Submission to God’s Will

The puritans believed that the human spirit expressed and acted as God’s will. Because humans have lost the ability to directly communicate with God, according to the Puritans, the human soul is the way in which this communication could be found. Specifically, the puritans believed that communication with God was achieved through the reading of dreams, historical events, Indian attacks and deaths. This idea of communication to God through death is present in Shepherd’s autobiography when he describes the death of his wife and child. Shepherd’s love for his wife, before her death, began to overshadow the desire to please God. As Shepherd states was wrong, “delighting my soul in my dear wife more than my God, whom I had promised better unto” (48). This is a place where we can see the veneer of the doctrine break down. The Puritan Doctrine required submission to God’s will, and by Shepherd putting his wife before his God, that requirement is broken down. As Shepherd expresses his many reasons for moving to New England, a reoccurring notion is that of pleasing God. As Shepherd states in his autobiography, it is his “duty” to God to move. He also wishes to live among God’s people, which too he expresses will please God. The backbone of all his decisions is to please and obey God. Shepherd believed that a Christian should not base their faith of God’s will on any favors or miracles they have witnessed. Rather, Shepherd states this to be the “principle opinion”, a Christian should take God’s will “by immediate revelation in an absolute promise” (51). We see the submission to God’s will required by the Puritan doctrine throughout Shepherd’s autobiography. Every decision and reasoning for those decisions made are backed by the desire to please God and obey his will.

How might the Puritans’ religious views shape their actions in the New World?