Puritan+Beliefs

= = __ //**Puritan Beliefs**// __ Total Depravity - through Adam's fall, every human is born sinful (concept of Original Sin).

Unconditional Election - God "saves" those he wishes (only a few are selected for salvation - concept of predestination).

Limited Atonement - Jesus died for theIrresistible Grace - God's grace is freely given, it cannot be earned or denied. Grace is defined as the saving and the appearance of christ and the power of God. Perseverance of the "saints" - those elected by God have full power to interpret the will of God, and to live uprightly. If anyone rejects grace after feeling its power in his life, he will be going against the will of God (something impossible in Puritanism).

The Puritans were a group of people who grew discontent in the Church of England and worked towards religious, moral and societal reforms.

The Puritans believed that the Bible was God's true law, and that it provided a plan for living. The established church of the day described access to God as monastic and possible only within the confines of "church authority". Puritans stripped away the traditional trappings and formalities of Christianity which had been slowly building throughout the previous 1500 years. Theirs was an attempt to "purify" the church and their own lives.