1,000 and counting!

As I am the writer of a very simple blog, I am very excited to say I have over 1,000 page views! This may seem like nothing to most, but it makes me smile. I hope you keep reading my blog. :-)

Sabbatical

     I have decided to take a 2 month sabbatical from my blog. I really need to focus on my schooling, music, and sports. I encourage you to read either of my friend Anna's two blogs in the mean time. The links are on the bottom of my page titled, "5 Things" and "The Pickled Banana". See you in February!

Christmas Concert

                                               Musical Monday of the Month #4

                                                                           Enjoy!

Things Change With Time

                                                     Wondering Weekend #11

Here is an essay I wrote for school a couple of weeks ago. I have been studying American history, and this assignment was a comparison between religion in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and during the Second Great Awakening.

     Looking back in history, it is easy to see huge changes in the different generations. The most obvious being dress, speech, and customs. One that does not usually change as much as the rest is religion. At least that’s how it used to be. One huge example of religious change in the generations is the Puritanical beliefs of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and that of religion on the frontier during the Second Great Awakening. Let us examine:

In the beginnings of America, we had simplistic towns. One example of such a town is the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which is called Boston today. It was a much different place back then. There were farms, churches, small schools, and no buildings like the skyscrapers of today. It was started after Plymouth Plantation and most definitely flourished more. The Massachusetts Bay Colony is a far cry from the Boston we know today. What was the one major difference? The religion of the simplistic community was much purer.

This colony was started, like many townships of the time, for religious purposes. The Puritans sought to create a pure society in which they had no opposition. They wanted to fulfill the great commission through their children while staying as true to the scriptures as possible. Sadly, we can easily see how they became quite legalistic. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter we can see how judgmental the Puritans were. A girl who committed adultery was made to be hated and an outcast. No one cared for her but her daughter and the one who sinned with her. Although this is not a true story, it is written with truth as to how the Puritans would have treated a girl like poor Hester: with hate. 

The Puritans had pure intentions when they started their town, but they veered far from the true path, like many do. 

Many, many years later things were very different. As America expanded West, the number of people attending church fell. People were more interested in gaining wealth on earth than in heaven. Man was seen as the absolute authority and reason governed all. The religion of the Pilgrims and Puritans was replaced with civil religion. Formality choked out honesty. A Second Great Awakening is just what the people needed. God always provides, right?

Yes, He does. Revivals sprouted out of nowhere. Camps dedicated to praising the Lord and fellow-shipping with other believers appeared. Great speakers were raised up, and doctrines changed. The people fell away from the truths of Calvinistic thought and began to see God in a different light. He was becoming the all loving, easy going God that is preached in our churches today. Charismatics arose with their strange ways of worship and beliefs. Civil religion went away for a time. The country was happy. 

What is the difference between these two examples? Who was better? Did one completely trump the other? In my opinion, both ended flawed and unfixable. The Puritans began with holy intentions and stayed true to the Bible in many ways. They failed to examine their children’s true state of salvation. Legalism replaced honesty and gave way to half-hearted believers. They cared about being “right” all the time more the what truly matters. 

Do I think the people who took place in the Second Great Awakening were any better off? Not in the slightest! In fact, I would argue that the “reformers” only steered Americans farther from the truth. Yes, Christianity was revived. Yes, there was a general reform in the country. The bad part is the kind of Christianity that was started. The false truth of the common church today can be traced back to this event in history. Man went from trusting in his reason to trusting a “softy” God. 

In the end, I believe God is sovereign. It does not matter what happens in history as long as God fulfills His perfect and holy will. The elect will be saved no matter what. Those who are not in the Book of Life now will never enter it. We can clearly see God’s hand throughout history working in both the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Second Great Awakening. All things are for the good of the elect. History’s “mistakes” are but little steps in furthering the kingdom of Christ. 

We can clearly see the positives, faults, differences, and similarities between these two aspects of Christianity. All things have and will change over time besides God’s attributes.