AFTER the English Reformation and during the reign of Elizabeth 1st (1558-1603), there arose in England a new breed of Christians. They
accepted the Bible as the rule of faith and guide for life and they practised personal holiness as best they could. They saw from their study of Scripture that the State should not attempt to rule over the hearts of individual men and women. They opposed the formalism and ritual of the established Church. And they demanded the right to practise their religion without interference from the State. Putting it simply, they were non-comformists.

The word "puritan" was originally intended as an insult, something like the original usage of the word "Christian". Even today, the word "puritan" conjures up images of dour, self-righteous, strait-laced sourpusses, scared to death of things like sex, fun and laughter. From my studies of the Puritans, I think the stereotype is very unfair. They lived in some incredibly hard times and often suffered for their faith but they actually loved life and lived it with passion and enthusiasm. The Puritans who sailed to America on the Mayflower had to endure great deprivation and hardship but they perservered and developed a strong work ethic that became a blessing to the nation they helped to found.

It's hard to actually define what a Puritan is. I think they give us a fine historical example of a subculture. People who try to define them in political terms or religious terms usually fail. They were a complex assortment of people with widely differing views on some subjects. I submit that the thing that gave them their identity as Puritans was actually their culture. They were not so much a religious movement as a cultural phenomenon.

I cannot affirm everything that the Puritans did or said. They were living in very different times. But their personal holiness, their commitment to family values, their unequivocal allegiance to the Bible (and their great passion for writing and preaching about it), their love of learning, their diligence and their opposition to lifeless religion are all things we are calling for in the new Christian subculture.

Under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell in the mid 17th century, the Puritans had their chance to change the world. In some ways they did, but their ideal for a Christian society was never fully realised. Instead, they perpetrated many of the wrongs they had previously decried in others.

If God somehow grants to Christians in the twenty-first century the opportunity to assume authority over nations or states, there will be valuable lessons that can be learned from the experience of the Puritans. In the short-term, however, I believe the earlier Puritans present us with an excellent example of a valid subculture functioning in a social environment that responds with anything from callous indifference to fierce hostility.