John Cotton (1585–1652)

The Reverend John Cotton (December 4, 1585 – December 23, 1652) was a highly regarded principal among the New England Puritan ministers, who also included John Winthrop, Thomas Hooker, Increase Mather (who became his son-in-law), John Davenport, and Thomas Shepard. He was also the grandfather of Cotton Mather, who was named after him. December 4th redirects here. ... 1585 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... // Events April 6 - Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp for the Dutch East India Company at the Cape of Good Hope, and founded Cape Town. ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was any person seeking purity of worship and doctrine, especially the parties that rejected the Laudian reform of the Church of England. ... John Winthrop John Winthrop (12 January 1587/8–26 March 1649) led a group of Puritans to the New World and joined the [[Ma GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG He was born in Edwardstone, England, the son of Adam Winthrop (1548–1623) and his wife, Anne Browne. ... Hookers Company reach the Connecticut, publishers: Estes & Lauriat, 1879 Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent Puritan religious and colonial leader remembered as one of the founders of the Colony of Connecticut. ... The Reverend Increase Mather (June 21, 1639 — August 23, 1723) was a major figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay (now the Federal state of Massachusetts). ... Contemporary portrait of John Davenport John Davenport (April 9, 1597 – March 15, 1670) was a puritan clergyman and co-founder of the American colony of New Haven. ... Thomas Shepard (1605-1649) was an American Puritan minister and a significant figure in early colonial New England. ... Cotton Mather (February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728). ...

Born in England, he was educated at Derby Grammar School, which is now the Derby Heritage Centre and attended Cambridge University, where he also served as a head lecturer, and became a long-serving minister in the English town of Boston, Lincolnshire before his Puritanism and criticism of hierarchy drew the hostile attention of Church of England authorities. In 1633, William Laud was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, and like numerous other Puritan nonconformist figures, Cotton soon came under his close "eye of scrutiny". In the same year Cotton, his family, and a few local followers sailed for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... The Old Grammar School, St. ... The University of Cambridge, located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world, with a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ... For other uses, see Boston (disambiguation). ... Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England. ... The Puritans were members of a group of radical Protestants which developed in England after the Reformation. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... William Laud (October 7, 1573 – January 10, 1645) was Archbishop of Canterbury and a fervent supporter of King Charles I of England, whom he encouraged to believe in divine right. ... Arms of the see of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior clergyman of the established Church of England and symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. ... A nonconformist is an English or Welsh Protestant of any non-Anglican denomination, chiefly advocating religious liberty. ... A map of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. ...

The Brownist congregational movement within the Church of England had by this stage, in effect at least, become a separate church. Because of his early views on the primacy of congregational government, his was an important role in Puritan aspirations to become the "city on a hill" which might help reform the English church. He is best known among other things for his initial defense of Anne Hutchinson early in her trials during the Antinomian crisis, during which she mentioned him with respect, though he turned strongly against her with the further course of the trial. He is also remembered for his role in the banishment of Roger Williams regarding the role of democracy and the separation of church and state in the Puritan theonomic society, both of which Williams tended to advocate. Cotton grew still more conservative in his views with the years but always retained the estimation of his community. The Brownists were followers of Robert Browne who was born at Tolethorpe Hall in Rutland, England in about 1550. ... The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ... Anne Hutchinson on Trial by Edwin Austin Abbey Anne Hutchinson (July, 1591 – July, 1643) was the unauthorized Puritan preacher of a dissident church discussion group and a pioneer settler in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Netherlands. ... Antinomianism (from the Greek αντι, against + νομος, law), or lawlessness (in the Greek Bible: ανομια), in theology, is the idea that members of a particular religious group are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics or morality as presented by religious authorities. ... Roger Williams (December 21, 1603–April 1, 1684) was an English theologian, a notable proponent of the separation of Church and State, an advocate for fair dealings with Native Americans, founder of the City of Providence, Rhode Island and co-founder of the colony of Rhode Island. ... Jesus vertreibt die Händler aus dem Tempel (Jesus and the Money Changers [in the Temple]) by Giovanni Paolo Pannini. ... Theonomy The word theonomy derives from the Greek words “theos” God, and “nomos” law. ...

Cotton's written legacy includes a body of correspondence, a catechism, numerous sermons, and a theonomic legal code titled An Abstract of the laws of New England as they are now established. ^[1] This legal code provided a basis for John Davenport's legal system for the New Haven Colony, and was one of two competing drafts of that were compiled to make Massachusetts's The Body of Liberties.^[2] Codex Manesse, fol. ... A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. ... Theonomy The word theonomy derives from the Greek words “theos” God, and “nomos” law. ... A legal code is a moral code enforced by the law of a state. ... Contemporary portrait of John Davenport John Davenport (April 9, 1597 – March 15, 1670) was a puritan clergyman and co-founder of the American colony of New Haven. ... The New Haven Colony was an English colonial venture in Connecticut in North America from 1637 to 1662. ...

Cotton's theonomy has had a profound effect on the 20th-century Dominionist movement. Dominionism is a trend in Protestant Christian evangelicalism and fundamentalism, primarily, though not exclusively, in the United States, that seeks to establish specific political policies based on religious beliefs. ...

References

1. ^ http://reformed.org/ethics/laws_of_new_england.html
2. ^ http://www.mass.gov/lib/guides/body.htm