial Religious Beliefs in the End of the World - Mike Streich Photo Image

Colonial religious views included strong notions of apocalyptic belief that charted the end of time, identified Antichrists, and fostered revivalism.

Protestant American religious tradition has always included a strong belief in the Second Coming of Christ. Although different denominations treat the Second Coming from the perspectives of their own theological belief systems, core elements of apocalyptic understanding are the same. The belief that the existing world would end, ushering in a Utopia, as well as the belief in an Antichrist was already prevalent among Colonial Christians, notably those faith traditions tied to the teachings of John Calvin. In Massachusetts, Puritans firmly believed that New England would be the capital of the “New Earth” of biblical prophecy, and that America had been chosen by God to redeem a lost world.

Common Core Elements of Millennialism in Colonial Religion

Puritans, like all American Protestants until the 20th Century, were post-millennial. They believed that Christ’s return would occur at the end of the final 1,000 year period. The closer to the end of time also meant an increase in Satan’s attacks upon the righteous. The Puritans of New England shared several core elements of apocalyptic belief that are still accepted by post-modern Protestants living in the 21st Century. These include:

Speculating on the exact or tentative date of Christ’s return
Interpreting contemporary events in light of biblical prophecy signs
Identifying Antichrists
Assigning a special role to America in God’s End of Time plan

Setting the Date for the “Day of the Lord”

Puritan minister and theologian Cotton Mather assigned three different dates for the end of time, beginning with 1697. Earlier, Increase Mather gave 1676 as the date the New Jerusalem would be established in America and another Puritan minister, John Cotton, believed 1655 marked the year that the Antichrist would be defeated.

Identifying the Antichrist in Colonial Religious Belief

From the first decade of the early church in Jerusalem, Christians have attempted to identify the biblical Antichrist who would appear in the end times to do battle with Christ and his church. Early colonial Christians were no different. Potential Antichrists included:

The pope
King Charles I
King George III
The Catholic French during the Seven Years’ War
Proponents of Enlightenment Rationalism

This view of a coming Antichrist also helped to explain why Satan appeared to be working so hard to attack God’s faithful. The Salem witch trials of 1692 represented a direct assault by Satan upon the Puritan community already threatened by outside influences. Cotton Mather had warned the theocratic community that Satan was at the door.

The Special Role of America in the Imminent Coming of Christ

Historian Paul Boyer writes that, “From the early 17th Century through the late 18th, the entire span of American colonial history was marked by speculation about America’s role in God’s plan.” John Winthrop’s “City on a Hill” became a metaphor defining the special mission God had for America.

The revivalism of the Great Awakening in the early to mid 18th Century further highlighted this notion of a divine or providential purpose. Jonathan Edwards, famously known for his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” pointed to the Great Awakening as a sign of the coming of Christ and the establishment of the new heaven and earth.

This would be repeated in the 19th Century during the Second Great Awakening, a period of intense revivalism that produced several new faith traditions originally rooted in the belief in the imminent coming of Christ. This includes the Seventh Day Adventist church – coming, in part, out of the Millerite Movement, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Impact of Apocalyptic Belief on American History

The “chosen people” or “chosen nation” aspect of millennial belief helped to justify expansionism and Manifest Destiny. It added to the national self-identity as a people blessed for a special purpose. Political Scientist James Morone writes that, “Evangelical fervor for Christ’s Second Coming led the way to both revolution and civil war; it ran deep in 19th Century black religion and reached its soaring apotheosis in Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address.”

This legacy still motivates 21st Century Americans seeking to spread democracy throughout the world and baptize global cultures in egalitarian principles. Although many American evangelical faiths now hold to a pre-millennial Second Coming, the self-identity rooted in apocalyptic mission held to by Colonial Christians is still there.

