The Puritans
Yes. The Puritans. Their holier-than-thou attitude, prissiness and unfriendly attitude towards everyone makes me angry that they were one of the first groups of people in America. Not to mention the Salem Witch Trials! Their bizarre branch of Sola Scriptura Protestantism led them to lash out at anyone who basically wasn’t in the clique. It’s a very childish way of looking at the world. Imagine, if you will, sitting in a cold, ugly, white-washed building in ugly clothes, listening to a crazy preacher giving his personal interpretation of the words of Christ. If they hadn’t gone crazy with John Calvin’s heresy and abandoned tradition, we wouldn’t have the Trials to look back at. Thanks, guys.
Comments
I’ve done that, I’ve sat in a white wash room while some really old man and the female teachers pandered their view of the Bible—it’s called Catholic school. I dealt with it for five and a half years. I understand that it sucks and it’s not fair, but you cannot tell people to shut up for voicing their view on something. It’s their opinion and it’s their perception, people don’t do it to you. So why are you doing it? That’s slightly hypocritical. They have an easier, simpler life. The only reason why you don’t like it is because it’s different and new to you.
The view of the Puritans expressed above treats Arthur Miller’s and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s views of the Puritans as though they were reality, which they were not. One wonders whether the author has ever read a full book by a Puritan, or a serious historical study about them. Where were the Puritans unfaithful to Scripture? That is not addressed; instead there is name-calling. Regarding Salem, the over-all record of the Puritans in New England regarding witchcraft was much better than what happened in Europe at the same time, as a book like Chadwick Hansen’s Witchcraft at Salem makes clear.
Been there done that: I doubt that their lives are simpler as they have many strict rules and busy schedules. Then again, you have first hand experience. I think that the difference between the author and a preacher is that we are not being forced to listen to (or rather, to read) what they are saying.
OP: I would hate to live in that society. I read The Crucible in Junior year in High School and I think it would be a fun assignment to hold a mock-up trial in class with assigned roles and a situation (Hint hint teachers). I think that your comments are aimed at colonial Puritans though; modern Puritans are quite a bit different.