Jumpstarter 10 of 10

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Question 10

Under Puritan rule, theaters were closed, festivals prohibited, Sundays made gloomy, and even Sunday travel required permits—yet the “saints” also “scrambled for property and privileges” and heavily taxed the people for wars; what does this contrast expose about external moral discipline versus inner righteousness, and what concrete habits or motives in our own lives might mirror that same mismatch?

Another way to ask: The Puritans enforced strict rules (no theaters, gloomy Sundays) but also chased property and raised heavy war taxes. What does that show about strict outward behavior versus a truly right heart, and where might we have the same kind of mismatch today?

Direct Answer Bercot’s account suggests that strict external controls can coexist with greed, power-seeking, and oppression, revealing that outward moral discipline is not the same as inner righteousness or a kingdom-of-God spirit.

Support from Transcript:

He says the Rump Parliament, though “devoutly religious men,” had “little interest” in “social injustice,” and instead “scrambled for property and privileges for the gentry.”
They pursued national power: they sought to “unseat the Dutch” in trade and “eventually went to war” to do it.
To fund “endless wars,” they “heavily tax[ed] the English people.”
Moral regulation intensified: theaters closed, “church festivals” prohibited, and “many forms of entertainment” outlawed.
Sundays became a “gloomy Old Testament Sabbath,” banning leisure “including even hiking,” and requiring permits to travel.
Cromwell then ruled through military districts run by Major Generals imposing “Puritan moral discipline,” showing coercion from the top down.

Discussion Follow-ups Where might we focus on controlling behaviors (ours or others’) while tolerating pride, ambition, or love of comfort? What signs would show we’re seeking a “godly society” mainly to protect our own interests?

Jumpstarter 10 of 10