Anne Hutchinson Analytical Essay

American History

10/17/2011

Anne Hutchinson Analytical Essay

With the court case coming to an end, it puts an end to the arguments against and in favor of Anne’s case. Throughout the trial, solid arguments were put forth from both factions. Each side possessed strong feelings and evidence in their beliefs about what should happen to Anne Hutchinson.

Those who were in the Winthrop faction and opposed Anne Hutchinson presented a few points against her with their main point being that “holiness could give assurance of salvation” (Carnes, 42). “They argued that if we know that sanctification is a result of justification then why should we not trust it?” (Carnes, 42) They thought that justification made a person do good deeds towards others, which signifies their justification. “God made promises in the Bible that sanctification was a sign of justification” (Carnes, 42). Anne believed that you were saved by justification; by believing in Christ and knowing that he walked on earth to save you from your sins. Anne’s views conflicted with the Puritan church. Those opposed to Anne disagree and believe that you must be saved by good works and obeying the law; that you cannot be saved by faith alone. I think the strength of this argument is that the Puritans were supposed to believe that they could only be saved by sanctification and not by faith alone. Since Anne was teaching against this belief, the Puritans used this as their main argument for not following the beliefs of the colony. This argument is weak because the Bible says that you are saved by faith. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing it is the gift of God not the result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2.8).

Another argument the Winthrop faction proposed was that Anne should not read or teach from the Bible because she is a woman. They believe that she is incorrect in her interpretations of the Bible and that Pastors or elders should do so because...