The 5 points and puritanism

[Dkshotwell]

All puritans are 5 pointers, but are all 5 pointers then puritan? Does accepting the DOG naturally lead to puritanism? If a distinction exists, what is it? ( off topic, but why are some words correctly spelled underlined in red when commenting or creating a thread on PB?)

 

[RamistThomist]

All puritans are 5 pointers, but are all 5 pointers then puritan? Does accepting the DOG naturally lead to puritanism? If a distinction exists, what is it? ( off topic, but why are some words correctly spelled underlined in red when commenting or creating a thread on PB?)

If Puritanism includes certain conclusions about covenant theology and Reformed worship, then not all 5 Pointers are Puritan.

 

[NaphtaliPress]

Depends on definition of puritan. Historians have sort of made it a broad term. By their accounts, John Godwin, the infamous congregationalist Arminian at the time of the Westminster Assembly, was a puritan.

 

[davejonescue]

I dont believe all "Puritans" would be 5 pointers. J. Goodwin, Steelingfleet, Tillotson, etc. were Arminians; but it is like what Naphtali is saying, you would first have to form a concrete consensus on what a Puritan is.

 

[Dkshotwell]

I was looking at Webster's definition of puritan, which is one who practices or preaches a more rigorous or professedly purer moral code than that which prevails, which in retrospect may have been the answer to my question anyway, it being a matter of rigor. Thank you.

If Puritanism includes certain conclusions about covenant theology and Reformed worship, then not all 5 Pointers are Puritan.

Thank you jacob, that creates a distinction.

I dont believe all "Puritans" would be 5 pointers. J. Goodwin, Steelingfleet, Tillotson, etc. were Arminians; but it is like what Naphtali is saying, you would first have to form a concrete consensus on what a Puritan is.

Thank you david.

 

[Dkshotwell]

Thank you chris.

 

[alexanderjames]

Yes to add the above comments, even the Westminster Assembly had a surprising variety of theological views, including on soteriology which did not all neatly fit into 5 points. I was surprised to learn recently from Dr John Fesko's book on the Westminster Standards that a few debated against the doctrine of the imputed active obedience of Christ in justification (Thomas Gataker for instance).

 

[Ed Walsh]

Depends on definition of puritan. Historians have sort of made it a broad term. By their accounts, John Godwin, the infamous congregationalist Arminian at the time of the Westminster Assembly, was a puritan.

Good answer.

From Webster's 1828 Dictionary

Puritan​

---

PU'RITAN, noun [from pure.] A dissenter from the church of England. The Puritans were so-called in derision on account of their professing to follow the pure word of God, in opposition to all traditions and human constitutions.​

​

Hume gives this name to three parties: the political Puritans, who maintained the highest principles of civil liberty; the Puritans in discipline, who were averse to the ceremonies and government of the episcopal church; and the doctrinal Puritans, who rigidly defended the speculative system of the first reformers.​

​

PU'RITAN, adjective Pertaining to the Puritans, or dissenters from the Church of England.​

 

[davejonescue]

Good answer.

From Webster's 1828 Dictionary

Puritan​

---

PU'RITAN, noun [from pure.] A dissenter from the church of England. The Puritans were so-called in derision on account of their professing to follow the pure word of God, in opposition to all traditions and human constitutions.​

​

Hume gives this name to three parties: the political Puritans, who maintained the highest principles of civil liberty; the Puritans in discipline, who were averse to the ceremonies and government of the episcopal church; and the doctrinal Puritans, who rigidly defended the speculative system of the first reformers.​

​

PU'RITAN, adjective Pertaining to the Puritans, or dissenters from the Church of England.​

This was why it was so exciting to see the "broader picture" when researching books for Puritan Search/Project Puritas. Moving from the popular Puritan sites, which at most list a couple hundred, into the actual texts, like "Calamy's Memorials," Brooks "Lives of," and G. Turners "Original records of early non-conformity under persecution..," etc. There were 1,000's of these guys. Thats also without getting into "Calamy Revised" or Neals "History of." And I limited my search to EEBO-TCP; I may have to go back one day and do a redo searching the ESTC. We got almost 980 folks, covering the English/American Puritans, Covenanters, and Further Reformation. The only thing that saddens me is I cant find anywhere to access a definitive list of Huguenots pastors or theologians from the time period; which unquestionably would be the "French Puritan" counterpart. Would love to see some work in that arena, or pointed in that direction; but who I am I kidding, I have barely scratched the surface of what was printed in English.

The thing is, that though most of us dont connect the dots; many of these guys knew each other well. If you look at funeral sermons, prefaces, etc. You can start to see an interconnection between what has come to be known as the "popular" Puritans, and the broader, much lesser known Non-Conformists.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

The so-called "five points" are a basic summary for the response of the Council of Dordt to the Remonstrants and their five points. They don't exhaust what is typically called Reformed theology.

One thing to keep in mind about Puritans (and this is true of theologians in general) is that good theology isn't determined by a "any Puritan will do". It is imagined that theology proceeds for a Church by choosing a person somewhere in the Reformation or post-Reformation period and "liking" something they have taught. The Federal Vision, as an example, suffered from this kind of approach, imagining that if they agreed with some Puritan or attended the Westminster Assembly, they were confessing Reformed theology.

Reformed theology, as it is stable, is historical and confessional. It progressed and consolidated, and its mature fruits can be found in the Clonessions. This is why, for instance, the Westminster Standards are superior expressions of theology because they come from the high Orthodox era of the post-Reformation and deal with a century and a half of thought and debate.

 

[Theoretical]

The only thing that saddens me is I cant find anywhere to access a definitive list of Huguenots pastors or theologians from the time period; which unquestionably would be the "French Puritan" counterpart. Would love to see some work in that arena, or pointed in that direction; but who I am I kidding, I have barely scratched the surface of what was printed in English.

In that era, look for Francophone names in places like the Netherlands, New World, or the British Isles. France's loss was the British/Dutch gain. The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre devastated the Huguenots and led to a lot of emigration even though the Edict of Nantes was in place for most of the time of the Puritans.