What is the corruption that John Winthrop mentions in "Reasons for the Plantation in New England" (1628)
score:15
The key to answering this is to understand that Winthrop was a Puritan with a Puritan's view of corruption.
Like most members of the Colony, Winthrop was a Puritan. This group claimed that the Church of England was corrupted by selfish leaders and petty squabbles. In contrast, Puritans envisioned an idealized community in which all citizens would focus their lives on the word of God. Ironically, the Puritans' almost single-minded pursuit of a perfected society based on biblical teachings resulted in impressive success in secular affairs.sjsu.edu
Although one could certainly find examples of Anglican behavior that was less than holy (search any English novel), the key is that the Puritans are zealots - any activity other than the pursuit of purity is corruption. Sports were forbidden as were holidays. (If I had time I'd look up the list of activities forbidden in James' England - I think history.com.uk has a list somewhere, but I find their search function to be as difficult as searching primary sources.)
@jamesqf offers an insightful comment that I think ought to be included:
WRT "the pursuit of purity", the OP might also need to do some research into what Christianity in general, and the Puritan sect, actually meant by purity. I doubt most modern people would understand it.
or
Between 1629 and 1640, 20,000 Puritans left England for America to escape religious persecution. They hoped to establish a church free from worldly corruption founded on voluntary agreement among congregants. GilderLehman which is a generally a fantastic source for Early American history.
@Gidds offers this observation that I wanted to include.
I've heard it argued that “to escape religious persecution” would be better rendered more along the lines of “to practise their own religious persecution unhindered”
I've folded in both comments because I want to give credit to the respective authors, and because these highlight the challenge of this question/answer - the words must be understood in the context of Puritan assumptions about the world, and Puritan attitudes towards the world. This is not a simple question about what did a word mean; real understanding requires a close examination of what these words meant to these people at that time; that in turn requires examination of some assumptions that are fairly alien to most modern reader.
Upvote:11
The Protestant Reformation was presented as a reaction to the hypocrisy, worldliness, and corruption of the Catholic Church, but that wasn't good enough for Puritans like Winthrop. He considered that the Church of England, having come into power, had slipped in to the same pattern.
The phrase
where men strain at gnats and swallow camels
suggests that Winthrop's manifesto is constructed along the lines of Jesus's excoriation of the Pharisees during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 23. I won't repeat the whole chapter, but here's a glimpse:
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Source: Bible Gateway, KJV Matthew 23
To "strain at a gnat" is to make too much of an unimportant matter, conversely to "swallow a camel" is to let some atrocity pass as unimportant. Winthrop elaborates this with
use all severity for maintenance of caps and like accomplishments, but suffer all ruffian-like fashions and disorder in manners to pass uncontrolled
Not that this phrase explains the totality of the "corruption" that Winthrop denounces; it just provides a link. On the other hand, it's probably the key to understanding the whole thing, because it's just a polemical way of saying "my values are better than your values".
More post
- 📝 Why wasn't the American civil war fought between slaves and masters?
- 📝 Why didn't Great Britain give the colonies voting rights?
- 📝 Why was California admitted as one big state rather than split up?
- 📝 European colonization of India: contrast with America?
- 📝 Was the Night of the Long Knives principally a means to obtain loyalty of the German military leadership?
- 📝 Does anyone know the name of the student who died during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956? If not, why not?
- 📝 Tradition of Boxing Day
- 📝 When did Wiktoria Narutowicz die?
- 📝 In the late 1800s how did American Indians portray resiliency in the in the midst of oppression?
- 📝 What is the earliest known account of the modern military salute?
- 📝 How extensive and developed was the ancient Kushite (Nubian) horse trade?
- 📝 Proportionally speaking, how many European refugees were accepted by Middle Eastern and African countries during World War 2?
- 📝 When did commercial entertainment begin?
- 📝 Did the Axis engage in trade with other countries during the war?
- 📝 What are Kottabos players holding in their left hand?
- 📝 Why did the Middle Kingdom stop building pyramid tombs?
- 📝 History from pop culture (novels): the UK in the 1910's
- 📝 What were some of the complications of Marshall Plan?
- 📝 Which city has been captured most frequently?
- 📝 What was the last public school to desegregate in the US? And when?
- 📝 Upper-class male cohabitation in mid-19th century USA
- 📝 Was the earliest precursor of chess part of Indo-European culture?
- 📝 Can someone help explain this floor plan of a mid 20th century apartment?
- 📝 Why does the Central Treaty Organization include the word "central"?
- 📝 Did Amadeo Bordiga tell off Stalin this way?
- 📝 Why was Poland subject to much harsher Russification than Finland was?
- 📝 Why were Spain and Portugal neutral / not invaded in WWII?
- 📝 When did Dei gratia/fidi defensor first appear on British coins?
- 📝 Did Europe experience forest deficits prior to 19th century?
- 📝 Machine gun specs in WW1
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What is the corruption that John Winthrop mentions in "Reasons for the Plantation in New England" (1628)
- 📝 What kind of ink was used by medieval scribes in Iceland, given that there were no plant galls for iron-gall ink?
- 📝 What is the historical basis for the claim that "Taiwan has always been part of China"?
- 📝 What was the planned line of succession for the Nazi Party in the event that Hitler died?
- 📝 What is the basis for the argument that the true believers in Juche died in the N. Korean famine?
- 📝 What is the source for John Adams Sr. writing about Hamilton taking blame for Washington?
- 📝 What is the basis for the claims that the word "Israel" means "Exiled for their sins"?
- 📝 What Was the Constitutional Basis that Made Pompey "Consul Without Colleague" for 52BC
- 📝 What is the proper terminology for the changes that occur in a text throughout history?
- 📝 What engineers chose the locations and oversaw runway construction for the airfields that the Flying Tigers used?
- 📝 What were John Profumo's responsibilities as the Secretary of State for War in Macmillan's government?
- 📝 What was that book that listed all the rich/influential people and defined socioeconomic status for many Americans?
- 📝 What is the primary source evidence for the theory that the African Ancient Egyptians are not black Africans whose origin is sub-Saharan Africa?
- 📝 Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- 📝 What were the reasons for the Renaissance / scientific revolution in Europe?
- 📝 What are the factors that caused the new world civilizations to be less technologically advanced than the old world?
- 📝 What is the significance behind "40 days" that often appears in the Bible?
- 📝 During the breakup of the Soviet Union, on what basis was citizenship granted or withheld for each of the fifteen new republics?
- 📝 What is the logic for the map maker classifying the map this way, specifically in Canada?
- 📝 What is the reason for the selections of gun caliber size in history?
- 📝 What led some people to (correctly) believe that there was no land under the ice cap at the North Pole?
- 📝 What is the origin of the stereotype that Polish people lack intelligence?
- 📝 What is the historical basis for the Exodus?
- 📝 What was the reason for Soviet troops to withdraw from Yugoslavia in World War II?
- 📝 What were the reasons for making Prohibition a constitutional amendment?
- 📝 What disruptions were brought about by Islam that the Arabians saw so many victories?
- 📝 What would have been the typical drinks for a US farmer in the late 18th/early 19th century?
- 📝 What was the first solar eclipse that was demonstrably predicted in advance?
- 📝 What was the plan for an abort of the Enola Gay's mission to drop the atomic bomb?
- 📝 What was the economic basis for West Berlin?