Just like Calvinists today, God is believed to ultimately plan everything that happens. Puritans believed that God had already determined who would go to heaven and who to hell, and that a small percentage of individuals among the population were the Elect, those predestined for heaven. The belief that set Puritans and Calvinists apart from other denominations of Protestantism, however, was predestination. The concept of predestination played a large role in the life of Puritans. Puritans believed in predestination. Puritans believed that belief in Jesus and participation in the sacraments could not alone effect one's salvation; one cannot choose salvation, for that is the privilege of God alone. – Total depravity: This doctrine was not held in the early Church and comes from Gnosticism. Several beliefs differentiated Puritans from other Christians. They believed in predestination, which led them to search their own and others’ behavior for signs of saving grace. Predestination. – The Puritans believed that they were Israel with their exodus to America as proof. The Puritans were members of a religious reform movement that arose in the late 16th century and held that the Church of England should eliminate ceremonies and practices not rooted in … They could not tolerate public scandal, especially when attached to a religious moment. – The non-elect were evil. Puritans in both Britain and British North America sought to cleanse the culture of what they regarded as corrupt, sinful practices. The first was their belief in predestination. This doctrine holds that God is all-powerful and all-knowing; therefore, the fate of each individual soul is known to God at birth. The single phrase above that is accurate concerning the Puritans themselves is that they were believers in Calvinist theology. Puritans believed that human nature was inherently sinful with salvation only attainable through God's grace; however, Puritans also believed in predestination, which stated that only a chosen few were eligible with no hope of recourse for the rest. It's been a while since I've gone over Puritans, but ultimatley, their belief in predestination led to their extreme "child rearing." They believed that the civil government should strictly enforce public morality by prohibiting vices like drunkenness, gambling, ostentatious dress, swearing, and Sabbath-breaking. ... What the Puritans did want was a society dominated by their views. They did believe in predestination. Puritans are more strict and follow more rigid guidelines of morality than … Beliefs and practices of the Puritans: – Predestination/Election: God preordained some people to heaven and some to hell. What did John Winthrop want to create in the Massachusetts Bay Colony? 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