A What? (Part 2)

Current/Permanent Mood: Thoughtful
Current Music: Destroyer - Rubies

Okay, so that's a little corny, but whatever. I mainly just wanted
to promote Destroyer again. His lyrics are amazing (picture
Sarahmisu saying "Amazing!" and that's what I mean).

"Don't worry about her, she's been known to appreciate the elegance
of an empty room."

Yeah. Check him out. "You disrupt the world's disorder just by
virtue of your grace, you know." Anyway. I could have an entire
post just about Destroyer - and probably will.

Okay, folks. Last time we learned why I call myself an "acquitted
felon." This time we cover neopuritanism. I'm going to warn you;
this is going to be a long entry.

One of my goals this summer is to become better acquainted with the
Puritans. Despite a few minor problems - you know, killing other
Protestants during some English turmoil, killing Native Americans
during America's bloody beginning - they were, overall, very cool.
So why do I call myself a neopuritan? I haven't killed any English
Protestants or Anglicans, nor do I directly have any Native American
blood on my hands. However, I do identify with them quite a bit. My
source for this entry is "The Devoted Life: An Invitation to the
Puritan Classics," edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Randall C. Gleason.
Kapic was one of Sarah's profs at Covenant. He is a really cool guy;
I sat in on one of his Christology classes. Sarah remains good
friends with the Kapics. When she was in school she babysat for them
and hung out with Tabitha Kapic (Kelly's wife) quite regularly.

Anyway, Kapic and Gleason discuss how diverse Puritanism was as a
movement (from about 1558-1700, give or take). There was no single
set of doctrines that encompass Puritanism; it included Anglicans,
Separatists, Independents, Presbyterians, and Baptists. And for all
you hardcore RUFers, Puritans were even diverse in the infamous
debate: Dortian ("by the book" - the Canons of Dort) Calvinists (like
John Owen), moderate Calvinists (Richard Baxter) and the occasional
Arminian (John Goodwin). In the midst of this, the dynamic duo come
up with seven characteristics of Puritanism as a movement (summed up on pp. 31-32):

- Puritanism was a movement of spirituality. This is fairly self-
explanatory. Specifically, Puritans were concerned with holiness.
- Puritanism, at its heart, lays stress on experiencing communion
with God. They used the term "experimental" quite often to describe
life as a Christian - it meant "experiential." Thomas Shepard
(1605-1649) wrote that just as we know by feeling heat that fire is
hot, or that by tasting honey we know it is sweet, so grace is in the
life of the believer.
- Puritans were united in their dependence upon the Bible as their
supreme source of spiritual sustenance and guide for the reformation
of life. This one is also self-explanatory, but very important for
the time period. Remember, the Reformation was young; it's not as if
they were chilling with a group of Pentecostals.
- The Puritans were predominantly Augustinian in their emphasis upon
human sinfulness and divine grace. If you're unsure what that means,
Augustine was a big influence on Luther and Calvin in his belief he
would only choose sin without the grace of God overcoming him.
Luther later takes up this belief in "On the Bondage of the Will."
- The Puritans placed great emphasis upon the work of the Holy Spirit
in the believer's life. Regeneration, sanctification, etc. were only
possible through the Holy Spirit.
- The Puritans were deeply troubled with the sacramental forms of
Catholic spirituality fostered within the Anglican Church. It would
be impossible to sum up the historical happenings of the English
Reformation here. However, all you need to know is that the Puritans
were worried about the emphasis on what you do over how you do it.
- Puritanism can also be understood as a revival movement.
Interestingly, Puritans used the word "reform" and its variants to
mean "revive" - the inward renewal of the heart. They stressed
revival on a group level and in the life of each believer.

Phew! For more info on all that, grab the book. It's cheap at
Westminster (around $13).

I'm going to create a new post now since this is ridiculously long.