by

Amanda Dowdey

[This essay was written in response to the following topic:

Pretend that you are an early American Puritan writer who is interested in writing edifying books for children to inculcate the view of the world and doctrines in your sect. In 2-3 pages, create the actual text of the book that you would write, keeping in mind, of course, that the Puritans did not go in for fiction. Then in 3-4 pages, analyze your creation: which Puritan tenets have you included? why? why have you written it in the form you have? what have you left out? why? etc. The creative portion of this assignment should allow you to apply as much as what you know about American Puritan society as you know from your readings and our discussions and any research that you might do (be sure to document information that you borrow). The analytical portion will help you objectify and explain your knowledge.]

"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk to them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up" (Deuteronomy 6: 6-7).

Honorable Christian Parents:

It is required that you should use "A Daily Prayer Guide for Youth" on a consistent and daily basis by administering the lesson before every meal. You may feel compelled to add more specific study occasions or affix more scripture, but no fewer than three sessions each day are preferred. If a man is of good spiritual appetite, he cannot be contented with one meal a day (Geree). The lesson will encourage children to establish a routine time to examine their souls and chart their spiritual progress every day as well as allow them to grasp the doctrine more adequately through repetition.

The prayer guide focuses on the attributes of Honor, Respect, Humility, and Grace, virtues that must be instilled in children at the earliest age practicable. Given at mealtimes, it will allow parents the opportunity to inculcate Puritan doctrine during a period other than the Sabbath Day. It will impress upon children that they can exercise every opportunity (even during the most ordinary occasions such as meals) to Honor and Glorify the Lord. It will also advise them to give Thanks for the food that nourishes their bodies and give Thanks to Him that nourishes their Souls.

Honorable Christian Children:

Examine your heart and answer these queries: Do you feel that you are living your life as He has chosen: Are you Respecting His Will, or are you slipping into sin and living as YOU wish to do? Take time every day to answer these and record your progress in your journal. Take care to remember: your first care should be in the examination of oneself: yet as an act of office or charity, one should have an eye on others (Geree).

Analysis of "A Daily Prayer Guide for Youth" with respect to Puritan Literature and Doctrines

Numerous readers often perceive the Puritan lifestyle as one of harsh and severe conditions, void of compassion, and full of sermons of hell, fire, and damnation. Contrary to popular belief, this perception is quite inaccurate. The Puritans lived in a simplistic society and were extremely optimistic– they believed that life was not merely ruled by evil or by chance, but through the redeeming power of God. This belief created a loving, stable environment.

Many Puritans, like those of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, believed that although the Church of England was hierarchal and flawed, it could be purified. They still considered themselves a part of the Anglican Church, but they were actually reformed members. They held with Martin Luther that no pope or bishop had a right to impose any law on a Christian soul without consent and, following John Calvin, that God chose freely those he would save and those he would damn eternally (Mather 154). They rejected the elaborate rituals, ornate vestments, and any ideas and customs that focused more on the outer self than on the inner self. These views developed in response to their surroundings. They were often persecuted because of their distaste for the Anglican Church, and their doctrines developed a need and an attempt to gain control. They saw the world, as did members of the medieval period, through a pre-scientific view that God, not humankind, was in control.

Puritanism is the logical aftermath of the Renaissance, the Reformation, the establishment of the Church of England, and the growth of Presbyterianism. Through these entire movements, one sees emerging the right of individuals to political and religious independence (Harman and Holman).

The opportunity to journey to and settle in the New World offered the Puritans the religious freedom they craved. During the voyage to America, the Puritan doctrines even influenced the government of one of the future settlements in the form of The Mayflower Compact. This agreement draws heavily upon the Puritan theology of the covenant, namely the "Covenant of Works." The "Covenant of Works" was the promise God made to Adam that he was immortal and could live in Paradise forever as long as he obeyed God’s commandments (Mather 154). The basic dogma of the scripture was applied to the secular world, translated to say that citizens could live peacefully so long as they did not break the colony’s laws. The Puritans also saw the written word of this document as legally binding, a viewpoint drawn from the belief that the written word of the Bible revealed the word of God and reigned supreme.

