The evolution of Puritanism into the mass culture of early nineteenth-century America

The confusion regarding the nature of Puritan theology and the subsequent influence of Puritanism on later American life is due to the efforts of the Puritans to follow the teaching of Calvin while also showing a need for good works and a need to give man some control over his ultimate destiny. The Puritans, following Calvin, believed God to be omnipotent and man to be depraved; it was then hard for them to deny predestination. But they also felt that good works were a part of the Christian life and that the very existence of churches and preaching demanded that man have some say in his fate. So the Puritans started with the idea of God's omnipotence and began to compromise predestination. William Ames, the foremost theologian of the American Puritans, made predestination a two-part decree. Ames said that God had predestined man but that the decree was not complete until each individual either accepted or rejected God's grace. Ames then made good works one of the major points of his theology. Other theologians turned to the idea of the new covenant as a means of reconciling God's omnipotence with man's freedom to accept or reject grace. Under this theory God's power was in fact unlimited but God had agreed to limit it, agreeing to save those who believed. John Cotton preached the covenant of grace theology in early America. Samuel Willard in the second half of the seventeenth century gave this theology a very legalistic interpretation, emphasizing God's agreement to bind himself. In the eighteenth century Jonathan Edwards told his listeners that God was not legally bound to save any man but that he would withhold his all-powerful wrath for a time, allowing a sinner a limited time to seek grace. ..