Sources:

Paul Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture (Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992)
David D. Hall, World of Wonder; Days of Judgment: Popular Religious Belief in Early New England (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989)
James A. Morone, Hellfire Nation: The Politics of Sin in American History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003)
Richard Weisman, Witchcraft, Magic, and Religion in 17th-Century Massachusetts (University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, 1984)

Witchcraft in the American Colonies

Magic and Superstition in Everyday New England Life

Sep 6, 2009 Michael Streich

Monument in Salem Commemorating the Trials - Salem Witch Museum Tour Photo

Persecution of witches was most apparent in Colonial New England where strict Calvinist views formed the basis of a theocratic, Old Testament model that accepted witches.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1835 story “Young Goodman Brown,” the pious Goodman Brown ventures into the “haunted forest” to converse with the devil. A resistant Brown is told, “Wickedness or not…I have a very general acquaintance here in New England.” Hawthorne reminds the reader of the Puritan preoccupation with evil as a very real and constant threat to the theocracy of the “godly communities.” It was what prompted Cotton Mather to write “Memorable Provinces relating to witchcraft and Possessions” one year before the outbreak of the 1692 witch trials. Witchcraft, magic, and superstition played a unique role in 17th Century New England.

Origins of New England Belief in Witches and Magic

Oxford historian Keith Thomas’ classic study of religion and magic in England states that the Reformation had placed “an unprecedented stress upon the reality of the Devil and the extent of his earthly dominion.” New England Puritans were well aware of the prolonged period of the European witch-craze that lasted from the 15th into the 17th century and claimed over half a million lives, mostly women. Their worldview accepted the active role of the devil. Even John Calvin, the theological founder of their doctrines, had burned witches.

Puritan Beliefs in Witches and Magic

Puritan views of witchcraft and evil were based on a literal interpretation of the Bible: “thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” (Exodus 22.18) New England Puritans were Old Testament Christians, modeling their social structures on the Old Testament patriarchal system and appropriating the “covenant” promises for themselves. Thus, if one member of the community sinned, the entire community was punished. The first execution for witchcraft occurred in 1647 when Alice Young was convicted; between 1662-1663, a minor witch “panic” resulted in more executions.

Omens and Natural Wonders Fed New England Beliefs in Witches

Prior to the 1692 witch hysteria in Salem, three eclipses occurring in 1680, 1682, and 1686 were perceived as evil omens. It was these celestial events Cotton Mather referred to as “Memorable Provinces” in his 1691 treatise warning New England that the devil was preparing a final onslaught to disrupt the Puritan theocracy.

Secularism and the fruits of the Scientific Revolution and the emerging Enlightenment threatened the decades old belief systems of Calvinist New England. Additionally, by 1692, the trained clergy were less literate than their forerunners had been. These men tended to rely more on the accepted conventions of post-medieval cosmologies. Historian David Hawke writes that, “the supernatural was the basis of their piety.”

Witchcraft in the Other English Colonies

By the mid-17th century, it was a crime in Virginia to accuse someone of witchcraft and the charge itself was never considered a capital crime. A 1706 witchcraft trial in Virginia as well as a 1712 trial in North Carolina resulted in acquittal, despite that fact that the accused woman in Virginia confessed to witchcraft.

The absence of other accusations and trials – even in other colonies founded on the basis of “religious freedom,” suggests that the belief and treatment of witchcraft in New England was unique to Puritan views and entrenched within specific Biblical and Reformation interpretations. Additionally, Puritans resisted the prevailing European changes in intellectual thought that ultimately replaced medieval cosmology with pre-modern models of rationalism.

Aftermath of the Salem Witch Trials in Puritan New England

The Salem trials exposed the Puritan theocracy and in the process severely weakened theological belief and the ability to communicate effective sermons pointing toward an authentic Christian lifestyle. This would be remedied by the early 18th-Century Great Awakening that, through the articulate preaching of men like John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards, placed Christian responsibility on the individual rather than the community.

Sources:

David Freeman Hawke, Everyday Life in Early America (New York: Harper and Row, 1988)
Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Young Goodman Brown, “ Great American Short Stories edited by Wallace and Mary Stegner (New York: Dell Publishing Company, Inc., 1957)
Dale Taylor, The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America (Cincinnati: Writers Digest Books, 1997)
Keith Thomas, Religion & the Decline of Magic (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971)
Salem Witch Museum