A Model of Christian Charity by John Winthrop Essay free essay sample

Winthrop’s and his fellow Puritan’s purpose for going to the New World was to build a society with its foundation deeply rooted in strong, devout Christian values and ideas. He wanted to build a community with an established civil government, but more importantly, an ecclesiastical government, in which their covenant to God was absolute. If they broke their covenant they believed there would be dire consequences. One of the common themes that one can observe from the text is this, one must love their neighbor, be it friend or foe, and honor all around them in order for their New World to thrive. This was what Winthrop stated was a part of their covenant with God. He states this clearly when he says the quote, â€Å"†¦we must bring into familiar and constant practice; as in this duty of love, we must love brotherly without dissimulation, we must love one another with a pure heart fervently. We must bear one another’s burdens†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Winthrop guides his people not only in loving one’s neighbor, but also in loving God by putting his will before their own. By doing so, the Lord will show them more favor. In the text, Winthrop said, â€Å"Therefore let us choose life, that we and our seed may live, by obeying His voice and cleaving to Him, for He is our life and our prosperity. † What he is saying is choosing to obey God is the key to the success and freedom they long to have by moving to the New World. Winthrop stresses throughout the text hoe important loving and obeying God is for their well being. Through his profound words, Winthrop taught his fellow Puritans to be generous in their love for God. A part of loving God was doing all that was asked of them by the Lord. Again, he ties their love of God to loving one another by stating it is asked of them by God and in doing what God asks will thus help them achieve success in the New World. He also implied that their success was indeed in God’s will, but he also made it clear that by not coming together and by not obeying God to build such a glorious life as God intended, they cannot and will not survive. Winthrop’s main point in his sermon was that by giving all the glory to God, loving God with your entire being, and loving one another as you love God, would be how they survived in the New World. They were to keep God’s name in everything they did because God was absolute and must be obeyed, and if they didn’t obey God, their failure was eminent. Winthrop says in his sermon, â€Å"†¦but if we neglect the observation of these articles which are the ends we have propounded, and dissembling with our God, shall fall to embrace this present world and prosecute our cardinal intentions, seeking great things for ourselves and our prosperity, the Lord will surely break out in wrath against us, and be revenged of such a people, and make us know what the price of the breach of such a covenant. Winthrop was saying that, as a community, if they disobeyed God they wouldn’t make it to the New World, let alone be successful there. Winthrop concluded his sermon with a summary of what he had initially stated throughout the sermon, but interjected some very profound words. He said that he wanted New England to be the guide for the plantations and the colonies that suc ceeded thereafter. Winthrop wanted New England to be called â€Å"the city upon a hill†. He envisioned a â€Å"perfect† society under God. Winthrop’s sentiments toward the New World, what we now call America, is that of perfection under the laws of God. Basically, if you obey God, your society and its people would be highly favored and protected by God. I, however, do not share these same sentiments toward my country as Winthrop did his New England. In my opinion, God doesn’t just show favor to a single nation based on the entire nation’s obedience. I believe, however, that some people are highly favored. Those people who, like the Puritans, follow God’s covenant, the Bible, to the letter are whom I speak of. The Bible teaches us that God loves all of His children, presumably â€Å"all† meaning every nation, not just America by itself. God’s love and laws are both very absolute and clear. God punishes those who break his laws or who are not faithful to Him, as a parent would their child. If a child is disobedient to his parent, there are consequences. The same concept goes for God and his laws and commandments. However, to say God rewards or punishes a nation based on the whole nation’s faithfulness is rather complicated to say the least. The question in itself is a paradox of sorts. For example, let’s take the cliche scenario of a team, any team, being punished as a whole for the acts of one of its members. Is that fair to do to the rest of the team? What is the purpose behind punishing the whole team for the mistakes of one person? Though it is safe to say that the individual should be reprimanded for their actions, what is the lesson for the rest of the team? Is it to be a warning to the rest of the team? The innocent suffer for the guilty? That’s like saying God will smite my whole family for my having pre-marital sex. What would be the point in it? I am the one who has sinned, not my family. Again, this is a paradox because there is no right or wrong, black or white, cut and dry solution for such a scenario. This is a very debatable subject when speaking of God’s punishment in terms of nations vs. an individual. As an individual, one has certain responsibilities to God, but do we go so far to say the same goes for an entire nation? As an American citizen, I feel a certain level of pride in regards to what our place is â€Å"considered† to be in this world. Though in the eyesight of God we are all equal, other countries view us as the land of hope and dreams come true. America, for centuries, has been a refuge for the impoverished, abused, and displaced people from all over God’s green earth. We are the most diverse country in the world with all of our different cultures, languages, and people. I feel America’s mission has always been, to some degree or another, â€Å"America to the rescue†! We are the land of the free and the home of the brave. America is where dreams come true. In this place, you can be whatever you want to be or whatever you don’t want to be. Here, one can make his own decisions and choices without having to fear for his life or worry about prosecution from a tyrannical leader. I suppose one can conclude that to other people and countries, yes America is special in some way or another. America represents, above all else, FREEDOM! John Winthrop envisioned that America was perfect. America today may not be perfect in the eyes of Puritans, but in the eyes of those poor starving people in other various nations, we are that place everyone wants to be like†¦that â€Å"city upon a hill. †