The Puritan's have a somewhat complex idea of what constitutes a sin. If the weather is bad, they would wonder what they had done to deserve the dreadful weather. If someone came down with a severe illness, they would assume they had committed a terrible sin to deserve it. They feel like the consequences of sin are very severe and that they are individually punished for their foul actions. This paper will examine the Puritan's concept of sin, as seen in the text by William Bradford and Jonathan Edwards.
             The text has selections of Bradford's work from Of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford believed that with sin, came punishment. This belief is reflected in his writing. He felt that men who focus on pride and ambition were sinners. These people would be punished by God in some form or another. He says that "Satan took occasion and advantage thereby to foist in a number of vile ceremonies" (166). By this he means that Satan will punish every sinner in some 'vile' way.
             Bradford writes of a young seaman, who was proud and profane, with a lusty and able body. The seaman seemed nice, but had intentions of throwing the crew overboard and stealing their possessions after doing so. He also used foul language. For these sins, God punished the young seaman by throwing him overboard first. "They noted it to be the just hand of God upon him..." (167). This is a good example of the Puritan psyche at work. They felt that even thoughts of committing a sin were punished by the hand of God. However, they probably also felt that his use of foul language and his ambition and pride were causes for God punishing him as well.
             During the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards delivered the famous sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." This was during a time when many people were converting to Christianity. Contrary to Bradford, Edwards was out there preaching and trying to voice his views. He w...