Puritans

One of the Protestant denominations of Christianity. Appeared in England in the 16th century. This school demands that the Church of England be reformed on the basis of Calvinism, that the Bible be recognized as the sole authority, and that it oppose the autocracy of kings and bishops. It advocates the elimination of the old Catholic system retained by the Anglican Church, the simplification of ceremonies, and the promotion of a diligent and clean life, hence the name. Later, it was divided into Presbyterians and independents. During the period of persecution in China, he fled to North America in large numbers to establish colonies.

since the first half of the 16th century, the Reformation has swept the whole European land. Martin Luther of Germany and Calvin of France became the leaders of Protestant Christianity after the reformation. In Britain at that time, because of the tyranny of the Anglican Church, the religious reform came late, but the British were still influenced by Calvinism. In 1524, William Tyndale, an Englishman, translated the New Testament into English. He was the first Puritan in England. The early Puritans hoped to live in full accordance with the principles of the Bible, and obedience to the teachings of the Bible was their primary task. Rudin Doyle's goal is to make every literate person in Britain have a Bible. Historically, Protestants in England, those who believed in Calvinism and were dissatisfied with the Anglican doctrine, were called Puritans. Because of the religious persecution in Britain, most Puritans fled to the United States, so when people talk about Puritans, they generally refer to the Puritans in the United States.

Puritans are not a faction, but an attitude, a tendency, a value, which is a general term for believers. Puritans are the most devout and holy Protestants. They believe that "everyone is a priest and everyone has a call". It is believed that each individual can communicate directly with God and oppose the tyranny, corruption, red tape and formalism of the priest group. They advocate a simple, practical and equal life for believers before God.

The concept of occupation really appeared in the history of mankind in the Puritan era. The word occupation at that time was calling. Call means calling, calling. Calling means "calling, calling by God", which means that God calls you from heaven and commands you what to do. There is no doubt that this meaning contains religious significance: occupation is a vocation and a task arranged by God, which is the original definition of occupation.

In the Puritans' understanding, occupation is a task called, ordered, ordered and arranged by an invisible God, and completing this task is not only the duty and obligation of each individual's talent, but also an act of thanking God for his grace. For example, God once called Abraham to be a pious and rich king, and he finally fulfilled his call by faith, becoming a rich and prolific king of all nations. Now, God also calls the Puritans to explore the territory of North America, and regards starting a business in the United States as their bounden duty.

They also affirm real life, contrary to the idea of being born world-weary. They think: "The world is our monastery" (in Calvin). The earthly work is the way of our cultivation, the task arranged by God and the sacred duty. Everyone who wants to practice in the WTO and do a good job in his work and life in the world is practicing and worshipping, and doing his duty as a human being.

They also affirmed the profit-making activities, thinking that man is the custodian of God's wealth, and as a custodian, he has a vocation to increase the value of wealth. As a Puritan leader named John Lastun wrote in his book, "If someone asks how to know God's will in him, my answer is simple: just look at the inheritance God has given him."

Puritans are spokesmen of entrepreneurial spirit. They believe that people must be abstinent and thrifty when starting an industry. They restrict all indulgence, enjoyment and even consumption behavior, and spend all their consumption inputs and expenditures on productive investment and expanded reproduction, which will inevitably lead to the accumulation of capital and the development of industries. It is not indulgence and greed that accumulate wealth, but restraint and abstinence that increase social wealth.

Puritans advocate business and industrial activities, and they are honest and trustworthy in business, cherish credibility and never cheat. Puritan entrepreneurs not only pursue the maximization of profits, but also have the sense of giving back to society, take social responsibility and support social justice, make great contributions to social welfare undertakings, and undertake great public undertakings.

Puritans are full of confidence in everything. Whether engaged in commercial trade or production and farming, they have the courage and confidence to overcome all difficulties and achieve extraordinary success. They are good at creating and innovating, and constantly explore and conquer. There are so many valuable spirits worth learning from them.

In the middle of 18th century, john wesley, a famous American Puritan preacher, famously summed up the Puritan spirit: "Earn money desperately, save money desperately and donate money desperately". Earn money desperately because it is the first duty to earn wealth; Desperately save money because they refrain from abstinence and always live a holy and rational life; Desperate to donate money, because they want to take care of spiritual beliefs, care for the community and the country and other human beings, they donate money and materials, and get eternal in love with the world. These three desperate spirits are undoubtedly the ideological essence of the Puritan spirit.

In a word, the Puritans started their business with a sense of mission and sacredness, and regarded it as their bounden duty to open up territory, expand industries and increase wealth in the United States. They always lived a holy and just life, and consecrated all their activities. Therefore, they set an industry and foundation for Americans, and set a model and motive force for human society to develop market economy. Although not everyone is a Puritan, their spirit is the wealth of all mankind, which is worth learning, mastering and applying by people of any country and any era.