Puritanism

As I'm slowly reading through my church history book, I *finally* got to the reformation several weeks ago and have moved on since Luther, Calvin, Mennonites, and all that. Currently, they're talking about the Puritans. Here's an excerpt from Church History in Plain Language, pg 192

Chapter 30: The Rule of the Saints

Puritanism: New Life and New World

… In modern times, marked by zeal for individual rights and sexual freedom, “puritan” has come to mean “holy Joe,” a religious snob, filled with fears of sex, who does his best to keep people from having fun. This view of the “puritan” as a moss-backed moralist captured popular thinking in the backlash of Victorian stuffiness. Early in the twentieth century American journalist H.L. Mencken summed up the popular image in his quip that Puritanism was “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy.”

But is that fair? What was Puritanism originally? Whatever it was, it was not straight-laced. It stood for change and a new day in England. The first Puritans had little confidence in traditional religion. Their plans for a new England arose from a deep conviction that spiritual conversion was crucial to Christianity. This rebirth separated the Puritan from the mass of mankind and endowed him with privileges and the duties of the elect of God. The church may prepare a man for this experience, and, after it, the church may guide him, but the heart of the experience, the reception of the grace of God, is beyond the church’s control.

Points I agree with here: 1. spiritual conversion crucial to Christianity, 2. the reception of God's grace and the experience with God is beyond the church's control. There's more, but that's what I've got so far.

P.S. 21 days to go!