Anne HutchinsonA Brief Summary of Her Life and Beliefs
...ould confine these ideas to a small circle of confidantes. Anne kept her silence until the age of 43 when she sailed to New England with her husband, 15 children, and John Cotton (a puritan radical). Under the premise that she was entering a community where religion would be freely shared and discussed, Anne began to open up on the voyage. Several of the colonists warned the local clergy when the ship docked, yet, upon investigation, they could find no fault with her. Anne soon realized that the city on a hill would be as accepting of individuals as the country she left behind. The oppressed had become the oppressors. The citizens of the colony were subjected to strict laws. Everyone attended service for the greater part of the Sunday, breaking for a few hours so that folks could walk home and eat a meal (which had been prepared the previous day; no work of any kind was allowed on Sunday). Church attendance was a mandatory, punishable- like so many acts we take for granted today- by the stocks and various other disciplines. However, Anne would not allow anything to stop her from voicing shat she believed to be the truth. She gathered a small group in her home every Sunday to discuss the previous sermon and share her thoughts. At first, only women attended. As Anne gained respect and recognition, men as well as women started coming from surrounding towns to hear her views on religion. Being a well-read person and having a sound background in rhetoric, her arguments bested many and captivated most. She believed that a person is born united to Christ, whether he has faith or not, and that “no law or preaching of it” could bring him to faith. Additionally, when a man received faith, he was only acknowledging that he had received Christ already, and that this can only occur by the work of the Spirit in him. Anne also believed, like the puritans, that no works - good or evil – affected ascension into heaven, but that there was a chosen elect who would invariably be led by the Spirit to faith. Unlike the puritans, however, Anne believed that not only could a person discern this for himself, but that he was the only person who could obtain “assurance”, as there was no test that would allow others to be sure. A...