"A Daily Prayer Guide for Youth" is a typical example of edifying literature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritans because it incorporates several important theological doctrines. These include those of Luther and Calvin, the elements of typology and symbolism, and Puritan attributes of honor, respect, humility, and grace. The text draws on specific scriptures to convey its message and is loosely based on other writers’ idea of the same time. It is written as a sermon, and is designed to be used repeatedly for emphasis.

The prayer guide follows the form of a traditional Puritan sermon. Each passage includes an exegesis (application of the sacred textual passage), a doctrine (explanation based on the sacred textual passage), and an application (sacred textual passage or beliefs explained and applied to life). The lesson is to be used three times daily; this is symbolic of the Trinity. The same lesson is repeated at each meal for emphasis and to help children memorize it through repetition.

The prayer guide’s introduction for parents displays a genuine concern for the welfare of the children, but the emotional tone is not as overt as Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet’s poems and letters to her children and grandchildren. It encourages children to look inward to examine and chart their spiritual progress, an idea consistent with Puritan doctrine. Journals were kept so that they might have records of their conversion(s), thus proving that they had received God’s saving grace. The introduction is also similar to Puritan theologian Cotton Mather’s teachings because it encourages parents to teach values at even the most ordinary times, such as during meals. The last sentence of the introduction, "It will also advise to give thanks for the food that nourishes their body, and give Thanks to Him that nourishes their Soul," attempts to give satisfaction to the wants of the body and to the Desires of the Soul.

The first scriptural passage is intended to teach honor toward the parents and toward God. It parallels God as the Heavenly Father and man as the father of the household and aims to establish the child’s place in the world, a hierarchical schema known to its Puritan inheritors as the Great Chain of Being. It is also an example of God’s Providence, the idea that God orchestrated everything according to His will.

The second passage discusses respect to elders and to God and depicts the Old Testament image of Jehovah, commonly seen in Puritan writings. God is viewed as a Judge–angry, punishing, vengeful, and fearful.

The third passage shows how the Puritans may identify with the Jews of the Old Testament. Both the Jews and the Puritans share the belief of one true God, fled persecution, and followed their leaders to the "Promised Land" (Jews) of the "New World" (Puritans). This comparison and foreshadowing of events to come is known as typology, an element often used in Puritan literature.

The fourth and last passage focuses heavily on some of the basic tenets of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion: total depravity (all born with original sin), limited atonement (Christ’s sacrifice earned grace, but only for the elect), irresistible grace (God has chosen whom he is saving by bestowing grace and good works alone cannot get a person into Heaven), and predestination (one’s status is decided before he or she is born). Each of these institutions is evident in the selected scriptural passage form Ephesians.

Finally, the questions at the end of the prayer guide again stress individualism and interpretation. The summary includes the major tenet of watching not only oneself but also what everyone else in the community is doing, too. Throughout all the passages, the attention is on God’s saving grace and the afterlife. Importance is placed on the spiritual realm instead of the secular.

"A Daily Prayer Guide for Youth" does not use a great deal of symbolism, common in Puritan theology because many children have trouble grasping more abstract ideas or notions. The text does not include mention of the natural world because nature was not a primary focus for many of the Puritans. They interpreted nature as God’s will but did not focus on nature in any other context because they did not put an emphasis on worldly things.

The scriptural passages of the prayer guide teach children the attributes of honor, respect, humility, and grace in the form of a traditional sermon. The doctrines and tenets such as those of Luther and Calvin are also obvious in the text. Through the incorporation of many different Puritan theological doctrines and ideas, "A Daily Prayer Guide for Youth" gives an accurate representation of literature of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritans.

Works Cited

Geree, John. The Character of an Old English Puritan, or Non-Conformist.  London,     1646.   17 Oct. 2002. 
          <http://www.cet.com/~mtr/GereeChar.html>.

Harmon, William, and C. Hugh Holman. "American Literature." A Handbook to Literature. 8^th ed. New Jersey:
           Prentice Hall, 2000. 18.

Mather, Cotton. Personal Narrative. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 5^th ed. Eds. Nina Baym, et al. Vol. 1.
           New York: Norton, 1998. 153-157.

This essay was written by Amanda Hope Dowdey, then a sophomore in Marketing. It was written for Dr. Barbara Murray’s ENGL 2130 class during fall 2002 semester. Ms. Dowdey was Environmental Club President at the time.