Compares Puritan society values to modern day society values. Contends that since the times of Puritan, society has been spiraling down hill fast in faith and morality.
In times of Puritan society, the Ministers ruled with an iron fist as it portrays. No adultery, No drinking of vile drinks, and other stuff considered as a sin in the society has been outlawed. Stuff such as violations of the Sabbath and swearing and sleeping during sermons and also with businesses, abusing the lawyer system has been growing. Since the times of Puritan, society has been spiraling down hill fast in faith and morality.
In the Puritan days, sleeping and swearing during sermons were considered disrespect to the Minister that was preaching. Of course it didn't help that the Minister preached about hell and brimstone and was monotone. Also the pews in the church were uncomfortable and the backs were high up. When the Minister stepped up on his high podium that overlooked the congregation, he was able to see if people were paying attention or nodding off. In today's society if people nod off, or get distracted and start talking to the person next to them, the Minister doesn't say anything. Regarding early Puritan sermons, ministers have slacked off on enforcing the "no sleeping" rule. As time progressed they seemed to move toward the idea "if I get to at least one person in the congregation, I have done my job." Of course back then, if the Minister caught somebody sleeping, they would be punished severely and then after that they would be watched like a hawk. But now days, the Minister just ignores the distractions in the congregation even if it gets louder and more noticeable as I have seen in today's churches and congregations. The Puritans I guess just gave up as people started to move to other religions. But even then other religions have the same problem; paying attention in services. I myself am at fault to this problem too. When I have gone to service and sat there, and I didn't have enough sleep; I struggle to stay awake and listen. And then it's sometimes the Ministers fault. We all know some have more experience and more ability to preach than others, but you can't help it when a Minister is giving his sermon and he is talking in monotone and the sermon itself is not really an attention grabber. Then there is the thing about swearing. Back then people would get wiped if they swear. Even out of service.
Today it's not accepted in the family but when in the public eye and especially with friends, all kinds of words come out. At least people have respect enough not to swear in the middle of service or in church for that matter. But the problem is when they get out of church, they start swearing like there is no tomorrow throughout the whole week till next service. So just maybe you can make a connection with the sleepers from service with the people that swear. They just might be the same people because that is how society has gone so far from Puritan/Godly life. Lots of people just go to church just to look good; and most of the time, those type are the head bobbers/sleepers because they are not interested in the service, just their reputation.
Another sign of decay in their society that we can see today is people having lots of contention and the rise of lawsuits and lawyers. There always have been the issue of "money" in the society, but people did many strange and bad things to get it. As far as to murder some one or steal it. Some people even go as far as to plan an accident which hurts them self then sue them for "damages" and "emotional" situations. Even in our time we see signs of decay in the business realm as such it was in puritan. Again it was for money. Employers were starting to want more money or they lied about what they were selling and they didn't pay enough to their employees or laborers. But yet they had the money so they could pay off the church so they didn't have their complaining. They swindled and got their hands really dirty because the church was fully paid for. Businesses started to get the idea that they can bribe and lie to the church so they can get what they want. Now days, lots of businesses don't even ask for favor or permission. As you see in our times, businesses are so corrupt because they have left the moral background of Christianity that they don't really know what is morally good or bad. All they see it as is does it make money for us. But there are some businesses that do seek blessings from churches and they thrive with profits that they don't know what to do with it.
In today's society, it is safe to say that people and businesses are starting to look back onto the Christian aspect and the Puritan morale behavior that we all should consider. There are boundaries to which a person should not pass and people are starting to realize that. People are starting to take interest in the churches and Ministers are starting to find ways to make service more enjoyable enough to stay awake. As most of us know we can not totally go back to the way of life in the Puritan era, because the society today has become too lenient and politics has become too strong to allow any thing like that to happen, but it would help if we consider some of their values in our society today.
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