The Puritan View of Substantive Biblical Law

The Puritans, who settled in America in the early 1600s, believed that if they followed God's laws as individuals and as a society, God would prosper them. America would become "the new Israel, " God's light for the rest of the world.

The Rev. Dr. George Gatgounis wrote The Puritan View of Substantive Biblical Law both as a constitutional attorney and a biblical scholar. He did much of the research at Harvard, which was founded by the Puritans to train their clergy.

Despite its outward appearance of harshness--such as the dozen transgressions that merited the death penalty in the Massachusetts Bay Colony--Puritan society was founded on the consent of the citizens. At the center was individual spirituality. That spirituality was to be maintained by a strict observance of the Sabbath, which centered around biblical preaching.

Certainly there is no going back to a Puritan society in this postmodern era. But perhaps there is something to be learned to guide our way forward.

© 2021 Wipf and Stock (Ebook): 9781725261211

Release date

Ebook: 3 September 2021