I ran across the following statement in a homework assignment for my American Literature course in which puritanism was defined. I guess I didn't realize that there was much of a difference between the two. Is this accurate? Are there any resources that I could look to for personal education on this matter? Thanks for any comments.

Quote
The Puritans believed in predestination, but not like the Calvinists. The Calvinists believed that there were a set number of saved souls, and their salvation was determined before they were even conceived. The Puritans believed that any number of people could be saved, but that only God could determine who was or wasn’t saved. Humans could not presume to determine whether or not a person was “good enough” for God’s salvation. Thus, all members of the community had an obligation to live as good of a life as possible, to better meet God’s standards for salvation. Once a person had been saved, God’s grace would be reflected in their every moment. Thus the person who had good fortune and success was believed to reflect God’s pleasure. Failure to live up to God’s standards brought God’s displeasure and punishment. Thus bad fortune and failure were justified punishment for failing to live up to God’s standards.

Oh, and to digress just for the sake of digression...I'm enjoying a very fine glass of peach ale from our local brewery. Very good stuff <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/cheers2.gif" alt="" />...just thought I'd mention it. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

tj
"-that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection..."